This idea might be troubling were it not for Williamsburg's sterling reputation, which is well deserved. While not strictly the oldest living history museum in the United States (Henry Ford's Greenfield Village beats it by a few years) it is certainly one of the oldest and undoubtedly one of the best.
Its reach, at least in the modern town of Williamsburg, is certainly wide. In addition to the Historic Area, the not-for-profit Colonial Williamsburg Foundation oversees the operation of six hotels (including the four-star Williamsburg Inn), two conference centers, a golf course, tennis facilities, four fully-operating Colonial taverns, at least five other restaurants or grills, four museums, a research library, a clothing shop for Williamsburg's costumed personnel, a woodworking shop, an archeology department, countless educational programs, and a multimedia publishing group whose output includes history books, cookbooks, books on decorative arts, a scholarly journal, videos, and music CDs. It even has its own fife and drum corps, for boys and girls ages 10 to 18.
Colonial Williamsburg, in other words, is a Very Big Deal. Fortunately, it also happens to be a very good deal, at least in terms of providing a vivid glimpse into America's past.
CW, as it's often abbreviated, was the brainchild of Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of the town's Bruton Parish Church. In the early 20th Century he supervised a church restoration project. While he was doing that, and later, after moving to Rochester, New York, and serving at a parish there, he thought how wonderful it would be if somehow the entire town could be restored to its Colonial grandeur.
As with many wonderful ideas, though, this one would take a lot of money. There were too many Victorian houses and Twenties-era gas stations around to give the place a friendly little makeover. Buildings would have to be razed; others rebuilt. Why, to put something like that together would take the resources of a Rockefeller.
Fortunately, a Rockefeller was available - John D. Rockefeller, Jr., son of the oil baron, and a noted philanthropist. At first, "David's father," as Rockefeller became known, wasn't interested in Goodwin's project. (Neither was Henry Ford, whom Goodwin also approached.) Eventually, however, Rockefeller came around, and the rest, as they say, is living history. By the time Rockefeller died in 1960, his money had helped preserve dozens of original buildings.
