When Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, he left behind one of the most celebrated homes in America. Perched atop a small mountain outside Charlottesville, Monticello stood as a physical expression of Jefferson’s intellect and imagination. Inspired by classical architecture and the ideals of the Enlightenment, the house represented his lifelong interests in design, agriculture, science, and innovation.
Yet Jefferson also died deeply in debt.
Years of lavish building projects, extensive book purchases, and declining agricultural profits left his estate financially burdened. His beloved Monticello, which he had spent more than forty years designing and redesigning, could not remain in family hands. Jefferson’s daughter Martha and other heirs faced an agonizing reality: they lacked the resources to preserve the estate that symbolized their father’s life and accomplishments.
In 1827, Monticello and much of its contents and more than 100 enslaved men and women were sold at public auction. Furniture, books, scientific instruments, and household objects were scattered. (Can you imagine being at that auction?) Jefferson’s vast library had already been sold to Congress years earlier after the Burning of Washington, but now many of the remaining possessions were dispersed as well.
The house itself passed through several owners and gradually deteriorated. Roof leaks, neglect, and financial uncertainty threatened the survival of one of the nation’s most important landmarks. By the early 1830s, the future of Monticello looked bleak.
Its rescue came from an unexpected and deeply devoted admirer.
Uriah P. Levy and Jefferson’s Ideals
In 1834, Uriah P. Levy purchased Monticello for $2,700.
Uriah Levy, painting in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, in the public domain
Levy was a remarkable, yet mostly unknown, figure in American history. Born in 1792 to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, he became the first Jewish commodore in the United States Navy. Throughout his career, he faced discrimination because of his faith, yet rose through perseverance and talent.
Levy admired Jefferson above all other American statesmen, not primarily for his presidency, but for his authorship of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The statute established the principle that government should neither impose religion nor discriminate based on religious belief. To Levy, living in an era when antisemitism remained common, Jefferson’s defense of religious liberty held profound personal significance.
Purchasing Monticello was an act of patriotism and gratitude.
Levy described the estate as “a shrine” to Jefferson’s ideals and undertook substantial repairs. He stabilized the structure, furnished rooms, and went to great lengths to restore the house to its former glory. He put in working order the seven-day clock that had been made to Jefferson’s specifications in 1793, and also restored the body of a two-wheel carriage that tradition, if not fact, claims to be the one Jefferson rode to Philadelphia in 1775 for the Continental Congress. He protected the property from further decline. At a time when historic preservation was almost unknown in the United States, Levy recognized that Monticello deserved to be saved for future generations.
Civil War and Family Disputes
When Uriah Levy died in 1862, Monticello became entangled in a lengthy legal dispute among his heirs. The conflict lasted for years and coincided with the turmoil of the American Civil War.
During this period, maintenance suffered and the house again declined. Paint peeled, structural problems worsened, and the estate’s future once more became uncertain.
Fortunately, another member of the Levy family stepped forward.
One of the earliest photographs of the East Front of Monticello, taken in the late 1860s by William Roads, which documents the house and landscape during the post-American Civil War period. From Peggy Cornett’s post, Monticello Farm and Garden
Jefferson Monroe Levy Restores Monticello
Jefferson Monroe Levy, Uriah Levy’s nephew (No, I did not make up that name), acquired sole ownership in 1879. His very name reflected the family’s reverence for Jefferson.
Jefferson Monroe Levy was a successful businessman, attorney, and later a congressman from New York. Recognizing Monticello’s historic importance, he invested a substantial portion of his personal fortune to restore and maintain the property.
Jefferson Monroe Levy
He repaired roofs and foundations, restored interiors, landscaped the grounds, and purchased adjoining acreage to protect the mountain setting. He also welcomed visitors, allowing Americans to experience Jefferson’s home decades before it became a formal museum.
Although some critics argued that the federal government should own Monticello, Jefferson Monroe Levy resisted repeated efforts to force a sale. Without his financial commitment and determination, the house might not have survived intact into the twentieth century.
This photo, from the Levy-era of Monticello, shows a different arrangement of the space. Today, using documentary evidence, we display objects and furniture just as Jefferson would have arranged them, highlighting artifacts from American natural history, Western civilization, and American Indian cultures. Native American artifacts currently displayed in Monticello.
The newly formed nonprofit transformed the estate into a museum and educational institution dedicated to preserving Jefferson’s home and legacy. Since then, the foundation has conducted extensive architectural research, archaeological excavations, and conservation work to restore the house as accurately as possible.
Today, Monticello is recognized as one of America’s most significant historic sites and a popular tourist attraction. In 1987, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an honor shared by only a handful of places in the United States.
Modern interpretation at Monticello continues to evolve. In addition to highlighting Jefferson’s achievements as author of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the University of Virginia, the site now places strong emphasis on the lives of the more than 600 enslaved men, women, and children who lived and worked there over Jefferson’s lifetime.
Restored spaces such as Mulberry Row, reconstructed workshops, and ongoing archaeological discoveries provide visitors with a broader and more honest understanding of the plantation and the people who sustained it.
This is what the mountaintop looked like in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. From TJMonticello
A Legacy Preserved
Monticello survives today because of extraordinary devotion across generations. Jefferson created the house, but the Levy family ensured that it endured.
Uriah P. Levy saw in Jefferson a champion of religious freedom and acted to save his home when few others cared. Jefferson Monroe Levy devoted decades and significant personal resources to restoring and protecting the estate. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation then carried that mission into the modern era.
Thanks to all their efforts, Monticello remains far more than a beautiful mansion. It is a place where visitors can explore the achievements, contradictions, ideals, and complexities that shaped the American story.
Bylandersea America 250: Exploring the Road to Revolution
Standing on the mountaintop at Monticello, I understood immediately why Thomas Jefferson chose this spot. The rolling Virginia countryside stretches endlessly in every direction, a patchwork of greens and soft blue ridgelines fading into the distance. It is peaceful, almost dreamlike. And yet, like so much of early American history, the story behind this place is far more complex than the view suggests.
Jefferson called his home Monticello, meaning “little mountain,” and he spent more than forty years designing, redesigning, and perfecting it. He worked to make the house feel like a reflection of his mind, elegant, inventive, and filled with ideas drawn from the Enlightenment and his time in Europe. Nothing here is accidental. Hidden alcoves, revolving doors, skylights, and clever mechanical devices reveal a man fascinated with innovation and order.
Walking through the rooms, I was struck by how personal it all feels. This is not a grand palace built to impress. It is a working home, filled with books, maps, scientific instruments, and artifacts that speak to Jefferson’s curiosity about the world. He was a statesman, author of the Declaration of Independence, and a champion of liberty. He also served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809, guiding the young nation through the Louisiana Purchase and an era of expansion that would shape America’s future.
But Jefferson was also a farmer, architect, inventor, and lifelong student, but a man who did not live on par with his ideals.
He was born into privilege. He inherited land and enslaved people from his father, and from the beginning of his life, he was surrounded by the system that would sustain his lifestyle. That reality shaped Monticello in ways that cannot be ignored.
As the main house rose slowly on the mountaintop, Jefferson and his young wife, Martha, spent their early married life in a smaller structure on the property. The couple honeymooned there, in what is known as the South Pavilion, living for nearly a year in that modest space while the grand vision for Monticello was still taking shape. It is a quieter, more intimate chapter of the story, one that contrasts sharply with the scale and ambition of the finished estate.
Because Monticello was not just a home. It was also a working plantation.
More than 400 enslaved men, women, and children lived and worked here during Jefferson’s lifetime. Their labor made Monticello possible, from the construction of the house to the cultivation of the land. Today, the site does not shy away from that truth. In fact, it confronts it directly.
As I walked along Mulberry Row, once the center of plantation life, I tried to imagine the lives that unfolded here. Workshops, kitchens, and living quarters lined this stretch, where enslaved artisans, blacksmiths, and laborers carried out the daily work that sustained Jefferson’s world. It is a sobering contrast to the beauty of the mountaintop and the elegance of the house above.
One name, in particular, lingers in the story of Monticello: Sally Hemings.
Hemings was an enslaved woman who lived here and is now widely understood, through both historical documentation and DNA evidence, to have had a long relationship with Jefferson. She was the mother of several of his children. This reality adds another layer of complexity to Jefferson’s legacy, one that challenges the ideals he so eloquently expressed about freedom and equality.
Today, Monticello continues to expand the story beyond Jefferson himself. Descendants of both Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings are now recognized, and through efforts such as the Getting Word project, many have traced their family histories back to this place. From time to time, descendants gather at Monticello, a powerful reminder that this is not only a historic site, but a living story still unfolding across generations.
It is impossible to stand at Monticello and not wrestle with these contradictions.
Interior of one of the cabins used by the enslaved workers.
Jefferson wrote that “all men are created equal,” yet he owned human beings. He envisioned a nation founded on liberty, yet lived a life dependent on slavery. These are not easy truths, but they are essential ones. Monticello invites visitors not just to admire Jefferson, but to examine him and, by extension, the nation he helped create.
And then, in a moment I did not expect, history felt less distant.
Years ago in Colonial Williamsburg, I had encountered Thomas Jefferson through the remarkable portrayal of Bill Barker, one of the most respected historical interpreters in the country. But here at Monticello, Jefferson’s own home, I had the chance to meet and speak with him again. Barker does not simply wear the costume. He answers questions in Jefferson’s voice, drawing from letters, writings, and recorded thoughts.
Thomas Jefferson and I, aka Bill Barker, at Monticello.
Standing beside him for a photograph, I found myself momentarily suspended between centuries. Behind us was Monticello, the house Jefferson designed with such care. In front of me stood a man who brought Jefferson’s words and ideas back to life. It was not just a performance. It was a conversation with history, one that made the contradictions of Jefferson’s life feel even more real and immediate.
Beyond the house, I wandered to the Monticello graveyard, a quiet and shaded place where Jefferson is buried. His grave marker is simple, inscribed with the achievements he chose to be remembered for: author of the Declaration of Independence, author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia. Notably absent is any mention of his presidency.
It was a revealing choice.
Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. In a remarkable twist of history, his friend and sometimes rival John Adams died on that very same day. Their lives, so intertwined in shaping a new nation, came to a close within hours of one another, as if marking the end of an era.
Yet for all his accomplishments, Jefferson’s final years were marked by financial hardship. Despite his status and influence, he died deeply in debt. Monticello itself was eventually sold, a reminder that even the architects of a nation were not immune to personal struggle.
Jefferson loved books. He sold his collection to the Library of Congress to raise much-needed funds, but then repurchased many copies from England to replace them.
Nearby, generations of his family are also laid to rest, their lives intertwined with the land and with the complicated legacy that Monticello represents.
As I left Monticello, I found myself thinking about how we remember the past. It is tempting to simplify history, to cast figures like Jefferson as either heroes or villains, to idolize or demonize. But Monticello resists that kind of easy storytelling. Instead, it offers something more honest.
It tells a story of brilliance and contradiction. Of vision and hypocrisy. Of a nation and a man striving toward ideals it did not yet fully live up to.
And for me, it also became something more personal. Not just a place to observe history, but a place where, for a brief moment, I felt I had stepped inside it.
And perhaps that is why visiting Monticello feels so important, especially as we approach America’s 250th anniversary.
This is not just a place to admire architecture or enjoy a scenic view. It is a place to listen, to question, and to learn. It reminds us that history is not fixed or distant. It is layered, evolving, and still shaping who we are today.
Monticello, like the man who built it, is beautiful, complicated, contradictory, and unforgettable.
My next post will focus on the history of the house, as it was sold by Jefferson’s dependents to pay his debts. It’s a fascinating story of rescue and restoration. Stayed tuned.
Colonial Williamsburg offers an immersive and meticulously researched window into life in early America. I have returned many times over the years, and each visit deepens my affection for this extraordinary place. I am delighted to share my Colonial Williamsburg travel guide with you and hope it inspires your own journey.
Colonial Williamsburg is the nation’s oldest and largest living history experience, and it remains close to my heart. There are moments when I feel as if I truly belong on Duke of Gloucester Street, moving through the city as it once stood when Williamsburg served as Virginia’s 18th century capital.
A mile-long historic corridor stretches from the 1693 Wren Building at the College of William & Mary to the reconstructed Capitol. This remarkable “Revolutionary City” encompasses 301 acres, including 88 original structuresand hundreds of carefully reconstructed houses, shops, public buildings, and gardens. Skilled tradespeople and costumed interpreters animate the streets, while ongoing research, archaeological digs, and restoration projects ensure the site is constantly evolving.
Visitors wander along car-free lanes or ride by horse-drawn carriage, pausing to watch artisans at their benches and merchants behind shop counters. The craftsmen truly practice their trades—producing goods for sale and items needed throughout Colonial Williamsburg. Guests also encounter the Nation Builders, actor-interpreters who portray influential figures from the city’s past.
These individuals represent real men and women—black and white, free and enslaved—whose lives shaped Williamsburg and the larger story of America. Many Nation Builders devote years to studying their historical counterparts, developing a deep understanding of their voices, choices, and experiences. Ask a question, and they reply in character, sometimes using documented quotations.
The chance to grasp our nation’s early struggles from the fight to break from British rule and the parallel struggle of those held in bondage—offers a powerful reason to visit. History may whisper in many places, but in Colonial Williamsburg, it speaks with clarity and conviction.
However, the destination offers far more than history. Colonial Williamsburg also makes an ideal girlfriend getaway, family vacation, romantic escape (after all, Virginia is for Lovers), and Baby Boomer retreat. Visitors discover a city with fine dining, world-class museums, resort-style lodging, heritage gardens, championship golf, soothing spas, and charming antique shops—plus plenty of walking for those who enjoy exploring on foot.
Add nearby Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown, along with modern attractions like Busch Gardens, and you have a destination that truly offers something for everyone.
Before you go: Planning your Colonial Williamsburg itinerary
Be sure to check out any special events happening during your visit—they abound most seasons.
Save time by purchasing your tickets and making dining reservations online. Also, Viator offers a wide assortment of tours and experiences.
Plan for a minimum of two days for a Williamsburg visit.
While roads circle the historic district, the streets inside the tourist area are closed to traffic. Begin at the Visitor Information Center, where parking is plentiful. You can use the hop-on/hop-off shuttle buses to traverse the perimeter of the historic city, offering multiple stops.
Teens and adults should not miss the introductory movie, Story of a Patriot. Yes, it was filmed in 1957 but restored beautifully. Where else can you catch a view of Jack Lord before his Hawaii Five-O days?
Guide to Colonial Williamsburg: the must-see historical buildings
While there is no right or wrong way to visit Williamsburg, the Capitol building offers an ideal starting point for your Colonial Williamsburg walking tour. What happened within its walls shall we say, brewed discussions leading to discontent, the Revolutionary War, and the eventual formation of the independent United States.
The original Capitol, completed in 1705, functioned as a two-story H-shaped structure, connecting two buildings by an arcade. Each wing served one of the two houses of the Virginia legislature, the Council and the House of Burgesses.
The building burned in January 1747, and a second built on the same site suffered the same fate.
Today’s replica Capitol, on the same foundations and per the same plans, became one of the first sites to open in February 1934. Guided tours start in the General Courtroom, the highest judicial court in the colony.
The bay features stunning woodwork and round windows. In the House of Burgesses, you can see the original 1735 Speaker’s chair. Council and Conference Rooms occupy the second floor.
Before gaining independence, British royal rule in Virginia came locally– a royal governor. A grand brick structure, irreverently nicknamed “the Palace” by colonial subjects, was built in 1714.
The overall design sought to impress visitors with a display of authority and wealth, and it does indeed. The Governor’s Palace became the home to seven royal governors until the last one fled.
Following the Revolutionary War, the structure acted as the executive mansion for the first two elected governors in Virginia— Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. In 1780, the capital of Virginia moved to Richmond.
The main building succumbed to fire in 1781 while in use as a hospital for the American wounded at the Siege of Yorktown.
A tour of the Palace, reconstructed in the early 1930s, takes you through the front door into an entrance hall. You’ll find it lined with an ornate display of swords and muskets. (Many European castles and mansions feature similar presentations.)
The first floor also includes a parlor, dining room, and an office. A grand supper room and ballroom were added to the rear. Their bright blue and vibrant green paint surprises many visitors. According to Kim Ivey, a CW curator, “Every single item installed was done so for a well-documented reason.”
The tour exits into the lavish formal gardens that invite leisurely strolls. The plots incorporate clipped hedges, rectangular parterres, and garden species used in the early eighteenth century.
Stunningly beautiful tulips fill the gardens in the springtime. Other highlights include a tree-shrouded tunnel walkway and boxwood maze that kids (and I) adore. Don’t miss it!
Some 90-acres and 25 smaller gardens remain open to the public around town.
Bruton Parish Church and Graveyard
Burton Parish Church at night. Photo by Debi Lander.
The steepled Bruton Parish Church was designed by Royal Governor Spotswood and completed in 1715. In 1907, this original building became the first structure to undergo restoration.
Rev. Goodwin used this example to convince John D Rockefeller, Jr. to commit funds to bring back the historical city. The big dreams of these two men helped spark the restoration movement around the world.
The Bruton Parish Church and graveyard both invite explorations. Two of Martha Washington’s children rest there.
If possible, attend one of the evening candlelight harpsichord and organ concerts in the sanctuary. It’s hard to describe the lost-in-time feeling that period instruments, candlelight, old pews (maybe a seat George once occupied) create.
The Raleigh is open for tours, not like several others serving today’s guests with period dining, drinking, and music. Learn how the building functioned as an important social meeting place and a tavern for drinking, debate, and lodging.
One room contains a billiard table dating to 1738. Outback lies a large kitchen.
In the summer of 1956, I was a young girl visiting Colonial Williamsburg with my family for the first time. We finished a tour in the Raleigh Tavern when the clouds burst open. We scurried into the rear kitchen building, cramming in with many others.
A delightful aroma of gingerbread baking in the beehive oven surrounded us. The scent became irresistibly enticing, and everyone bought cookies handed over in brown paper sacks.
My cookie was so yummy the memory and smell still linger in my brain. Make sure to buy one or make your own using the recipe in this blog post: Williamsburg Gingerbread Cookies.
You will walk back and forth along the lengthy street packed with homes, taverns, craftsmen, and merchant shops. Look for colorful signs hanging outside that denote the type of craft.
Stop into the 1770 Courthouse and the Powder Magazine, where the town’s artillery was stored. If you haven’t read my story on the Gunpowder Incident in 1775, please find it here. Peruse the outdoor Market Square, perhaps buying a tri-corner hat or sunbonnet.
Turn off the main route onto the Palace Green lined with catalpa trees. It remains one of my favorite places to sit, rest, and contemplate the people who lived here in the past.
If time permits and your legs aren’t too weary, join a guided tour inside the nearby Peyton Randolph House or the brick home of lawyer George Wythe.
A nighttime stroll becomes one of the loveliest ways to absorb the atmosphere along Duke of Gloucester. Lanterns light the way while candlelight glow seeps from house and tavern windows.
If you’re an early riser, meander Duke of Gloucester before it comes alive for the day. The setting evokes a marvelous sleepy feel, especially when foggy. Or consider joining the college students and fitness enthusiasts jogging the mile-long stretch.
The Wren Building at the College of William & Mary
Most first-time visitors don’t get around to touring the Wren Building on the campus of William & Mary. It ranks as the oldest college building in the United States, built between 1695 and 1699, even before Williamsburg’s founding. The college itself was chartered in February 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II.
At least take a sightseeing drive around the beautiful 1,200-acre campus. The grounds incorporate ponds, bridges, and sunken formal gardens, especially enchanting in spring.
The college’s modern Muscarelle Museum of Art, with 4,000 works, might also be of interest.
Craft Houses/Demonstrations
The craftsmen working their trades fascinate all visitors, young and old. They use 18th-century tools and techniques to apprentice in — and eventually master —woodworking, gunsmithing, or basket weaving, to name a few.
These world-renowned experts make goods for sale or for use by other institutions around the world. They welcome questions.
Children are drawn to the blacksmith, shoemaker, milliner (hat maker), and brickyard. When possible, kids can even create a brick. Did you know the bricks and nails used for Williamsburg reconstructions were handmade there, just like the originals?
Most tourists don’t understand the research behind the authenticity of this destination, rarely found elsewhere. Colonial Williamsburg presents the accurate location and design of homes and buildings where our forefathers lived and worked.
Leave the Wiliamsburg museums for a second day, but explore the expanded joint venture: the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. See colorful and whimsical collections of toys, portraits, weathervanes, and much more in the Folk Art Museum. I could spend hours in these.
Take time to appreciate the beautifully crafted furniture, musical instruments, home goods, textiles, and artworks in the DeWitt Wallace. Don’t miss the famous Charles Wilson Peale portrait of George Washington. The site includes a fantastic gift shop and convenient café.
Anticipating Williamsburg? Turn those plans into reality!
Lodging: Enjoy a charming stay in Williamsburg with Booking.com. Choose from historic inns to modern hotels that reflect the area’s rich colonial history. It costs a bit more to stay in the historic district, but being able to wslk to everything becomes a big plus.
Entertainment: Step back in time with Viator in Williamsburg! Explore reenactments and historical sites that bring American history to life in this iconic colonial town.
Although the food served in the taverns traces back to similar fare cooked by colonists, the preparation takes place in modern kitchens. The servers, however, are dressed in period clothing.
The dishes, flatware, and goblets are authentic reproductions of 18th-century items. Minstrels frequently provide musical entertainment. Look forward to tasting Peanut Soup, Sally Lunn bread, Brunswick Stew, or a syllabub.
To get the true feel for this historic city, I suggest you overnight in one of the Colonial Homes. I’ve done this three times, and each experience felt different, fun, and oh so memorable.
You choose between stand-alone colonial houses or a private room within a larger colonial home, known as a Tavern Room. Meticulously reproduced spaces resemble the period but with modern amenities. Rentals usually come with an admission pass.
My favorite lodging experience was spent in the Robert Carter Kitchen, tucked behind the house next to the Palace. I stayed there with my two daughters, and our little room was enchanting.
A Carriage Ride on the streets of Colonial Williamsburg. Bylandersea
We could overlook grazing sheep, and the Palace illuminated at night. I reserved the last carriage ride of the day, and the driver dropped us off in front of “our” house! Talk about a memory.
Those looking for five-star and AAA Five-Diamond luxury should choose the iconic Williamsburg Inn. Many presidents and even the Queen of England have slept there.
No worries, if you can’t afford the rates, drop in and tour the property. Consider indulging with an extraordinary breakfast in the elegant Rockefeller Room or lunch in the Terrace Room overlooking the golf course.
The Williamsburg Lodge (now part of the Marriott Autograph Collection) offers a relaxing retreat, just steps away from all the action.
Williamsburg Woodlands becomes an excellent choice for a family. It conveniently rests next to the Visitor Center.
Nature surrounds the newest lodge, the Griffin Hotel, but it sits out of the historic district.
Other options not managed by Colonial Williamsburg include the sprawling Kingsmill Resort or the family-friendly Great Wolf Lodge.
More things to do in the Williamsburg area
Spa
Treat both your mind and body to a rejuvenating experience at The Spa (official website). Arrive early for your treatments and linger afterward to enjoy steam rooms, showers, and whirlpools, as well as the relaxation lounges.
Golf
Take your pick of 45-walkable holes over three courses at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club designed by Robert Trent Jones and his son Rees Jones.
I never miss browsing the goods in Prentis, Greenhow, and Tarpley’s, my favorite shops within the historic district. The Prentis Store showcases wares constructed using 18th-century techniques. Choose between handcrafted leather goods, iron hardware, tools, pottery, writing instruments, papers, ink, and seals.
The J. Greenhow General Store sells gifts, books, candy, historical items, toys, and trinkets. Their selection includes items imported from England for the colonists, like the delicate creamware dishes.
Tarpley’s, Thompson & Company, another fine shop, offers clothing, hats, and many of the above items.
Merchant’s Square
You will undoubtedly run into the area between the college and the historic car-free zone known as Merchants Square (official website). Hard to resist this retail village with over 40 modern-day shops and some fabulous restaurants, like the Blue Talon Bistro.
Be sure to check out the college bookstore or other stores selling souvenirs.
In the 18th century, illuminations — the firing of guns and lighting of fireworks — celebrated major events such as the birthday of a reigning sovereign, military victories, or a new colonial governor.
Williamsburg’s Grand Illumination began in 1935 with holiday candles in windows and fireworks. In the years that followed, the Grand Illumination became such a popular event that it expanded to three weekends.
Friday evenings introduced a new event, the Yule Log procession. It includes music from the Fifes and Drums, musket fire from Continental Army reenactors, and a visit from Father Christmas.
During a torch-lit march, the Yule Log progresses by wagon from the Capitol to Market Square. It then burns in a bonfire where guests gather to throw greenery sprigs into the fire and make a wish.
A grand display of fireworks is set off simultaneously rising above the Governor’s Palace and the Capitol on Saturday evenings.
Wreaths made from natural greenery with intricate designs of fruits, nuts, and pinecones decorate doorways and balconies. The homeowners and merchants go all out, hoping to win the annual local contest.
Having grown up in Northern Virginia, I am always excited to return to Williamsburg, one of my favorite places in the world. I look forward to dining in a colonial restaurant, shopping for handcrafted items, sitting in colorful gardens, and just soaking in the 18th-century ambiance.
Yes, Virginia is for lovers, and I do love Williamsburg.
How to get to Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg lies 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., midway between Richmond and Virginia Beach on Interstate 64. Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown make up the three corners of Virginia’s Historic Triangle. A 23-mile Colonial Parkway connects the sites.
