In 1638, the town of Williamsburg, Virginia, which was named after King William III of England, was founded. In 1699, Williamsburg became the capital of the Virginia Colony. Towards the end of the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson convinced the newly independent Virginia to move the capital further inland to Richmond.
After the Capital moved to Richmond, the town Williamsburg served as a college town for William & Mary College.
In 1926, Reverend W.A.R. Goodwin convinced John D. Rockefeller to finance the reconstruction of the town of Williamsburg in an 18th century style.
In 1936, a documentary on the Williamsburg, the only town at the time that was featured in a 17th century style, was created.
Author’s Note:
As a teenager Mason and Inge Newkirk, the grandparents of author Philip Andrew Hamilton, took him to visit Colonial Williamsburg.
Hamilton Historical Records 