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Weavers at Work

Learn how flax, cotton, and wool are converted from tangled masses into orderly, precise fabrics.

Visit the silversmiths, wigmakers, bookbinders, public leatherworks, and more to explore the techniques and tools used in their trades.

Anderson Blacksmith Shop

The Revolutionary War wasn't won through battles alone. To keep pace with the might of British industry, Virginia desperately needed a new armoury. Watch our blacksmiths take red-hot iron from the fires of their forges and hammer it into a variety of tools, hardware, and weapons.

Brickyard

During the summer and spring, brickmakers mold and dry thousands of bricks. Help out by taking off your shoes and stomping clay with your bare feet! In the fall, see the bricks you helped create bake in a giant, wood-fired oven. As you tour the town, keep an eye out for masons using these bricks on a variety of projects.

Colonial Garden

Meet a historic gardener and handle the specialty tools used in the 18th century for planting and harvesting crops. Learn about the herbs and vegetables that were commonly grown for food and the flowers that ornamented the landscape.

Foodways

What did Williamsburg’s 18th-century residents eat — and how did they cook it? Check the Public Armoury to see these interpreters prepare authentic colonial dishes, using the equipment and recipes that fueled the colonists.

Weaver

When English imports were cut off by the Revolution, local weavers came forward to fill the need for everyday items. Watch how flax, cotton, and wool are converted from tangled masses into orderly, precise fabrics - ranging from simple linens for shirts and shifts to blankets, towels, dyed wool for needlework, and stout woolens for military uniforms.

Public Armoury

Witness the effort of diverse individuals to support the Revolutionary War at this industrial complex.

Governor's Palace Kitchen

What did Williamsburg’s 18th-century residents eat — and how did they cook it? Visit the Governor’s Palace Kitchen to meet our Historic Foodways interpreters and see them prepare authentic colonial dishes, using the equipment and recipes that fueled the colonists.

Carpenter's Yard

Carpentery was one of the most common trades in Williamsburg. Watch our experts use hand tools to transform trees into lumber, cut and raise heavy timber building frames, and enclose new structures with siding and roofing.

Joinery

Joiners were woodworkers who produced the finish work for buildings including doors, windows, shutters, fireplace surrounds, and built-in cupboards. Watch our experts use saws, planes, hammers, and other tools to fashion wood into the pieces of a future building.

Bindery

We might take books for granted today, but in colonial America only the rich could afford a large library. Binding books — especially fancy ones — was a specialized and time-consuming craft. Talk with a binder and learn the arts and mysteries of the trade.

Cooper

What are buckets, piggins, firkins, and hogsheads? Ask a cooper. Watch coopers transform flat boards into precisely shaped staves and join them — all by eye — into barrels of these oddly-named sizes.

Foundry

The Geddy family included gunsmiths, cutlers, founders, and silversmiths. On the site of their home and shop, watch founders cast and finish buckles, knobs, bells, spoons, and other objects in bronze, brass, pewter, and silver.

Public Leather Works

Workman at the Public Leather Works cut, mold, and stitch leather and heavy textiles into a variety of necessary products for Virginia's fighting men.

Milliner and Mantua-maker

Fancy yourself an 18th-century customer, shopping for boxes, drawers, and bundles full of the latest ornaments and accessories, called millinery. Consult with the mantua-maker about updating old gowns to bring them into the newest 18th-century fashion.

Cabinetmaker & Harpsichord Maker

Cabinetmakers made fashionable furniture like tables, chairs, desks, and chest of drawers. Watch expert woodworkers fashion the intricate details of luxury products with period hand tools. In the same workshop, visit the Harpsichord makers, specialized craftsmen who build stringed keyboard musical instruments that sound by quills plucking strings. See how woods, wire, and feathers come together for delightful music and beautiful workmanship.

Gunsmith Shop

See how our gunsmiths make rifles, pistols, and fowling pieces using the tools and techniques of their 18th-century predecessors and uniting many skills from forging iron to working wood.

Printing Office

In an age before TV, radio, and the internet, the printed word was the primary means of long-distance mass communication. Watch and learn as printers set type and use reproduction printing presses to manufacture colonial newspapers, political notices, pamphlets and books.

Apothecary

What was it like to be sick or injured in colonial times? Meet the apothecaries and learn how medicine, wellness, and surgical practices of the 18th century compare to today.

Wigmaker

Fashion was just as important in the 18th century as today - maybe even more so if you wanted to be part of the "in crowd". Routinely wearing a wig may seeem strange to us, especially for men, but it communicated the wearer's elegance, his station in society, and even his occupation to his fellow colonists. With the skill of a barber and hairdresser combined, our wigmakers fashion "perukes" of quality and distinction.

Tailor

Touch and feel the many different sorts of fabrics and garments that clothed colonial Americans, from elegant suits in the latest London styles to the sturdy uniforms of Revolutionary soldiers. Stay in the shop long enough, and you may be the next "customer" to be measured.

Tin Shop

Soldiers valued tinware for its durability, low cost, and light weight. To supply the army during the Revolution, Virginia's government established a tin shop to produce kettles, cups, plates, and other items. Stop by to see how our "tin men" snip, shape, and bend this flexible material.

Silversmith

Silver cups, teapots, and spoons were not just for show. They were a good way to "store" your assets. Skilled smiths transformed coins and outdated silverware into fashionable pieces for the dining room, parlour, and personal adornment. Drop in and see how our silversmiths turn ingots into works of art.

Wheelwright

Wheels kept things rolling in the 18th century - from carriages of the wealthy to farm wagons, ox carts, and cannons. Designed to meet the stresses of unpaved roads, wheels were feats of good engineering and careful craftsmanship. Come see how the wheelwright combines several different types of wood, iron tires and bands, and sophisticated construction to make their functional, but elegant wheels and vehicles.

Shoemaker

How were men's shoes made 250 years ago, before modern factories and assembly lines? Come meet some the last few shoemakers who work entirely by hand and watch them make everyday and fancy footwear.

Ludwell Paradise Stable

Historic Trades in the Ludwell-Paradise Stable! Join the Wheelwright on Sunday through Wednesday or the Farmer on Thursday through Saturday.

A Suit of Clothes For Puss

“I had been at work about two months when Christmas came on – and here I must relate a little anecdote. The principal and his lady were invited to a part among their friends and the other boy was permitted to go to his father’s to spend the holidays, when …

Head Over Heels

When Anne E. Bentley first saw the wig, she whispered in awe, “Is this it? My god! It’s gorgeous!”For more than 40 years, she’d worked with the artifacts at the Massachusetts Historical Society, including a deteriorating 18th-century bagwig, which had been stored in, of all things, a coconut. Now, in …

Not Your Typical Internship

As a fourth-year pharmacy student at Campbell University who enjoys participating in Revolutionary War living history events across the state of North Carolina, studying the history of pharmacy at Colonial Williamsburg seemed like the perfect fit for some out-of-classroom experience.

Preparing for Dye Days

Every month we, the Weavers, head out to our dye yard to experiment with various dye recipes, where we invite guests to see this process in action. But before you join us, here’s a little background on all of the work that goes into these monthly “Dye Days.”Our shop master, …

Brewing Beer, sharing Knowledge from England

Food historian Marc Meltonville brewed a batch of pale ale with our Historic Foodways staff in February.

Connecting to Past Makers

When I started my apprenticeship at the Anthony Hay Cabinet Shop in Colonial Williamsburg, I had already made dozens of pieces of furniture as a hobbyist hand-tool woodworker and small business owner. I was fairly well-versed in the tools and techniques that I use every day to construct furniture, but …

Imagining COVID-19 in the 18th-century

COVID-19 infection with its attendant morbidity and mortality dominates our current national discourse. Experts work around-the-clock to learn about this novel threat: its source, modes of transmission, contagiousness, clinical manifestations, pathology, mortality, and potential treatments. If we transport ourselves back to the 18th century, how would Williamsburg doctors like William …

“Is that fire real?” And Other Questions It’s Ok to Ask at Colonial Williamsburg

It’s part of our job as interpreters here at Colonial Williamsburg to answer questions from visitors. In fact, that’s probably the biggest part of our job (it’s quite literally why we are here). With over 300 acres, 40 historic sites and trades, and two art museums, there’s a lot to …

Buckle Up!

“This day I began to put on buckles to my shoes.” —Samuel Pepys, 22 January 1660One of the questions most frequently asked of us in the shoemaker’s shop is how our shoes are held closed. They have no laces and, of course, Velcro is out of the question. All that …

From Daub to Dough

If you’ve visited our Brickyard, you know that you can expect a variety of things to be happening. From treading clay, to molding bricks, to firing, something exciting is always happening and depending on what time of year it is, that something changes. This year something new worked its way …

New Lambs, New Wool

The spinners, weavers, and dyers are rejoicing the start of lambing season! The new lambs are spending their time napping, exploring their new surroundings, getting the zoomies and clicking their hooves, and taking lots of “snack” breaks. (Anyone else feel like they’re channeling their inner lamb while #wfh!?). I know …

What’s Your Favorite Tool?

Visitors to the Hay Cabinet Shop often ask us to name our favorite tool. On the face of it, this seems like an easy question; we do not need years of research to find an answer. However, it's a tough thing to choose a favorite among so many tools each …

How to Make a Glue Brush

Greetings from the Hay Shop – Home Edition! Like all of you, I'm working from my home shop at the moment, and finding time for some of the “I'll get to it later” projects that always seem to take the back burner to more pressing things. One of those for …

Nerves of Steel

Each tradesperson is familiar with a core set of ten or so questions that visitors to their shop ask all the time. However, on occasion there will be a handful of fresh inquiries that arrive at the shop’s entrance, and often, you can pinpoint the exact source of them. The …

Timber!

Carpentry was one of the many highlighted historic trades in Washington College’s recent Revolutionary Chesapeake program, offering participants the opportunity to engage with Colonial Williamsburg’s historic carpenters in discussions surrounding the theory and practice of their trade. Participants also received hands-on instruction in some of the many skills required of …

Counting Spoons

I am pretty sure you, like me, have been washing a lot of spoons recently! Staying at home and cooking more for yourself and your family will do that. And, if you’re like me, you hate doing dishes. All this is to say, we have some common ground when it …

The Wheelwright Shop’s Most Frequently Asked Questions

With thousands of visitors over the years, there are many questions we hear at the Wheelwright Shop. Allow us to answer four of the most frequently asked questions.

How Did You Get This Job?

Among the many things I’ve learned after one year on the job as an apprentice Wheelwright at Colonial Williamsburg, one is the ability to identify the expression on a guest’s face right before they’re about to ask the question, “How did you get this job?” My first clue that such …

Planting with Hope

There is a lot of hard work that must take place to grow crops. The soil must be properly prepared and the seeds planted. This is straight forward stuff - diligent labor gets the work done. 18th-century planter Richard Corbin explained this in a letter to James Semple as “The …

Making Mistakes and More: 5 Elements of an Apprenticeship

New apprentices are key to continuing the preservation of 18th-century trades at Colonial Williamsburg. At the Deane Shop, we focus on the production of wheeled vehicles. But when I began working in the Wheelwright shop, where did I really begin? I’m apprentice Joel Morris and here are five things an …

Freedom of the Press in the eyes of the Founding Fathers

The founding fathers’ understanding of a free press has a long history and is one that we inherited under English law, but that doesn’t mean that England always had a free press.Starting in the year 1534 England, wrote into its laws what would become known as the Licensing Laws. These …

How We Know What We Know About Milliner Margaret Hunter

Have you ever wondered how Colonial Williamsburg interpreters know what we know? How do we know, for example, what furniture to put in the Governor’s Palace? How do we know how much it cost to buy a meal in a tavern? How do we know that Peyton Randolph owned 27 …

Laying out the Garden

Evelyn’s sentiment evokes the same feelings in gardeners today, especially for this gardener. Time spent in the garden, even though it is labor, imparts a sense of accomplishment and peace of mind. Gardening is a healthful hobby for the whole family, provides fresh food for our table, and in uncertain …

How to appear knowledgeable about Virginia Architecture

We know that folks come to Colonial Williamsburg to see the Fife and Drum Corps, check out the adorable lambs, and make idle small talk with the landed gentry over dishes of coffee, but secretly, you're all here to see the architecture, right? The public buildings of colonial Virginia were …

How Much Clothing Did an 18th-Century Woman Really Own?

It’s undeniably the question we get asked more often than any other in the millinery shop: how much clothing did the “average” woman have in the 18th century? On the surface, it seems like it should be an easy inquiry to answer, but its complexities might surprise you.One of the …

Cutting to the Chase

Getting new clothing in the 18th century was much more of a participatory process than it is today. Mantua-makers — dressmakers — used a process called “cutting to the body” to create most fitted clothing for women. Before mass-produced clothing, standardized sizing, or commercial patterns existed, fitted garments were made …

Whisking Away

As the Master of Historic Foodways department, I have been cooking in the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area kitchens for 27 years and have used a lot of different cooking utensils. Sometimes 18th-century kitchen equipment works just as well as — and sometimes better than — modern devices. One of my …

Five Things You Should Know About 18th-Century Medical History

Eighteenth-century professional medicine was heavily influenced by the science of the Enlightenment. While superstitious beliefs were not promoted in the professional textbooks, practitioners occasionally mention details when they encountered them.In 1735, John Atkins comments about fetishes in his book, “A Voyage to Guinea, Brasil, and the West-Indies.” He notes that …

Missing the Forest for the Trees

Guests at the Joinery love to ask how my coworkers and I became 18th-century woodworkers. It’s a fair question; our job is certainly unusual, and I would be lying if I said that my guidance counselor suggested “historic woodworking” to me as a career opportunity. I can’t speak for my …

Compounding Conserve of Mint

Conserves are one of the varied forms of medicine compounded by 18th-century apothecaries. They are plant matter ground with sugar. Conserve of mint, one such medicine, was prescribed to settle the stomach and stop vomiting.

Compounding Chalk Decoction

Eighteenth-century apothecary apprentices compounded many different forms of medicine during their training. As a present-day apothecary assistant learning the trade, I do the same using 18th-century formulas and techniques. Today I am making a “decoction,” a form of medicine in which matter is boiled in water.

Compounding Tincture of Cinnamon

Eighteenth-century apothecary apprentices compounded many different forms of medicine during their training.

Compounding Simple Bitter Infusion

Eighteenth century apothecary apprentices compounded many different forms of medicine during their training. As Apothecary Assistant learning the trade I do the same, using 18th-century formulas and techniques. Today I am making an “infusion.”

Compounding Vinegar of Roses

Eighteenth-century apothecary apprentices compounded many different forms of medicine during their training. As Apothecary Assistant learning the trade, I do the same, using period formulas and techniques. Recently, I made Acetum Rosatum, or Vinegar of Roses.This medicine is compounded from just two ingredients: vinegar and red rose petals. Vinegar of …

Educational Conferences Go Virtual

For the last several decades, we have welcomed hundreds of people throughout the year to join us here in Colonial Williamsburg for educational conferences focusing on 18th century woodworking, antiques, gardening, and a host of other subjects. Each conference is as unique in its topic as its attendees, and many …

Poisons, Potions and Panaceas

As a volunteer costumed interpreter in the Pasteur-Galt Apothecary, I speak with many guests who want to discuss the plant-based remedies in the popular STARZ series “Outlander.” Claire Randall, a physician schooled in 1960s America, who time-travels to 18th-century Scotland and then to 18th-century North Carolina, utilizes multiple products that …

Call it Macaroni

Today the only macaroni we are likely to think about is that cheesy delight: macaroni and cheese. But the name of this delicious comfort food has a surprising association with fashion and cultural history of the 18th century. Recall that famous tune Yankee Doodle Dandy. Ever wonder why he stuck …

The Bird Fancyer’s Delight

Teaching birds to sing was part of a much larger culture that was born out of travel to the New World. The 18th century saw a great increase in international travel and commerce. New World explorers discovered wondrous new species of plants and animals, and this sparked many natural history …

Tobacco: My View From Under the Sun

I remember the moment that the picture above was taken at Great Hopes Plantation over ten years ago. My head seemed a bit warm under my broad-brimmed straw hat on this fine clear day as sweat dripped off my nose onto the tobacco leaves, but I and my fellow historic …

Provisioning the Fleet to Fight Contagion and Maintain the Health of the Crew

Eighteenth-century theories about the causes of disease, transmission, and prevention were based on the science of the time. Doctors were influenced by the Enlightenment and used observation, experience, and logical analysis to create methods to deal with disease and prevention.Dr. Gilbert Blane [1749-1834], wrote a series of books advising ship’s …

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