Correction.  The original building for Williamsburg Baptist Church was
built in 1854, not 1864.  I did not catch the typo until after
sending.


On 3/1/07, J S Freeman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Far be it for me to criticise anything about Charleston, for if I did
> not live in Williamsburg, Charleston would be my logical next choice.
> My comments are not meant to slight Charleston but these are comparing
> apples and oranges.
>
> Colonial Williamsburg has 88 buildings that are original to the 18th
> century.  To be accurate, one  is from the 17th since the Wren
> Building of the College is original to 1695.  Virtually none of the
> extant buildings are post-Revolutionary; between wartime shortages and
> the capital moving to Richmond in 1780, the bulk of the buildings were
> built well before the Revolutionary period.
>
> There were a few 19th century buildings removed by Mr Rockefeller but
> most of those were architecturally insignificant except for the 1864
> Greek Revival Williamsburg Baptist Church.  Most of those that were
> removed were moved to other parts of Williamsburg, not demolished.
> While the number of buildings reconstructed by the Colonial
> Williamsburg Foundation is vastly higher than the 88 figure, I find
> arguments about authenticity to be spurious at best.
>
> Remember that Williamsburg was among the very first planned cities and
> was built strictly as governmental center.  There has never been a
> deep water port, and at its height in the third quarter of the 18th
> century it never surpassed 2000 permanent residents.  Charleston was a
> thriving port city, hence its larger size, but I think that you will
> find that almost all of the extant historic buildings are from the
> first two quarters of the 19th century, which explains the vastly
> different architectural styles between the two cities.  I hope that it
> is not sacreligious of me to say that I believe Charleston to be the
> more interesting city architecturally but that is only an opinion.
> Most of the restoration was done privately, without a wealthy
> benefactor, and it has been of the highest order.
>
> If Mr Rockefeller were restoring Williamsburg nowadays he might be
> pursuaded to preserve more post-Revolutionary buildings in their
> original settings, there are really too few of such buildings to merit
> a realistic complaint about the focus of the Restoration period.
>
> Regards,
>
> J. S. Freeman
> The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
> Member, Williamsburg Baptist Church, est 1828
>
> On 2/27/07, Sunshine49 <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > William Kelso's new book about Jamestown has a lot on the condition
> > of Williamsburg before it became "colonial" again, and a picture of a
> > run-down street, many of the colonial buildings were decrepit stores,
> > an old gas station, etc. So we may, in hindsight, criticize what
> > Rockefeller did, but if he hadn't done it, there might be nothing
> > left of Williamsburg now but a bulldozed away, built-over "golfing
> > community" [or yet another one...].
> >
> > I have a lovely watercolor my mother, who was a very good semi-
> > professional artist, did of the old Gaol before it was rehabbed. I
> > have at times wondered if some historical place might like it.
> >
> > Randy, my great grandmother Ida Jacobs Cardwell, who supported
> > herself and her young daughter after her husband died at age 33, was
> > a seamstress in addition to running a boarding house. Supposedly she
> > made clothes for some of the leading ladies in Richmond, including
> > Mrs. James Branch Cabell.
> >
> > Nancy
> >
> > -------
> > I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.
> >
> > --Daniel Boone
> >
> >
> >
> > On Feb 27, 2007, at 6:56 AM, Randy Cabell wrote:
> >
> > > Those pesky Carolinianans again.  First it was the Movavians
> > > claiming they brought brass music to Amercia, and now the
> > > Charlestonians eclipse Williamsburg on the preservation front.
> > >
> > > But really that is pretty much like comparing apples and oranges.
> > > Charleston had a BIG reason to be there.  It was THE southern port,
> > > center of commerce and industry, even had a railroad going
> > > upcountry while we Virginians (alas, led by Joseph Carrington
> > > Cabell) were still digging a canal to nowhere.  And of course as
> > > every good South Carolinian knows, Charleston is located on the
> > > point where the Ashley and Cooper Rivers flow together to form the
> > > Atlantic Ocean.
> > >
> > > All in all, Chas had a lot more buildings to start with, so even if
> > > they preserved the same %, it would be a potload more than
> > > Williamsburg ever had to start with.
> > >
> > > Randy Cabell - The Trumpeter of Jamestowne
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Langdon" <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:36 PM
> > > Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Williamsburg preservaton
> > >
> > >
> > >> The Williamsburg Foundation states that 88 historic buildings
> > >> remain. Of these, only a few are pre-revolutionary and not re-
> > >> constructed. I'd like to know the exact number. I think it is 20,
> > >> but possibly only 19. Then again - maybe it depends on how much
> > >> gutting counts, before it is counted as *reconstructed*, rather
> > >> than *preserved*.
> > >>
> > >>  Charleston, SC, has 73 pre-revolutionary buildings, and 136 from
> > >> the late 18th century, and 600 more that are  pre- 1840.  I
> > >> believe the difference between the two cities is that Charleston
> > >> got a head start of about 10 years on Williamsburg.  That makes me
> > >> think that every year of neglect counts. It also means that we
> > >> should really pay more attention to our heritage and watch out for
> > >> plans to modernize. We will loose enough from natural disasters.
> > >>
> > >>  Langdon
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
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> > >> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
> > >
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> >
>

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