Evening star., 1926-06-06

for one short stretch and you are in
W NllliamSburg. the main objective
Arriving there, you are probab
ready for dinner and a good night S
rest in the very comfortable hostelry
which that little city affords. and in
any event you cannot do much sight
seeing after dark. and you will want
to acquaint yourself with what there
is to be seen on the morrow. And YOU
VIII want a good nights rest, for the
morrow will be a busy day.
Historic Virginia Peninsula.
You are now we'll toward the point
OF the historic Virginia Peninsula. be-
tween the York and the James Riv-
ers, that is known as the Cradle of
the Republic The beginnings of
Williamsburg date back to 1923. but
| 1t was not until 1888 that a palisade
six miles in length was built connect.
ing small tributaries of the two rivers
and on the ridge close to the palisade
a settlement called Middle Plantation
| was made, later to be known as Will
llamsburg, in honor of King William.
The seat of. government of the col.
ony was then. and for more than half
a century thereafter, at jamestown,
but in 1899 the General Assembly di.
rected the building of a new capitol
| at Middle Plantation. setting aside
2S3 acres for a city, the main street
or which was named Duke of Glouces-
| ter street, in honor of Queen Anne's
eldest son. Middle Plantation. or
Williamsburg, remained the capital
| or the colony and State of Virginia
until 1880, when, through the inf1u-
ence OF Thomas Jefferson. newly
elected governor, the seat of govern
| ment was changed to Richmond.
Old Williamsburg.
Bearing in mind these dates and
the fact that Williamsburg is the
site Of the College of William and
| Mary. the Oldest institution of learn
| ing in the United States except
| Harvard, it's charter having been
granted by King William and Queen
| Mary In 1893, and you can start out
in the morning knowing that you
| will get a genuine treat at every
turn. You will view the site of the
| Colonial Capitol. first occupied in
17O6 and where Patrick Henry
offered his resolutions against the
| stamp act in the House of Burgesses
in 1865: the site of the first theater
In America, built in 1916; the Pow
der Horn, an octagonal brick dwell
ing erected in 1714 as a powder
magazine; the old colonial Jail: Bas-
sett Hail. the home of President John
| Tyler; the first printing office in
| Virginia: the Palace Green. a mar
| row park that in colonial days
| fronted the Royal Governors Palace,
a residence that was more than IL
| hundred years old at the time of the
| Revolution; the houses that were
occupied as headquarters by Wash
1ngton and by Lafayette: the college
| buildings, and Burton Parish Church.
built in 1715 on the foundations of
the former church that had been
erected in 1888. the oldest church in
America to have been used continu-
ously for religious services. This
church alone is we'll worth the trip
to Williamsburg.
| After lunch a side trip Of S
miles is made to Jamestown, where
the first permanent English settle
ment in America was made in 1907
and where the present day tourist can
but feel that he is treading hallowed
| ground. Then back to Williamsburg
and on to Yorktown, ii miles as the
road goes and half that as the crow
flies. There you are on the scene of
the final struggle between the armies
Of the Colonies and Great Britain. cul.
minating in Corvallis surrender,
|
or two Of sightseeing, you will dine
and spend the night.
First u. s. Customhouse.
There, among other things, you will
see the first customhouse built In
America in 1715, a hotel that Is but
10 years less ancient, a pre'Revolu.
tionary church. a house that was built
In 1919, and the Nelson house, which
| CORVALLIS seized and used as his
headquarters, and which today. with
it's magnificent gardens. is one of the
finest examples Of colonial archi-
lecture and landscaping in existence.
Another day and you take the ferry
across the York River to Gloucester
Point and then head up the Tidewater
Trail for Fredericksburg, pausing
briefly there for more sightseeing II
you are not satiated-and you Will
regret it If you are-and thence back
to Washington.
| You will have covered some 450
miles in distance and more than
three centuries of history, and you
will have had thrills that you can
never forget.