The kids an I have been having a great time visiting all the great places in Colonial Williamsburg. We'll be here for the whole week, so hopefully I'll be able to get back on and blog a little more about our trip. On Monday, we went to the Capitol, the Gunsmith, the Apothecary, the Wigmaker, and the Public Gaol (a funny way to spell "jail" :-) ).
DAY 1
At the Capitol, we saw the chamber where the Governor and his Council met, the court room where the same men heard serious misdemeanor and felony cases. We saw the committee meeting rooms for the House of Burgesses (similar to our House of Representatives) and the chamber where the House of Burgesses met. I always love the Capitol...but the funniest part was my 2yos ended up sitting in Patrick Henry's seat in the HOB chamber...and he couldn't keep quiet either. If I actually believed in that kind of think, I'd think he was possessed by the spirit of Patrick Henry. LOL
At the Gunsmith, the kids learned that it takes about 400 hours to make a gun, 100 of those hours is spent solely on the barrel. They saw a number of different kinds of firearms, including 3 original 18th century rifles, and a number of replicas made in the shop.
Then we went down the hill to the Public Gaol. It was built there because it housed all the felony and serious misdemeanor criminals until they were heard by the Governor's Council at the Capitol building. It also housed the debtors who owed more than 20 lbs. until they could afford to repay their debts. The kids learned that the jailer was usually a family man. Why? Because he had "free laborers" who could help him do his job. My girls were told that, at the age of 5 they would start learning how to cook for the prisoners. The boys would start learning how to do things like chop and carry wood about the same age. My kids are so '"spoiled." :-) They loved seeing the different cells they kept prisoners in. They especially loved the toilets...I don't know why. I know they aren't "original," but it still gave me the willies to see them climbing all over them. :-)
Then we did something they've never done before...we sat on the grass area between the Capitol and the Gaol and had a snack (No, we've done that before)...We took our our sketch books and started drawing whatever we saw. I've been trying to implement a few of Charlotte Mason's ideas, and this seemed to be a great place to do that. The kids LOVED it. They even asked if they could draw more after we got back to the hotel.
Then we headed down the street to the Apothecary. This was a fairly quick stop. The kids learned that the Apothecary sold medicines of the day. Most people grew herbs in their gardens, but occasionally would need to go to the Apothecary and purchase other medicines. almost all Apothecarist were also Doctors. The kids favorite part of the Apothecary shop?...The skeleton hanging in the back room. They found out that it was a real person's bones, and not just a "sculpture."
The last stop of the day was the Wigmaker. The kids learned that most of them would already be wearing wigs. At age 7 you would get your first wig. If a girl wore her hair down, it would be the same as walking around in her underwear today. And short hair on boys? Well, they did that to the criminals. (so I guess I should have left the boys at the gaol. LOL) All men would have worn wigs, and the style was based on their profession. You could also have it made from human hair, horse hair, or even yak's hair.
DAY 2
We started out the day at the Wythe House. This was the house of George Wythe. The house was actually in his wife's family, and went back to them after their death. He was a law professor at the College of William and Mary, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He had a great interest in science and there were dead animal in jars in his study (which the kids loved...see pic below). He also tutored Thomas Jefferson.
Then we went on to the Everard House. My daughters are fascinated with this house because it is the house that the American Girl Felicity's house was "styled" after. He was the Clerk of Court in York County, even though he was born in England, orphaned, and sent to Virginia as an apprentice. He did pretty well for starting out so "humbly." It reminds me of a line from the movie "Love's Enduring Promise"..."Never despise humble beginnings."
Then we went on to the Governor's Palace. The crowning jewel of Williamsburg. It was beautiful. But the best part is the gardens behind it...although my kids would argue that the best part is the Boxwood Hedge Maze behind the gardens(see pic below). They had to spend at least 30 minutes at the maze when we come here. There is a small hill behind the maze that they love climbing. This was a great place to wear them out. Our one rule...you can't walk through the hedge. We found out on an earlier visit that if people walked through the hedge, it would kill the plant. So the kids stay on the open paths.
Then we went on to the kitchen. On our way there, we saw pomegranate trees in the garden. I've never seen them on the tree...just in the produce section of the grocery. It was very cool. :-) At the kitchen, they were just wrapping up for the day, because in Colonial times "dinner," the large meal of the day, was served around 2PM, and everything would have already been done. Interestingly enough, the cooks went to the local market every day and the day's menu would be based on whatever was available at the market. If I recall correctly, they would be cooking for about 140 people at the Palace kitchen DAILY! And I thought I had a lot of people to cook for. LOL
Lastly, we went to the Wheelwright where carriages and wagons are made. They were working on a carriage when we were there. We saw one side being framed and placed on the base of the carriage that had already been done. By this time the little guys had had enough, so we quit for the day. And since it was in the mid-90's, I was "done" too. LOL
Well, we're off to see more today. If I can figure out how to add pictures, maybe I'll upload some of them.
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