Ornamental Separator

Because of You

At The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, we simultaneously look back and look ahead to ensure that our work is authentic, relevant and at the forefront of the American experience. Because of you, we are curating and sharing our understanding of the nation’s revolutionary beginning and continuing our pursuit of a more perfect union.

Your generosity advances our preservation, education and civic engagement ambitions by:

  • Ensuring our research is extensive, our interpretation and performances are world-class, and our stories reach and inspire all, not just a select few.
  • Conserving and uncovering Colonial Williamsburg’s precious and vast resources, which provides the backbone of our educational mission.
  • Informing and engaging guests onsite and digitally through citizenship and the still evolving legacy of the American experiment.
Give Now

*please scroll over image for more

Public Armoury

James Anderson’s Blacksmith Shop and Public Armoury is a reconstruction of an industrial site that provided supplies and services for Virginia’s Revolutionary War efforts. Consisting of a blacksmith shop and tin shop augmented by other trades throughout the year, the rebuilt complex on Duke of Gloucester Street opened in 2013. Here tradespeople demonstrate the techniques that fueled colonial troops’ needs for weapons, tools, wares and food.

“Each year new discoveries underline the continuous opportunity we have to expand the human stories we tell through site interpretation and programming and your support makes that opportunity a reality.”

—Beth Kelly
The Royce R. And Kathryn M. Baker vice President of Education, Research and Historical Interpretation

“Donor support has really helped the Rare Breeds program. Because of your generosity Colonial Williamsburg has become North America’s largest breeder of the rare Cleveland Bay.”

—Undra Jeter
The Bill and Jean Lane Director of Coach & Livestock

“Thank you for your support, generosity and commitment to preserving and sharing our nation’s complex, tragic, paradoxical, fascinating, inspiring, impactful and relevant history.”

—Katrinah Carol Lewis
Artistic Director, Actor/Interpreter

“My work would not be as rich, my resources not as complete without donor funding. Portraying someone as complex and contradictory as Ann Wager means that donor giving is vital.”

—Nicole Brown
Nation Builder, Ann Wager

“Their support not only funds our work but motivates and inspires us to constantly push our research and work to better preserve and understand this amazing piece of American history. ”

—Matt Webster
Director of Historic Preservation

“The generous assistance of donors enables me and my team to continue research that expands our understanding of the past, contextualizes our present, and provides guidance for our future.”

—Peter Inker Ph.D.
Theresa A. & Lawrence C. Salameno Director of Historical Research and Digital History




Further reading

Public Armoury

Armoury Cam

Anderson Blacksmith Shop

Tin Shop

Shoemaker

Wheelwright

Trades Secrets

A Battalion of Skills

Watch Videos

Trades Tuesdays

Learn More

Give Now