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William Harwood completed construction of what was originally named Harwood Plantation in 1769. It would later be renamed Endview in the mid-1800s. The home is a two-story Georgian-style single family house. On the twenty-four acre piece of land there are also three buildings brought in for use in the museum. The first is a reproduction colonial home. The second is the Denbigh Dairy Farm; this building was relocated in 1999. The third building is a reproduction smokehouse. Also on the grounds are the Curtis and Hardwood Cemeteries. These private cemeteries were used by the inhabitants of the home. The remaining grave markers date from the nineteenth century though there are burials that date back to the colonial era.&nbsp; Because of its ideal location, Endview has been used by soldiers throughout history. During the Revolutionary War, the plantation was used as a rest stop for soldiers. During the Civil War, Endview was used as a hospital for Confederate soldiers in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. The Plantation was acquired by Newport News in 1995 and has been used a museum since then. After the city gained ownership of the Plantation, they began restorations to the building to bring it back to its 1862 appearance.&nbsp; The Endview Plantation is currently used as a living history museum. Reenactments illustrate how residents of the area lived during the Civil War era. Each year a battle from the Civil War is chosen and a weekend long reenactment is put on by volunteers. Visitors during the period can see battle strategies played out on a large stage. Visitors are taken through ranks and taught how battle formations were created on the field.&nbsp;

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Built in 1769 along the Great Warwick Road by William Harwood, this Civil War-era plantation is now a living history museum. The two-story Georgian-style home includes a twenty-four acre plot of land with two cemeteries and three outbuildings. The home was used as a resting place during the Revolutionary War. During the Civil War the home was used as a hospital. Newport News acquired the building in 1995 and restored it to its current condition. 

Endview Plantation

Heritage tour of architecture dating from Virginia's colonial era, ca. 1650 to 1770. The tour includes historic homes, churches, government buildings, and several buildings on the campus of the College of William and Mary, representing a range of architectural styles. To make this a walking tour, start in the middle and stick to the properties in central Williamsburg.   

Williamsburg Region Colonial Architecture Tour

The story of this Anglican church begins nearly a hundred years before it was built, when Blisland Parish was formed in 1653. Blisland Parish was named for a parish in Cornwall, England, and it acquired land at this site in 1725 upon the dissolution of Wilmington Parish. Construction on the Lower Church of Blisland Parish in 1733 and was complete in 1738. The "Hickory Neck" name may have come from a nearby plantation that existed in the eighteenth century. In the 1730s the community planted trees around the church, some of which may be the large walnut trees still standing in the churchyard. Several decades later, an addition was added to the church in the form of a new transept on its south side in 1773-1774. During the American Revolution, the church served as a hospital, and troops from the British, American, and French armies all camped on its grounds over the course of the war. For the following half-century, the church deteriorated. In 1825, the Virginia General Assembly established a group of trustees to convert the church into a school. The older main section of the building was torn down and other changes made to establish Hickory Neck Academy. The school's operations were interrupted during the American Civil War; both the Union and Confederate armies used the building as barracks. The academy resumed its operations after the war until 1907, upon the opening of Toano High School. Hickory Neck Church was reconsecrated and has been an Episcopal Church ever since. The Virginia Conservation Commission placed a historical marker at the site in 1946, and the National Register of Historic Places recognized the structure in 1972. The eighteenth-century structure still stands on the site, but the parish built a new church nearby in 2006.

With origins dating back to the 1650s, this church structure is only part of the story of this Episcopal parish community. The church was built in the 1730s, with additions in the 1770s. During the Revolutionary War, troops from the British, American, and French armies all used the building and its grounds. In 1825, the church was converted into a school, Hickory Neck Academy, and part of the original structure demolished. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate troops used the site. When the school closed in 1907, the church was reconsecrated and is still in use as an Episcopal church.

Hickory Neck Church

The name of this house traces a long history; it is named for a plantation dating to the early 1600s, which was named for Powhatan Creek to its west, which was in turn named for the Powhatan Indian Confederations. The first Virginians to occupy this land were Richard and Benjamin Eggleston. One of their descendants, Elizabeth Eggleston, married Richard Taliaferro (1705-1779) and it is most likely that he built the Powhatan manor house between around 1735 and 1749. Taliaferro was a master architect who renovated the Virginia Governor's Place in 1749 and had also served as Justice of the Peace in the 1730s and Sheriff in 1741. The house is an example of American Early Georgian architecture, a two-story brick structure, five bays across and two bays deep. The bricks are laid in the Flemish bond pattern. Two T-shaped chimneys rise above the hipped roof with corbelled and gauged chimney caps. Upon Taliaferro's death in 1779, he bequeathed Powhatan plantation and manor to his son Richard Jr., a a colonel during the American Revolution. It was a prosperous estate, where the Taliaferros raised ten children. After Richard Jr.'s death his wife Rebecca Cocke continued running the plantation until her death in 1810. The husband of one of her granddaughters, Richard Hannon, purchased the 1075-acre property at this time. It passed to Pleasant Akin, then Shadrack Alfriend, and then to tenant farmers before being purchased and returned to a plantation in 1827 by Dr. Thomas Martin. During the American Civil War, Union troops burned the house, which gutted the interior. Martin's son William was living at Powhatan at the time of the 1862 fire. A cannon ball from the period was found embedded in a chimney. Renovations rebuilt the house's interior and roof after the fire, but most of these elements were removed in a 1948 restoration. This restoration returned the roof shape from a gable to a hipped structure with lines based on marks on the chimneys. The house has dormer windows, but it is unknown whether these would have been original features. The masonry and interior woodwork in the Early Georgian style dates to 1948 rather than the colonial period. The property is informal, with large shade trees, including ancient oaks. Crop lands surround the house. The Historic American Buildings Survey documented the house in 1940, at which time the owner was Edward M. Slausson. The National Register of Historic Places recognized the house in 1970.

This brick Georgian manor dates to around 1735, originally sitting on a large plantation with a long history stretching back to the earliest European settlements in Virginia . Architect Richard Taliaferro, Powhatan's first owner, most likely built the house. It passed through many hands in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. During the Civil War, a fire destroyed the interior of the house, and while it was rebuilt, many of the details of the original architectural style were lost. In 1948, a restoration project returned the house to an appearance similar to its original state. The house sits amid ancient oaks and is now part of a resort.

Powhatan Manor

Plans for an institution for higher education in or around the Jamestown settlement were discussed as early as 1618. These were postponed indefinitely, however, as conflicts developed with local Native Americans. The College of William &amp; Mary was finally created on February 8, 1693, when King William III and Queen Mary II of England issued a charter establishing a royal college in the Virginia colony. 330 acres of land were purchased from Capt. Thomas Ballard in what is now Williamsburg, and a tax was issued on tobacco, furs, and skins exports to support the new school. Construction of the college’s first structure, the College Building (today known as the Wren Building) began in 1695. This building became the temporary headquarters for the colonial government from 1700-1704 while the new Capitol was being built in Williamsburg, and again from 1747-1754 when the aforementioned Capitol burned down. The college originally opened with two schools: a grammar school and an Indian school for educating Native Americans.William &amp; Mary underwent several changes following American independence in 1776. The school transitioned from a royal college to a private university, opened several graduate schools, and founded the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. The college closed when the Civil War began in 1861 as a majority of the students and faculty enlisted in the Confederate army. The campus was briefly used as a barracks and hospital for the Confederates before Williamsburg was captured and occupied by Union troops for the duration of the war. The college was unable to reopen until 1869, and then closed again in 1882 due to financial difficulties. It reopened permanently in 1888 when the Virginia legislature appropriated funds to train public school teachers at the college. In 1906, the Virginia legislature took over William &amp; Mary and designated it a public university. In 1918, it became the first coeducational college in Virginia. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Brafferton, the Wren Building, and the President’s House were all restored to their eighteenth century appearance as part of a broader project to restore many of Williamsburg’s colonial era structures. The college expanded rapidly during the twentieth century, with many new buildings constructed and enrollment climbing. Due to the school’s origins as a royal college, William &amp; Mary was also visited several times by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles, and once by Queen Elizabeth II.Today, the College of William &amp; Mary occupies a 1,200 acre campus, much of it consisting of the College Woods, Lake Motoaka, and the Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre. The campus is also commonly referred to in sections: the “Ancient Campus” consists of buildings dating to the eighteenth century; the “Old Campus” is made up of structures built in the 1920s and 1930s, including Zable Stadium and the Sunken Gardens; the “New Campus” consists of buildings mostly constructed between 1950 and 1980. William &amp; Mary is noted for having one of the highest quality educations for a public university, with a 12-to-1 student-faculty ratio and over 8,000 enrolled students.

The oldest building on the campus of the College of William & Mary, the Wren Building dates back to 1695 when construction began. The building is named in honor of English architect Sir Christopher Wren, and despite several fires that required reconstruction of various parts of the building, it remains the oldest academic building in continuous use in the United States. The College of William & Mary is a historic liberal arts university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Originally established as a royal college in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest higher education institution in the United States after Harvard University. 

William & Mary was the first college in the United States to become a university, the first to have a Greek-latter fraternity, the first to establish an honor code, and the first to establish schools of Law, Modern Languages, and Modern History. The school also boasts numerous alumni influential in the early history of the country, including Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler; sixteen members of the Continental Congress and four signatories of the Declaration of Independence; Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall; and Speaker of the House Henry Clay. Several of the original buildings on campus have been restored to their eighteenth century appearances. Today the College of William & Mary is a state-supported public research university with over 8,000 enrolled students. 

Wren Building, College of William & Mary

The College of William &amp; Mary was formally established in 1693, but no effort was made to create an official home for the college president until the 1730s. The President’s House was built between 1732 and 1733 by Henry Cary Jr., who is believed to also be the builder of the Brafferton. The Georgian-style home was constructed at the cost of ₤650; it was a meager sum compared to construction projects in Europe, but the completed house was one of the most prominent in the Virginia colony at the time. The three-story, five-bay, hip-roofed brick structure is very similar in design to the Brafferton, although it is four feet larger dimensionally. The house’s original occupant was James Blair, founder and first president of William &amp; Mary.On June 25, 1781, British General Cornwallis occupied the President’s House and used it as his personal headquarters, evicting college President James Madison (second cousin to the future President Madison) in the process. Cornwallis and his troops remained on the premises for ten days, during which Madison and his wife reportedly received poor treatment. On September 15, French General Rochambeau commandeered the house and used it as a hospital for wounded French officers, who were supporting the Continental Army in the Battle of Yorktown. Later that year the officers accidently set the house on fire, badly damaging the interior. Repairs were not made until 1786, when the French government provided compensation to the college.The interior of the President’s House would be damaged by fire multiple times in 1879, 1916, and 1922, although the exterior always remained intact and original. In 1931, the interior was restored to its colonial appearance along with the Brafferton and Wren Building. Renovations continued to be made, however, to add conveniences such as electricity, bathrooms, a modern kitchen, and heating and air conditioning. The presidents of William &amp; Mary continue to use the house as both a personal residence and to receive visitors, which over the years has included the Marquis de Lafayette; Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Tyler; every president from Woodrow Wilson to Dwight Eisenhower; Winston Churchill; and Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and Prince Charles.

The President’s House at the College of William & Mary is the oldest residence for a university administrator in the United States. Constructed in 1733, this historic mansion has housed every President of the College of William & Mary except for one (Robert Saunders, who chose to stay in his own home during his tenure from 1846-1848). During the American Revolution, it was occupied by both rebels and Redcoats during the Battle of Yorktown. The house was damaged by fire and renovated several times before being restored to its colonial appearance in 1931. Recent work on the home has blended modern amenities while maintaining the historic appearance of the residence. The house has been visited by multiple U.S. Presidents, members of the British monarchy, and hundreds of leading public intellectuals and scholars. Today the house remains the official residence of the William & Mary president and is also used to receive visitors and hold events for students, faculty, alumni, and prospective donors.

President's House, William and Mary

The original 1693 royal charter establishing the College of William &amp; Mary in Williamsburg originally called for the creation of both a grammar school and an Indian School. The Indian School was meant to educate select Native Americans in European culture and principles. It was hoped that these students, after converting to Christianity and adopting European behaviors, would go on to spread these beliefs to their own tribes. In some instances, tribes sent students willingly; others were diplomatic hostages used to ensure a tribe remained peaceful, while a few were even prisoners purchased by the college. The students came from many tribes ranging from local ones such as the Nansemond, Pamunkey, and the Chickahominy, to as far away as the Cherokee in southern Appalachia and the Delaware in the Ohio River Valley.The Indian School at William &amp; Mary was supported financially by the estate of Sir Robert Boyle. Boyle was a famous philosopher and scientist, known for developing Boyle’s Law and being one of the founders of modern chemistry. Upon his death in 1691, his will stipulated that a sum of ₤4,000 sterling be used for charitable purposes. His estate utilized that money to purchase Brafferton Manor in Yorkshire, England, and divided the income earned by it between the Indian Schools at Harvard College and William &amp; Mary. Originally the students of the Indian School had classes in the Wren Building and lived with local families. In 1723, the Brafferton building was constructed southeast of the Wren Building to house the Indian School. The two-story brick building is believed to have been built by Henry Cary Jr., the builder of the President’s House and the Wren Building chapel.Indian School students at the Brafferton attended classes on the first floor and lived in dormitories on the second floor. They were overseen by what was known as the Indian Master, who lived with the students and provided all of their education. Primary subjects taught included reading, writing, arithmetic, and Christianity. Enrollment at the school was low, reaching a peak of twenty-three students but typically averaging eight; some years there was only a single student or none at all. Some students died from European diseases during the school’s early years. In terms of using the students to spread European customs to indigenous population, the Indian School was largely a failure; many students never even returned to their home tribes. Others did return, but they used their acquired knowledge of European culture to defend their communities. Several former students acted as interpreters and intermediaries between their tribes and the English, translating treaties and assisting in negotiations. Other alumni found themselves in roles that brought them into contact with some of the Founding Fathers; Thomas Step served as a liaison for George Washington during the French and Indian War, while Charles Murphy acted as an interpreter for Patrick Henry.Funding for the Indian School from the Boyle estate was cut off during the American Revolution, and by 1791 it had shut down. The Brafferton afterwards was used for a variety of purposes such as dormitories, classrooms, and a dining hall. In 1932, it was restored to its colonial appearance as part of a broader project to restore colonial buildings all over Williamsburg. Today it houses offices for William &amp; Mary’s president and provost. In recent years, more efforts have been made to acknowledge the history of the university’s Indian School. In 2016, the Muscarelle Museum of Art showcased a temporary art exhibit titled “Building the Brafferton: The Founding, Funding, and Legacy of America’s Indian School.” Through a series of galleries, the exhibit detailed the origins of the school, its legacy, and the stories of several students.

The Brafferton is the second oldest building on the College of William & Mary campus. Constructed in 1723, it is one of three surviving colonial buildings, along with the Wren Building and the President’s House, that make up the college’s Historic Campus. While today serving as the offices for the president and provost of William & Mary, the building originally housed the college’s Indian School. Established as part of William & Mary’s charter in 1693, the Indian School was intended to provide some Native Americans with a Western education in the hopes that they would spread European culture to their tribes. In this aspect the Indian School largely was a failure, and closed when funding was halted during the American Revolution. 

Brafferton and the Indian School

Bruton Parish Church is located on Duke of Gloucester Street in historic Colonial Williamsburg. This street once served as an important road down the Virginia Peninsula over the ridges surrounding the Middle Plantation (est. 1633), a settlement in the interior region of the Peninsula. The church dates back to 1677 and serves as an well-preserved example of colonial religious architecture. The history of Bruton Parish Church may be traced back to the founding of the English colony at Jamestown on May 14, 1607. One of the first priorities for the settlers was the construction of a house of worship. This primitive chapel, built in the Middle Plantation Parish around 1660, grew in importance as the colony expanded. In 1658, Middle Plantation Parish united with Harrop Parish in James City County in 1658, forming Middletown Parish. Bruton Parish was founded in 1674, after a merger between Middletown Parish and Marston Parish (est. 1654) in York County. It was named after town of Bruton, in the English county of Somerset, which was the hometown of many notable colonists. In 1678, Colonel John Page, a merchant from Middlesex, England, donated a plot of land on which a brick church was built. The remains of the older church are buried northwest of the structure that exists today. By the early 1700s, however, this church was in poor condition and unsuitable for its prominent role in the community. In 1706, the vestry began formulating plans for a new church and, in 1711, the first construction contract was awarded. The current building, designed by architect Alexander Spotswood, was completed in 1715 and is Georgian in style. The attendees of Bruton Parish Church included such recognizable figures such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, George Wythe, Patrick Henry, and George Mason. Use of the church declined following the end of the Revolutionary War and colonial rule, until its incorporation into the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the first autonomous Anglican province outside the British Isles. During the Battle of Yorktown (1781), the church served as a storehouse or hospital, perhaps both. It also functioned as a Union hospital for Northern and Confederate soldiers during the 1862 Battle of Williamsburg. Bruton has undergone numerous repairs throughout its 300 year history, most notably during an extensive restoration effort initiated by the rector Reverend Dr W.A.R. Goodwin in 1938–1939. Outside the church is one of the first graveyards in America. Notable individuals interred here include US Supreme Court Justice and Signer of US Constitution, John Blair; Revolutionary War leader, Edmund Pendleton; as well as Francis Fauquier; Cyrus Griffin; Letitia Christian Semple; and George Taliaferro Ward. Bruton is largely known for its excellent musical program, a tradition dating back to the year 1755, when it received its first organ. The use of an organ in an Anglican church was unusual for the time, but owing to its location in the capital city and the number of high class congregants, an organ was deemed a necessity. The famous Candlelight Concerts began under Bruton's first organist, Peter Pelham, who allowed locals to come in and listen while he gave lessons to students. Today, music at church services and concerts is provided by an orchestra and several choirs, including the Pelham and Chancel choirs. Music at Brunton Parish Church continues colonial musical traditions, while still keeping up with modern trends of worship.

Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored section of historic area of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Dating to 1677, the church is a well-preserved example of colonial religious architecture. The excellent condition of the church is largely due to an extensive restoration effort funded by John D. Rockefeller Jr. during 1938–1939, which restored Bruton Parish Church to its original appearance. This active Episcopal parish is known for its exceptional music program, a musical tradition dating back to 1755 and includes multiple choirs and candlelight concerts.

Bruton Parish Church

The Wythe House, as it is known today, was built in 1754 by Richard Taliaferro, father-in-law to Declaration of Independence signatory George Wythe. Following Wythe's marriage to Taliaferro's daughter, the couple were given the house as a wedding present. During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington established his headquarters in the house just prior to the Battle of Yorktown. After his wife's death in 1787, Wythe moved to Richmond in 1791 to serve as a judge. The house changed hands multiple times over the years until it was acquired by Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin in 1926. Goodwin is considered to be the "the Father of the Restoration of Colonial Williamsburg" due to his preservation efforts. Colonial Williamsburg would come into possession of the property in 1938. Today, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Williamsburg Historic District. The Wythe House has not changed much structurally since it was first constructed. It is a two-story red brick house built in the early Georgian style, based off of examples found in&nbsp;Palladio Londinensis, a 1734 book by architect William Salmon. The house has undergone two restorations, one from 1927-1931 and the other from 1939-1940, the latter of which saw the interior furnishings replaced with those more appropriate for the 18th century.

The Wythe House was built in 1754 by Richard Taliaferro, George Wythe's father-in-law. Wythe would inherit the property following his marriage to Elizabeth Taliaferro. George Washington used the house as his headquarters just prior to the Battle of Yorktown. The building went through several owners until it came into the possession of Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin in 1926. From there, it would pass into the care of Colonial Williamsburg in 1938. It would be added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

Wythe House

The capital of the
Virginia colony was moved from Jamestown to nearby Williamsburg in 1699. On
October 23, 1705, at the request of Royal Governor Edward Nott, the House of
Burgesses passed an act authorizing the construction of a residence for the
Virginia governors. Building began in 1706 but due to various reasons it
continued for sixteen years, much to the chagrin of the legislature, which had
to keep appropriating funds for it. The Georgian-style brick home was three
stories tall and included an elaborate indoor display of muskets and swords;
ornamental iron gates, several outbuildings, and a formal garden. The household
required 25 slaves and servants to maintain. The Palace underwent renovations
in 1752, which included the addition of a large ballroom and supper room for
social events. 

While modest in size
compared to European palaces, the Governor’s Palace was easily the grandest and
most elaborate building in the American colonies. It served as both the
residence and office for seven royal governors: Alexander Spotswood, Hugh
Drysdale, William Gooch, Robert Dinwiddie, Francis Faquier, Norborne Berkeley
(Lord Botetourt), and John Murray (Lord Dunmore). The governors would receive and
entertain important visitors at the Palace. They also hosted many elegant balls,
galas, and feasts for occasions such as Christmas or the king’s birthday, with
as many as 200 guests. 

As the American
Revolution began in 1775, the final royal governor, Lord Dunmore, fled the
Palace in June, never to return. Local militiamen confiscated the display
weapons, and auctioned off the palace’s slaves and furniture. The first
post-colonial governor, Patrick Henry, was appointed and moved into the Palace
in 1776. He was succeeded by Thomas Jefferson, who remained there until the
state capital was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond in 1780. In 1781, the
Palace was used as a hospital for American soldiers during the Battle of
Yorktown. 156 soldiers who died of their wounds were buried in the garden. On
December 22, 1781, it caught on fire and burned to the ground. 

The site of the
Governor’s Palace ended up in the possession of the College of William and
Mary, which erected two school buildings near where the Palace once stood. The
property was purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1928. The
Foundation began excavating the foundation of the Palace in 1930 and over the
next two years unearthed the cellar, flooring, several walls and chimneys, and
numerous artifacts such as the remains of wood paneling and marble floor tiles.
Using evidence from the excavation as well as old records of the original floor
plan, the Foundation was able to reconstruct the Governor’s Palace much to its
original design. It opened to the public as part of Colonial Williamsburg on
April 23, 1934. Originally decorated with inaccurate Colonial Revival style
antiques, the interior was refurnished in 1981 with pieces better representing
the Palace’s eighteenth century décor. Additional changes were made in 2006 to
reflect the Palace’s appearance during the residency of Lord Dunmore.

The Governor’s Palace was the official residence for the royal governors of colonial Virginia during much of the eighteenth century. Constructed from 1706-1722, the Palace housed seven royal governors and two post-colonial governors, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. After the Virginia capital was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond in 1780, the house served as a hospital for American soldiers during the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Palace was destroyed by fire later that year. In 1930, archaeologists from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation excavated the site and uncovered the original foundation. The entire palace was reconstructed in 1934 and furnished with historically accurate items. Today the Governor’s Palace is a part of Colonial Williamsburg and is open to the public.

Governor's Palace

Standing near the center of Colonial Williamsburg, the Peyton Randolph House is a well-preserved example of early 18th century architecture. Built in 1715 by William Robertson, it was purchased by Sir John Randolph in 1724. Peyton Randolph, Sir John's son and the first President of the Continental Congress, would inherit the property and do extensive modifications to it. As Peyton had no children, the house was auctioned off after his death and that of his wife. By the time of the Civil War, the property would come into the possession of the Peachy family. During the war, the house would serve as a makeshift hospital for both sides during the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862. Colonial Williamsburg would acquire the house by 1938, though it was not without complications. Upon attempting to restore the east wing of the house, it was discovered that it was built on top of at least two Native American burial sites. The sites were disturbed with the construction of the Colonial Parkway in 1941. When William Robertson built the house, it consisted of two floors with four rooms on each and a north facing porch. Sir John Randolph added a second building to the property, this one only having 1 1/2 stories. Peyton Randolph joined the buildings together in 1782. By the time Colonial Williamsburg acquired the property, the original east wing needed to be torn down and reconstructed. Since the restoration, the interior of the house has been furnished with decorations and furniture appropriate for an early to mid 18th century home.

The Peyton Randolph House was built in 1715 by William Robertson and purchased by Sir John Randolph in 1724. As it was passed down the family, it has hosted several notable guests, such as George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. The house is now part of the Williamsburg Historical District, though part of it remains a private residence. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Peyton Randolph House

The house was built for Colonel William Finnie, who served as quartermaster general of the Southern Department during the American Revolution. Judge and College of William and Mary professor of law James Semple purchased the house in 1800. Future tenth president of the United States John Tyler (1790-1862), who was related to the Semples, lived here when he was a student at the College of William and Mary from 1802 to 1807. The house is a framed structure with exterior clapboarding, consisting of a two-story center section flanked by one-story wings. It sits on the south side of Francis Street on the eastern end of Williamsburg, between Blair Street and Waller Street. The center section of the house features two chimneys and a pedimented gable roof. The two single-story wings also have gable roofs. The Classical Revival style of the house also invokes the Palladian style, and is an example of tripartite houses built throughout the South in the early American republic. Originally the center section contained a large salon with fireplace, which during the nineteenth century was divided into smaller spaces. The east wing served as a dining room and the west wing as a drawing room. Behind the east chimney is a winding staircase similar to the staircase at Monticello, which reaches the two bedrooms on the upper story of the center wing. During the nineteenth century, the house had several owners. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation acquired it in 1932, one of its first acquisitions. The foundation restored the house by rebuilding the chimney and front steps, removing a wing dating to the early nineteenth century, and replacing other altered details.

Built around 1770, the James Semple or Randolph-Semple House follows the Classical Revival style. It is an example of Palladio's Roman Country House adapted as a wooden-framed building. Though it has not been proven, some ascribe the design of the house to Thomas Jefferson, who lived in Williamsburg during the period of the house's construction and whose drawings of the house at Monticello are very similar to this one. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation acquired the building and restored it in 1932, repairing dilapidated structures and removing a wing added in the nineteenth century. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1970, and the National Register of Historic Places recognized it for its architectural significance in 1974.

James Semple House

The Bassett Hall farmhouse was built from 1753 to 1766 in Williamsburg by a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Philip Johnson. The name comes from a nephew of Martha Washington, Burwell Bassett, who bought the property in 1800. The two-story frame dwelling was acquired for Colonial Williamsburg in 1927. A houseguest for a week during the Civil War was a Union cavalryman named George Armstrong Custer, who was attending the wedding of a friend from West Point, John W. Lea, who had been wounded in the Battle of Williamsburg. Lea was marrying a daughter of the owners of Bassett Hall; he met his fiancée while he was being treated for battle injuries in the house. Custer went on to infamy in the American Indian Wars, dying at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, or "Custer's Last Stand." The Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, the rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, restored the church building in the midst of the former colonial capitol. Goodwin restored another historical building nearby as the church rectory. Goodwin was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the honorary society founded at the College of William and Mary in the 1700s, where Goodwin was a professor. A new building, Phi Beta Kappa Hall, was being built on campus, just a few blocks from the church. One of the richest men in America, philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., also was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Rockefeller visited Williamsburg in 1927 with his family to check on the progress of construction of the hall. While visiting, the Rockefellers were guest of Reverend Goodwin at Bassett Hall. When Mr. Rockefeller returned to Williamsburg for the dedication ceremony of Phi Beta Kappa Hall, Goodwin shared his idea with Rockefeller of rebuilding and restoring the town to its colonial era as a living history museum. Rockefeller cautiously agreed, with a limited initial contribution and a condition of anonymity. That grew into a full-fledged public backing of the undertaking, which took years and many millions more than originally thought. To keep abreast of the construction, the Rockefellers needed a local home base for their annual visits each spring. The couple's son recounts that Mr. Rockefeller told his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, that he would buy Bassett Hall as long as she agreed not to take in tourists. Bassett Hall became one of the Rockefellers' homes in 1936. Mrs. Rockefeller thoroughly enjoyed the annual springtime visits to their home in Williamsburg. She would throw an annual Spring Ball where she would dress in colonial attire. Mr. Rockefeller would be seen walking through the historic area, checking ongoing construction. Mrs. Rockefeller died early in 1948, before that year's anticipated spring visit to Williamsburg. Mr. Rockefeller lived until 1960. Bassett Hall first opened to the public in 1980, after being bequeathed by the Rockefellers to Colonial Williamsburg the prior year. The house was closed for restoration in 2000 before reopening in 2002. The house tour of Bassett Hall is part of the Colonial Williamsburg admissions ticket. Besides the farmhouse, furnished as lived in by the Rockefellers inr the 1930s and 1940s, are several outbuildings: a tea house, smokehouse, kitchen and dairy. Fourteen acres of gardens and woodlands are part of the tour of the property, too. Mrs. Rockefeller's collection of folk art is part of the Colonial Williamsburg Folk Art Museum that bears her name; that museum shares a newly-renovated space with the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum elsewhere in Colonial Williamsburg (see the Clio entry for the DeWitt Wallace Museum).

Bassett Hall is a wood frame mansion house built in the mid-1700s that is part of Colonial Williamsburg. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. lived in the house with his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, during the early years of the restoration and rebuilding of the colonial capital. The couple donated $68 million to support historic restoration within the area and spent several weeks at the home twice a year. The Rockefeller family bequeathed the house and grounds to Colonial Williamsburg in 1979. The restored house is open for tours with a Colonial Williamsburg admission ticket. The tour of the home also includes a tour of the outbuildings and fourteen acres of gardens and woodlands and the opportunity to ask guides questions about the history of the region from the colonial era to the restoration and preservation of Colonial Williamsburg. 

Bassett Hall

The brick mansion sits on the parcel of land known as Martin's Hundred, settled in the early seventeenth century. The original estate encompassed 1400 acres, a portion of the 300,000 acres owned by prominent landowner Robert "King" Carter, Burwell's grandfather. Richard Talieferro designed the mansion, taking inspiration from William Salmon's 1734 publication Palladio Londonensis (The London Art of Building). David Minitree of conducted the building of the home. Burwell paid for the passage to Virginia for Richard Bayliss, an English joiner, who created the woodwork which is still present in the home. The estate includes a terraced garden, overlooking low fields sloping down to the James River. The symmetrical garden design had cross-walkways that created smaller gardens. The Carter family retained ownership of Carter's Grove until 1830. The estate changed ownership nine times over the next 90 years, though it was not significantly altered until a major renovation in 1927-1928 by the McCreas family. These renovations included the addition of dormers and architectural "hyphens" joining various parts of the house. The Historic American Buildings Survey first documented the mansion in 1939. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation acquired the property in 1968. The National Register of Historic Places recognized it in 1969, and it is also a National Historic Landmark. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has placed a roadside marker near the access road to Carter's Grove. Undergoing financial difficulties, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation sold the property in 2007, with the house and 400 acres of the property placed under conservation easement. The property changed hands several more times before being purchased by Carters Grove Associates LLC of Chicago.

This exemplar of Virginia plantation architecture dates back to the 1750s. Richard Taliaferro designed and David Minitree built the house for Carter Burwell, grandson of prominent landowner Richard Carter. The house retains its original woodwork, created by English craftsman Richard Bayliss. The Carter family owned the home for almost one hundred years, until the 1830s; for nearly another century, the house's structure and design remained intact. In the late 1920s, an exterior renovation sought to give the manor a grander appearance, which altered the original Georgian structure. The house was formerly owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and is now in private hands and under conservation easement.

Williamsburg Region Colonial Architecture Tour

Endview Plantation

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information