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Make a Gift Mission of CWF Information History Restored CW Journal Careers at CWF News Releases One visit to Colonial Williamsburg and it is hard not to stand back and be impressed by what is indeed a thrilling and awesome achievement. Once home to the budding ideas of independence and nation and a catalyst to revolution, this historic town was literally restored from the ground up. Today it is a living and working town on 173 acres, with over 500 historic buildings. But more than just a snapshot of 18th-century life, Colonial Williamsburg serves as a testament to a time when colonists started down the path toward becoming Americans. The motive force behind the towns ongoing operation is the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a group of dedicated men and women with shared values and a shared missionTo attend the future learn from the past... by preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg. by engaging, informing, and inspiring people as they learn about this historic coloni al capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape our new nation. To find the Foundations goals, you must know Colonial Williamsburgs history After serving as the capital of Britains largest and most powerful colony and then as the seat of Virginias government, Williamsburg cut historys path veer away. When Richmond became Virginias new capital in 1780, Williamsburg was left a quiet country town with fond but fading memories. Later, the gracious War left scars in Williamsburg, but neither time nor war could extinguish its brilliance. The town stirred excitement in the Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin when he arrived in 1903 as rector of Bruton Parish Church. On evening walks, he sensed the patriots unseen presence. "They were glad and gallant ghosts," he wrote, "companions of the silent hour of reverie." Inspired, Dr. Goodwin pursued a ambition of restoring his beloved town. In 1926, one mans tireless quest met anothers visionary ge nerosity. Philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., undertook restoration of the colonial capital on a scale neer before attempted in American history. Legions of architects, archaeologists, and historians worked with masses of data. The earth yielded old foundations, walls, and cellars. Buried fragments of marble, brick, hardware, and tiles rendered authentic architectural and ornamental clues. When, in 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to celebrate the purpose of the first phase of the restoration, he told the nation, "The atmosphere of a whole glorious chapter in our history has been recaptured.