Governor’s Palace
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| Governor's Palace |
Andi: We got a guided tour and we saw a lot of cool things. Like the
parlor. Did you know it has 504 swords and guns? Then we went to the Governor’s
bedroom. Then we learned that the Governor’s wife had an entertaining room.
They had sisters. One of them would play the piano and the other would sing or
dance. Then we saw the guest bedroom. After that we saw the sisters’ bedroom.
Then we saw the ballroom. First, the Governor and his wife would dance from one
end of the room to the other. Two instruments would be playing. One was called
the chest organ and the other was called a harpsichord. The main color was blue
(German blue). Then we went to the summer room. It was a lime green. The people
ate there when they were getting hungry at the ball. Then we got outside and
went in the underground cellar.
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Front parlor showing some of the
504 swords and guns in the room |
Nick: In Colonial Williamsburg we went on a tour of the Governor’s
Palace. In the Governor’s Palace we saw the parlor which is the entrance hall.
It was decorated with 504 swords and guns hanging on the wall. Then we went and
saw the Governor’s bedroom. He had a queen size bed but it looked tiny because
the room was so big. Then we went into the guest room. It also had a queen bed
but it looked normal because the room was smaller. Then we went into the
bedroom for two of the sisters. They shared a room with their governess. She
slept in a small bed in the corner of the room. I don’t think I would like
sharing a room with two other people. Then we went into the ballroom. In the
ballroom there was an instrument called the harpsichord which is very similar
to a piano. There was also an instrument called the chest organ which is an
organ disguised to look like furniture. There were also some really cool
chandeliers and they looked like they were made out of crystal but they were
actually glass. That really surprised me because the Governor was really
wealthy. Then we went into the room that the people ate in while they were
doing the ball.
Governor’s Kitchen
Andi: Then we got to the kitchen. I thought it was the black smith.
Nick: In the kitchen we saw a bunch of meals that they cooked. One of
them was a soup that the chef said was real, but I picked up the pot and tipped
it a little and nothing moved.
Wheelwright
Andi: Then we went to the wheelwright. The people that worked there
were making a wheelbarrow.
Nick: The wheelwright is where they make wood carriages and
wheelbarrows and lots of other stuff. While we were in there they were making a
wheelbarrow. It was really fun to watch. They were making the bottom of the
wheelbarrow when we got in. There was a taken apart carriage in the room right
across from us. The main piece that runs down the middle was on a table.
Bruton Church
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Bruton Church with the
boxes for sitting in |
Andi: The sanctuary had doors. Two rows of seats in every little room.
The doors were to keep the heat in. They would bring heated blocks and they
would let people in and then close the doors. Also there were no kids until
they were 10. The pastor had to go up a spiral staircase to get to the pulpit.
Nick: It was the only church in Williamsburg. In that church, kids
under the age of ten didn’t go to church because they had to do chores. There
were little boxes that people would sit in. The walls were about three feet
high. They would bring heated bricks in and close the door and the walls would
keep the heat in. They did not have heating or air conditioning.
Tailor
Andi: He’s the one who makes whatever clothes you want. You can pick
whatever pattern, color, or buttons you want. They also send clothes to museums
around the world.
Nick: Then we went to the tailor. It is where all the clothes were made
and sold. There were about fifty bolts of fabric on the walls. There were tons
of colors and different kinds of fabrics. There were also lots of buttons that
looked really cool. They also made clothes for museums all over the world.
Shoemaker
Andi: He made all the shoes out of leather.
Nick: He made all the shoes entirely out of leather. It took him two
days to make one pair of shoes.
Weaver
Andi: They had a big loom. She was making fabric for people at the
store. She was using something called a shuttle. She would push it back and
forth. Then she would take one part of the loom and pound it. That was supposed
to keep the thread tight. Then we went over to where another girl was making
another curtain. It was a different pattern and had different colors.
Nick: They were making fabric on
huge looms. I don’t remember the names of the parts but there were four bars
with string wrapped around them. Then the person working the loom would push
pedals which would move the bars and that would put different patterns in the
fabric. Before all of that the person working the loom would push a block of
wood in between the fabric and it would have a string attached to it. The
string would go through the middle and the person working the loom would push
that string up to the rest of the fabric. When we were in there they had 18
yards of fabric.
Geddy House
Andi: That’s where Mr. Geddy lives. There were toys there. There was
also a weight and silver. I was weighing silver and Dad said “Stop!” I felt
sad.
Nick: Mr. Geddy and his family lived there. He also had a shop right
next to his house. In his shop he sold silver things. People would give him
silver coins and we would turn it into something cool for them. His bedroom was
connected to his shop so if someone robbed him he could catch them right away.
I also saw a bunch of old toys in the Geddy House. One of them is where you
have a sitck with a string attached to the stick. On the other end of the
string there was a wooden ball with a hold in it. You have to try to get the
ball stuck on the stick using one hand.
Geddy Foundry
Andi: That’s where Mr. Geddy made metal. We got to shave flakes off
spoons.
Nick: Then we went to the foundry which is where Mr. Geddy makes all of
his silver things. In the foundry, they were melting pewter which is a type of
metal. It melted and cooled so easily that right when he dumped the spoonful of
pewter on the table it hardened instantly. When he threw it in the pot, it
turned to liquid instantly. Some stuff he made were spoons, an axe blade, and a
fancy candle stick. Right after he made something he took it out of the mold
and then he had to file down the edges. We got to try filing down a spoon and
it was really easy.
Wigmaker
Andi: Then we went to making wigs. Also known as the Wig Maker. One
girl was telling us how to make wigs. One other girl was making a wig. They
made different hairs for different people. They had to get the size of the
scalp. The girl that I mentioned earlier was making curls on the wig and that’s
one of the hardest to make.
Nick: At the Wig Maker they would use human hair, yak hair, goat hair,
and horse hair. They made lots of different styles, like braids, curls, and
lots more. They could also put flowers and stuff in girls’ wigs. To make your
wig they had to make a wood model of your scalp to fit it right. We also go to
see someone putting curls in a wig. She would comb a section of hair then roll
it up and secure it with a bobby pin.
Printer
Andi: We saw the type set. That was the words covered in ink. We also
saw the press. That’s how they get the ink to really show up.
Nick: We went to the printer where they printed newspaper articles. They
had a bunch of sorts which are the little sticks with letters on one side. They
then put them in a typeset. Then they put the paper on the typeset and pressed
it down to get the ink on the paper. It was really neat to watch.
Silversmith
Andi: Then we went to the Silversmith. If you’ve seen a blacksmith,
except with silver. He hammered out the ingot to make pieces. An ingot is a
small bar of something and in this case silver. Also in rings or stuff he would
put colored glass in for some color.
Nick: They would take the money you paid and turn it into what you
wanted by melting it. They would also keep some for themselves. They would melt
your money which would be made out of silver into an ingot. They would hammer
the ingot into whatever you wanted, all by hand. On some pieces they would use
colored glass to color it.
Nick: Next we went to the Apothecary, which is where they keep all the
medicine. One of the types of medicine was Ipecac which is made from the root
of a plant. It makes you puke. They also put sugar candy in some medicine to
give it flavor.
Coffeehouse
Andi: They had tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. I got hot chocolate. It
was horrible.
Nick: This is where men would get drinks and talk about politics. We
got to try one drink and I chose hot chocolate. It had cayenne pepper in it and
it was awful even when I put a ton of sugar in it.
Capitol Building
Andi: We saw where the elected officials and the appointed people live.
The appointed people got a piece of paper from the king. The paper has 12
people on it.
Nick: It was divided into two parts. In one part, the elected officials
worked and in the other part the appointed officials which were chosen by the
king.
Jail
Nick: The toilets were just a wooden hole in the ground. There were
shackles in each cell. There was also a coffin in one. We also saw one nicer
cell with a bed for wealthy prisoners.
Gunsmith
Andi: We saw the gun being forged and rifled. And then we learned that
the boys shot guns at the age of 12.
Nick: We saw a barrel being forged and we also saw a barrel being
rifled. It was neat to watch. I learned that you got a gun when you were 12.
Instead of using wood they used coal.
After the Gunsmith I went back to the foundry. I saw the same stuff but I
got to bend a metal spoon.
Brickyard
Andi: Then we went to the brickyard. They made bricks out of wooden
molds.
