December 15, 2012 by Rae

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Eight: The Museums

This is the final part about my tour of Colonial Williamsburg.

From the weaver, I returned to the 21st century and headed across busy streets to visit the museums.

The museums are housed in two buildings and are perhaps a bit of a misnomer. Each ‘museum’ is a gallery of themed artifacts contained within one main building. It’s really well done, with which museum having its own look and feel, avoiding that hodge podge, we threw together whatever we had, type of feel.

You could easily spend half a day or even more at the museums. I was exhausted and famished by the time I got to them, so I did not spend a lot of time in exhibits that did not interest me.

I had thought to grab a period dinner at one of the taverns, but you need to reserve and by the time I learned this, I could not have had dinner before 8PM. Moreover, the choices were unappealing and quite expensive. I’ve had much more authentic period meals before (I’m still traumatized by the 13th-century lettuce soup I ate 15 years ago) so I didn’t mind missing this step. I had also considered going on a ghost walk, but it was $12 extra and my day had been plenty full.

It was dusk when I came out of the museums. On the way to the bus stop I hesitated between heading home or checking out the shopping district, but it was getting to be so cold and dark that that option wasn’t appealing in the least. The bus arrived quickly and that settled it for me. I got back to my truck at about 6PM, a full nine hours after I had parked!

I had a wonderful day in Colonial Williamsburg. The town is worth a visit!

: Heading out into Williamsburg on a street where cars can drive.

: Colonial Williamsburg residents have to park their cars in lots and hoof it over to their houses.

: The sign gives the impression that there are two museums, one for decorative arts and one for folk art, but this is inaccurate.

: This is a reconstruction of the hospital for the mentally ill.

: The hospital was built in the late 1700s and was the first of its kind on the continent to be devoted to the treatment of mental disorders.

: The hospital felt more like a jail.

: In 1773, patients of the mental hospital were called inmates.

: They were chained like animals and slept on pallets on the floor. They had good food, but little access to fresh air and exercise. It’s no wonder Patrick Henry did not want to bring his wife here!

: Documents about admission to the hospital.

: By 1845, conditions in asylums had improved slightly and patients now lived in cozy ‘apartments.’

: This is a big improvement over the cells!

: A patient writes a letter home, regretting having missed Christmas.

: Doctor’s diary.

: Chart of a man who hears voices. Laudanum does not help.

: This image really conveys the tone of the hospital.

: Patients could be placed in these coffin-like boxes if they posed a threat to themselves or others!

: The box was called a Utica Crib.

: About the ‘tranquilizer chair.’

: I have a hard time believing anyone could be tranquilized in this chair!

: The foundation of the hospital.

: The folk museum collection comes from Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.

: The decorative arts artifacts come from Dewitt Wallace.

: Lovely desk.

: Photo of a giant dollhouse featured in the window of FAO Schwartz (a toy store in NYC) at some point in the ’60s.

: The giant dollhouse.

: A buffoon thought he would make a killing hoarding paper money during the revolutionary war. He soon learned it was only worth the paper it was printed on.

: The coffeehouse I so enjoyed was built by museum artisans.

: All the locks and keys were made by the blacksmith.

: Shingles just like those being made at the Hopes plantation.

: Framing the building.

: Many different types of nails.

: Impressive silverware exhibit.

: A silverware dinner set.

: A secretary.

: This portrait is possibly of the subject on her wedding day.

: Typical furniture of each of the 13 colonies.

: Lots and lots and lots of keyed instruments were on display.

: I believe this is a square piano.

: A tin box to hold a map.

: And here’s that coloured Mitchell map the interpreter at the Capitol mentioned!

: Just some of the tall clocks on display.

: This panel gave information about timekeeping in history. Until the 16th century, people could keep time down to quarter hour increments. After, it became possible tell time to the minute, but very few people needed that sort of precision.

: Another gorgeous secretary.

: Pigments for paint could be imported from England and would be mixed into oil by local artisans. Prepared paint would be available to Americans after the Civil War. I remember a scene in the Anne of Green Gables series, set in the very late 1800s, where I was surprised to read of the characters looking at paint chips and then having their paint mixed, just like we still do today.

: A rare piece of painted furniture.

: Top floor of the museum looking towards the Christmas tree in the café.

: A room warmer (stove).

: I’m not crazy about 17th century fashion.

: I do like these toile-like handkerchiefs.

: Another handkerchief. A lady could stuff one in her bosom for modesty.

: Women at the time wore cloaks rather than coats.

: These are mens’ stockings.

: Women would wear these shawls over their shoulder. These bonnets were very fashionable.

: Two more examples of the fashionable bonnets. They would sit on the lady’s shoulders and were quite high to accommodate her hair do. Moreover, they were retractable like a carriage cover, so they could fold them down to expose their head without having to remove the bonnet (I learned most of this at the milliner).

: It’s the glasses that really make his look!

: This apron would match my kitchen perfectly. I wish I could find one!

: Whitework, which is fine white cloth embroidered with white thread. The exhibit was backlit to show the stitching.

: Throughout history, most people have enjoyed hot drinks.

: Lots and lots of coffees and teas.

: A portrait of Mrs. Rockefeller in her 80s.

: A snake weathervane.

: A folksy picture of three sisters. The middle one is holding a candy cane.

: I touched. The one on the left is rough and the one on the right is smooth.

: I had never before heard of tramp art. It is made with trash, like cigar boxes.

: A little rolltop desk (perhaps for a dollhouse) made of cigar boxes.

: I discovered a new painter. Lovely work.

: Steve Harley.

: I’m pretty sure this is Mount Hood.

: Lovely quilts.

: Another beautiful quilt.

: This carousel cat has a big fish in its mouth!

: The carousel was gorgeous.

: This hippotamus-type creature hides a phonograph!

: People in the 17th century had access to fewer goods than people did in the 18th century. By the time of the American Revolution, people of genteel upbringing were expected to have many more things on hand, like nice candlesticks. 100 years later, after the Industrial Revolution allowed for mass production, consumerism began.

: Pewter is probably my favourite metal. It has a lovely patina and looks so soft

: Back in the old days, even guns were works of art.

: I was so glad I did not have to walk back to the Visitors’ Centre!

December 15, 2012 by Rae

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Seven: The Wig Maker, Armory, Blacksmith, Magazine, Shoemaker, Nursery, and Weaver

It was getting close to quitting time as I left the Capitol and meandered my day down the other side of the main street to catch a few more exhibits before heading to the museums. The light was already starting to fade and it was getting quite (and surprisingly) cold out.

I still had lots to see, though, and I didn’t hurry my way through the next exhibits, taking the time to ask questions and look at demonstrations. None of these were tours, hence why it was possible to get in and out fairly quickly and see so much in a short amount of time.

: Wigs were fashionable in the late 19th century. Different colours and styles could represent different jobs. Everyone wore white wigs for evening events because it made them look best by candlelight.

: The wig maker said it is a myth that people wore wigs because of lice problems.

: the wig maker’s shop

: On the top shelf are wigs with a bald spot for clergy. The grey wigs were for lawyers.

: Exiting the wig maker’s shop.

: In the 18th century, the word for wig was the same as the French word, perruque (albeit spelled differently)

: I liked this cozy cottage that appears to be two apartments. It’s next to the armory and blacksmith.

: Entering the armory, you see this building.

: It looks like a working kitchen.

: The courtyard of the armory. The building used to be a tavern, then it was expanded as barracks with the armory and blacksmith in the rear.

: The folks out here are making food to feed the armory staff who mostly repaired rather than manufactured weapons.

: One of the many forges in the blacksmith shop.

: A blacksmith hard at work.

: The rear of the cozy cottage.

: A stately home.

: The magazine, where armament was store.

: Staircase leading up into the magazine.

: We could not go further up the staircase.

: This interpreter gave an excellent demonstration on how the rifles were fired.

: Lots of guns.

: More military supplies.

: Inside the shoe maker’s shop. I came in right at the end and did not catch the difference between the shoemaker and the cobbler. I did learn that the most difficult thing is to make the second shoe match the first!

: Inside another shop where you can buy souvenirs found in any of the other shops, I find this mix for piri-piri peanut soup. Huh? AH! It’s the type of chili I saw growing at the Hopes plantation!

: The church.

: At the nursery, there were whistles for sale. This sign states in 18th century language that those with communicable diseases should not blow the whistles.

: Lots of lovely stuff growing in the nursery. I heard someone gleefully pointing out a big head of spinach.

: Dye samples in the weaver’s shop. A weaver would not be a dyer and vice versa. Dyers could create any colour once, but could not match colours. I asked how the colours were made and got an excellent explanation. Red comes from the cochineal South American insect. Yellows, come from turmeric. Brown is from walnut. Oranges and brick red come from the madder plant. Purples and blacks come from indigo. I don’t remember the rest.

: The weaver’s shop had looms.

: More dye samples.

: There were also spinning wheels.

: Ladder leading upwards, perhaps to living quarters.

: Exterior of the weaver’s shop.

December 15, 2012 by Rae

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Six: The Capitol

The Capitol was my favourite part of my day in Colonial Williamsburg. I was the only person on the tour, so the interpreter and I had a discussion rather than a canned talk since I had more than enough knowledge about that part of history to do so.

It was here that American history finally came into a North American context for me. Until 1776, the U.S. and Canada had a shared history through their shared governance. The capitol feels like any legislative building in Canada because it was like a mini parliament.

It’s fascinating to see how the U.S. broke away from that British governance while Canada has stuck with it. Who our respective peoples are today and why we are the way we are makes so much more sense to me. I really don’t get people who do not find history relevant. We cannot understand our present selves without understanding how our histories shaped us.

The interpreter was refreshing. Rather than spewing a lot of American propaganda that you hear over and over in schools, she told history like it was, that Virginia was the original colony and the crucible of an independent United States, not Massachusetts and all that Plymouth Rock nonsense.

She even brought up the Quebec Act and asked for a Canadian perspective on it (which is pretty much the American perspective). I did one better and gave her the French-Canadian perspective, and that launched yet more discussion about oppression in all its manifestations at the time our continent’s political future was borne and how the echoes resonate today.

I won’t bore you with all that we discussed, but we kept being kicked out of whatever room we were in until we reluctantly had to part ways when she was told she had to take another tour. I wish I had gotten her name. She really made my day.

: The capitol was rebuilt based on the original foundation and pictures. It burned and was rebuilt a number of times.

: It’s a beautiful design.

: I love the matching pairs of semi-circular towers.

: The clocktower.

: The courtyard.

: This plaque says, “Her Majesty Queen Anne. Her Royall Capitoll.”

: I have to give kudos to my camera was being able to capture this coat of arms on the clock tower so clearly! “Semper Eadm” There’s a lion and a unicorn.

: It was 2:30 when I entered the Capitol.

: The brickwork was striking.

: This room felt very parliamentary.

: A discussion room where the tables looked like they would be good for a game of poker!

: More meeting rooms. I liked the contrast of the plaster walls with the dark wood.

: The Virginia declaration of human rights.

: Artwork around information about the map.

: A Mitchell map of the time. The guide told me she prefers the coloured version (keep that in mind). It really shows the political divisions at the time and represents North American territories that Britain had laid claim to.

: Quite opulent decor!

: I’m sitting in the governor’s chair.

: I’m governing. 🙂

: The secretary’s office. It was designed to be fireproof.

December 15, 2012 by Rae

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Four: The Peyton Randolph House

From the Wythe home, I headed across the palace green to check out a few more outlying buildings before moving to the main street. I came across the Peyton Randolph home, a prominent Virginian politician at the time.

This tour ended up being my least favourite moment of the day. The focus of the tour was about slavery in 18th century Virginia, a time when all but the poorest whites had a few slaves. We didn’t learn that much about the house or Peyton Randolph, and we were expressly forbidden from asking questions about those topics!

Moreover, our guide was a little too deep in character and almost utterly unintelligible. He spoke very quickly in a very heavy accent laced with period words and euphemisms. Most people spent the tour with a ‘HUH?!’ expression on their face and the children were terrified of him.

Finally, I did not like the atmosphere of the house. The Wythe home felt very bright and cheerful. I could imagine children laughing in that home, people relaxing and playing games, and slaves being well treated. The Peyton Randolphe home felt very severe. I never did find out if Randolphe treated his slaves as badly as we were told many slaves were treated, but the impression that he did definitely coloured the tour.

What I took away from this tour is just how uncertain life was for the slaves. After Randophe died, his wife got to keep her slaves, but after she passed, the slaves would be sold. We were also taught about the punishment for disobedience (going as far to cutting off limbs or tongues!).

After all of this education, we were asked to debate whether, as slaves, we would have chosen to run away, accept our fates as slaves, or be conflicted. I think that was a nearly impossible debate to have with your 21st century point of views colouring our judgment. I said that I would run away “because nothing could be worse than this.” The next person said, “I’m staying because if I do as I’m told, I have food and clothing.” The kids chimed in also, with one making us all laugh when he said, “I don’t like being bossed around, so I’m leaving!”

All in all, this was a worthwhile tour and I do not begrudge the half hour or so I spent on it, but I think it could be refined.

: Yet another fine home.

: The courthouse off in the distance.

: They Peyton Randolph home.

: This house seemed unusual to me because most of the outbuildings, including the kitchen, were connected.

: Dinner was pork head.

: This house had a more sedate decor and felt much posher than did the Wythe house.

: Wallpaper in the landing.

: This is a neo-classical pattern.

: Most of the paneling in the house was an icy blue colour.

: A study.

: A guest bedroom.

: An Asian-themed wallpaper.

: Another guest bedroom.

: A skinny sliver of a storage room.

: More of the guest bedroom.

: The upstairs landing.

: Mrs. Randolph’s ‘closet’ (study) where she ran the household. The breezeway to the kitchen, scullery, and laundry is through this room.

: The breezeway to the kitchen, scullery, and laundry.

: Cooking hearth with a roasting spit.

: Lots of pots and pans.

: Cast iron cookware

: A guide to household management.

: A laundry bucket.

: Slates used to teach slaves how to read and write.

: The house from the rear garden.

: George Tucker House

December 15, 2012 by Rae

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Three: The Wythe House

After the governor’s palace, I wandered over to the first house that had a flag. There was a waiting period for the tour and the lady out front told me that I was much better off getting in line to view the Wythe house across the street as it closes at 1:00 and there were only a couple of tours left.

This is because the house is one of the few period buildings remaining and it even still has all the original 18th century woodwork, including the floors. Of greatest importance to most guests is this is the house where Thomas Jefferson studied law, so you can actually walk on the same floor and through the same doors as he did.

George Wythe was the first American law professor and a prominent opponent of slavery. The Wythe house was a wedding gift from his second wife’s father. They had no children, but they did received nieces and nephews regularly, as well as the Jeffersons.

: The Wythe house seen from the palace green.

: Cemetery beyond stone walls near the Wythe house.

: Surface coverings in Williamsburg are mostly gravel or brick-paved sidewalks.

: We waited for the tour in a little building next to the Wythe house that might have been a kitchen. It was built on an original foundation.

: The foyer of the Wythe house has this bright blue wall paper. All of the wallpaper in the house is an authentic reproduction by a company in England that has kept records of colours and patterns.

: The bright green in the dining room is a little shocking! Meals were breakfast, dinner, and supper. Dinner was around 2:00 and the biggest meal of the day so you could cook and clean up in daylight.

: The parlour had fuchsia wallpaper. Not normally my favourite colour, but it is exquisite here!

: On all the tours, the rule was that women over 21 were seated first, men next if there were seats left, and children had to sit on the floor. In the Wythe house, seating options included these window seats.

: All the windows in the house had big wooden shutters.

: The upstairs master bedroom had my favourite colour scheme and decor of the house, cream and dark purple, with the walls being stripped and the bedding being flowered.

: The master bedroom even had a closet!

: This is the guestroom where Jefferson would have slept. I don’t much like the shade of green on the wallpaper.

: But I really like the checkered green bed canopy.

: In this room, Wythe, Jefferson, and others studied the natural world. They felt that they did not need God to explain the world to them if they only just observed and studied.

: We were allowed to look through everything on the desk, including images of birds and insects.

: We used this microscope to view a cow’s taste bud.

: a reproduction of an 18th-century Bible

: All the floors were rough wood because there was so much grit coming in from the streets it would have been nearly impossible to keep them shiny.