Mr. Rockefeller's Village at 100: Reflections on the First Century of Colonial Williamsburg

Abstract

John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s restoration of Williamsburg, Virginia to its appearance in the eighteenth century was a major undertaking that promoted the values and ideals of democracy and representative government. Colonial Williamsburg is now one hundred years old, and it has set the standard for much of the work done in historical preservation and restoration done during that time. For the first time, a major benefactor sought to devote significant resources to promoting the architecture and cultural and political beliefs of the eighteenth century. Over the years, Colonial Williamsburg has changed from being a shrine to American values to a social history museum, dedicated to a broader understanding of life in the eighteenth-century capital of Virginia. This broader interpretation, which now includes women, African Americans, Native Americans and laborers, provides a more complete picture of life in the 1700s. Even with this new interpretation, Colonial Williamsburg still retains many aspects of its previous incarnation, and this previous interpretation inevitably shapes its presentation today.