Colonial Williamsburg (Feb 26 and 27)

Governor’s Palace

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.

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 

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.

Apothecary

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.