Part 3: Colonial Williamsburg

The third and final Colonial Williamsburg installation has arrived, filled with wood, chocolate, and guns! I need to point out here, just in case I haven’t already, that there is so much more to Williamsburg than what I’ve written. On this trip, we didn’t touch at least half of the buildings! And of course, there’s nothing like asking questions for yourself, savoring a scrumptious cup of chocolate, and not having a single modern building in sight.

The Cabinetmakers

• Cabinentmakers furnish houses
• 60% of Virginian colonists’ furniture was made in Virginia

Colonial Williamsburg also boasts a joiner’s shop. And if you are not a woodworking expert (like me), you may wonder what the difference is between the various trades. So the lowdown is this: carpenters build the house, joiners finish the interior of the house, and cabinetmakers construct the furniture.

The furniture built by the cabinetmakers is not crude or basic, which you might expect as they are just colonies. Yes, the colonies did mainly export the abundance of raw materials they had, but there were master craftsmen there. However, of the furniture that was owned in Virginia, 60% was made there. Another 30% was imported, and the remaining 10% came from other colonies. Notice the small percentage there: the colonies weren’t always on the best terms. There were frequent squabbles over land borders.

Inside the shop, a beautiful grandfather clock stands to one side, with an intricately carved window-surround on the other. Pieces of elegant furniture line the walls. We are challenged to find the four hidden drawers inside a tall desk. Each is perfectly fitted into the wooden face. No special hardware is used on any drawers to help them slide in or out more easily.

Samples of table legs, joints, wood types, and more cover one of the workbenches. I picked up a piece of wood that was stained three different colors. The same wood looked shiny and red under a seal of seedlag (linseed oil) and wax, a cool, dark brown with oil and wax, and light brown with just wax. Different finishes were used depending on taste. Wax was always added as a final step to protect the wood.

Often, the wood was not stained, as we usually do now. The modern purpose of a stain can be to make a cheap wood look like its costlier counterpart. But back then, they had plenty of the nicer woods at their disposal. So why stain when you can use the real thing?

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We were told multiple times in Williamsburg that 18th century tradesmen would have completed projects much faster than the interpreters do now. The colonists were committed, working long, hard days to finish their work. Adversely, an interpreter’s job is exactly that, to interpret. All told, they may only work 2 hours in a day on a piece.

The Carpenters’ Yard

• Carpenters were responsible for constructing houses
• House frames ready to be slid together on site (think barn raisings)
• Saw pits used by two men to create planks

Unlike the other woodworkers, the carpenters are outside. They plan on building a workshop soon, since there is a lull in other projects currently. An interesting note is that they will be building a kitchen for their workspace. Evidence has been found for a kitchen and house in that specific location, but not a carpenters yard. But in the 18th century, structures were frequently repurposed, so it is historically accurate to use the kitchen for carpentry.

Surrounding the covered work area, the yard is full of shingles, and wood in its various forms. When shingles are made, each one must have a hole in it before it is nailed onto a building. Under the covering, there is a saw pit. These were used in more urban areas where a saw mill wasn’t convenient. Two men, one standing below, in the saw pit, and another above can saw logs into planks.

On the workbench several holes are drilled to be used for holdfasts. Holdfasts are a clever, simple way to secure a piece of wood to the bench while working on it. An L-shaped piece of metal is hammered into the hole, and the pressure from the hole keeps it tight. When the wood around a hole wears out, that hole is plugged and a new one is drilled.

Charlton’s Coffee House

• 18th century drinking chocolate is very different than the hot chocolate we have today
• The coffee house was a gathering place similar to taverns

If you like chocolate at all, don’t miss the coffee house. When you enter, you are invited to take a seat and converse with a Mr. Robert Carter, who lives in town. Since it is a coffee house after all, you are offered a small mug of coffee, tea, or chocolate. Granted, I have not tried the coffee or tea, but I can personally vouch for the chocolate.

The chocolate is thick, rich treat, which we were informed is dairy-free and contains nutmeg, anise, vanilla, cloves, and orange, among other ingredients. It is absolutely delicious.

We all sipped away at our chocolate as Mr. Carter expounded on his duties in the town, and the quality of his twelve plantations, including the weighty topic of slaves. He also discussed that he felt it perfectly fit to educate his daughters as well as his sons, even though it was extra upon the other duties they were learning.

I listened to Mr. Carter answer some formidable questions with tact and insight while staying completely in-character. I was impressed. After a bit, we slipped out the door as we were running low on time.

The Gunsmith’s Shop

• Gun barrels were rifled with a simple, ingenious machine
• Bullet molds were made to only fit your gun
• Barrels started out as a long, thick rectangle of metal

Tucked away in a far corner of the historic area, this one can be easy to miss. However, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. In the shop, only two of the guns had not been made there: those were 18th century pieces. The rest are hammered there in the shop. They start with a wooden blank that is vaguely in the shape of a gun, and a long, narrow chunk of metal for the barrel. Starting in the middle (so there is a cool end to hold), the metal is formed into a long tube, ready to be rifled.

I for one had no idea how gun barrels were rifled. Fortunately, about five minutes before we arrived, a gun barrel had just been finished. The interpreter let us look down the barrel, where you could see all the curls twisting down the interior. Then they demonstrated the ingenious machine used to carve the pattern.

In the pictures to the right, you can see the long rod that is inserted into the gun barrel. On the rod’s end is a small set of metal teeth that scrape against the inside of the gun. The swirls in the wooden cylinder mimic the pattern that will be transferred by forcing the rod to follow their turns as they are rotated.

Rifled guns were not usually for battles, as they required more time to reload. Also, they must be cleaned when powder builds up too much inside so that they don’t explode. Guns, or shotguns, on the other hand, were all-purpose, and used for battles and animals. They didn’t possess much accuracy, but were much faster to load and gave a spray of ammunition (shot).

When a rifle was made for you, you would also receive a bullet mold, which needed to be kept very safe. Oftentimes, a bullet mold would fit only your gun, and vice versa. In a time where everyone made their own bullets instead of buying them from a store, making sure you had ammunition that could fit your gun was very important.

Shuttle Ride and Visitor Center

• Shuttle rides are free with admission
• The Visitor Center has ticketing, large gift shops, and an introductory movie

Colonial Williamsburg has done a phenomenal job of presenting history in an accurate and engaging way. Going there was an amazing experience, and I recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity. In the meantime, they have a profusion of intriguing resources on their website and blog that I encourage you to check out.

Please contact me if you have any questions!

Home page of History.org : The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s official History and Citizenship site

In Colonial Williamsburg’s 301-acre Historic Area stand hundreds of restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings. Costumed interpreters tell the stories of the men and women of the 18th-century city-black, white, and native American, slave, indentured, and free-and the challenges they faced. In this historic place, we help the future learn from the past.