Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

We would like to celebrate the exceptional achievements and recent promotion of outstanding employees during the month of September 2024! They have demonstrated exceptional leadership and performance, and a strong commitment to our goals. Their commitment to excellence, hard work and dedication made them shining examples of our organization’s values and strategic priorities. Join us in congratulating this extraordinary group on their achievements! 👏

Join us for the 27th Annual "Working Wood in the 18th Century: To Furnish a Town: High, Low and In-Between" Conference, happening January 25 through 28, 2025! 🪑 From the finest chairs in the Governor’s Palace to humble stools in enslaved quarters, Williamsburg’s furniture tells a diverse story of taste, status, and ingenuity. This year’s conference brings together talented craftspeople, historians, and special guest presenters to explore 18th-century woodworking across all levels of society. Learn how expert hands shaped the furniture that defined the colonial era! There will also be special presentations on the Williamsburg Bray School restoration and explore how Williamsburg’s children—enslaved and free—experienced the full spectrum of 18th-century furnishings. Register now: https://bit.ly/4eUIWG2

Some years, you go back to school. And some years a school comes back to you. The Williamsburg Bray School marks the 89th original building to be preserved but its significance goes well beyond that. From 1760 to 1774, in a slaveholding colony, the Williamsburg Bray School educated as many as 400 Black children. Now, on November 1, we are commemorating the restoration and dedication of this historic site to probe the complicated story of race, religion, and education in Williamsburg and America. Learn more: https://bit.ly/48kc2Mk

It’s all hands on deck here at the site of the Williamsburg Bray School where members of several different departments, including the Building Trade, have come together to get this site ready for its' dedication ceremony on November 1. 🔨 Learn more about the involvement of our Historic Tradespeople in this restoration here: https://bit.ly/4feUjs2 #CWToday #News

Huzzah to Madeline from the University of Glasgow for finishing her summer internship in the Department of Conservation here at Colonial Williamsburg! 🔬 One of the items she treated contributed to our knowledge of the object and is currently on display in the McCarl Gallery of the Abbie Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in the exhibit: Art of the Quilter. https://lnkd.in/ebNNjYSk

Welcome home #Lafayette! 👋 Two hundred years ago, the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, visited Williamsburg as part of a 13-month tour of the United States. Now, America’s favorite fighting Frenchman has returned as part of his tour! Learn more about his tour here: https://lnkd.in/eubG34gC

A fascinating discovery has been made at the site of the original Williamsburg Bray School by Colonial Williamsburg archaeologists – but they can’t lift it out of the ground… 🌿 Our project archaeologist, Tamara Stulen, tells us more in the latest episode of #CWToday. Then read more about the work that continued work being done for the Bray School site, opening to the public on November 1: https://bit.ly/3BXv0fy #ArchaeologyMonth

October is #ArchaeologyMonth! Did you know that Colonial Williamsburg is the birthplace of historic archaeology? For almost 100 years, archaeologists have been uncovering artifacts used to provide insight into our past, to better inform our future. But our work isn’t done. To date, only 20% of our 300-acre campus has been uncovered. Stay tuned throughout the month as we share more about what the archaeology team is up to, updates on projects they are working on (like the Williamsburg Bray School opening in November and Custis Square), and more! Help us unveil more of the past’s many stories when you donate now: https://bit.ly/4eAJn8j

In September of 1760, the newly restored Williamsburg Bray School - the oldest extant structure dedicated to the education of enslaved and free Black children - opened to the public. Over 260 years later, we commemorate the reconstruction and opening of the historic Williamsburg Bray School site. Through our partnership with William & Mary’s Bray School Lab, the site will enable scholars and interpreters to probe the complicated story of race, religion and education in Williamsburg and America. 📍 The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 1, on the Lawn of the Art Museums. See full details here: https://bit.ly/3Y6ERs6

Celebrating 35 years of the Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute! 🎉📚 Since its inception, this program has empowered over 16,000 educators to bring history to life, impacting millions of students worldwide. In this edition of #CWToday, hear from Rebecca Val Buena, a dedicated alumna who first joined the Institute in the 90s, as she shares her experience. #TeacherInstitute #HistoryEducation