Final Bits of Colonial Williamsburg, VA

After fun in the Randolph House backyard, it was time to put the kids to work in Colonial Williamsburg's Brickyard. Colonial life wasn't all fun and games. A lot of hard work went into (and still goes into) maintaining the town. One of the less glamorous jobs is making bricks. A whole area is dedicated to the task, starting with mixing water and clay.

Kids hard at work

More mixing...more bricks!

 My son did have a little trouble and came out more clay than clean.

Mudman?

Feet of clay

Getting clean

We could see the efforts of previous workers drying in a small field. In the fall, the ovens are heated up and the brick are fired to perfection for use throughout the town.

Drying the bricks

Plenty of bricks for more houses

They also had a heap of shells. Crushed shells are used throughout the town to line borders and sidewalks and paths, making a pleasant white way for walking (as long as you are wearing shoes!).

Pile of shells

Brickwork is quite common in the houses here--you can't have chimneys without bricks!

Typical houses

The cabinetmaker's house shows off the craft of creating furniture from wood. All sorts of furnishings are on display and a craftsman describes what he is doing as he works.

Cabinetmaker's house

Guarding the valuables

A harpsichord!

They also make coffins!

Nice legs, cabinetmaker!

Demonstrating the craft

More nice legs

Across the street we discovered some of the famous cash crops from the colonial period--cotton and tobacco!

Cotton plants

Tobacco

Back on Duke of Gloucester Street, we discovered the "Poft Office" and the printing office, which were both interesting.

A charming street view

The post office

The printer was in today, working up a news gazette and telling stories about his craft and the history of it during colonial times.

Adding ink to the printing press

The press itself

The finished product, or Hot off the presses

Various tools and products were on display.

A type case

A theater bill

We walked past what we cna only assume is an archeology site. Sometimes various venues are not open depending on the day, the season, and the weather. This is one we missed out on. Maybe next visit.

Archeology?

We wandered a bit in search of lunch but didn't find a line short enough to suit us. So we took the shuttle back to the parking area and headed to our hotel for lunch. We enjoyed our visit very much and left many parts undiscovered.

One last look at the visitors center