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Make a Gift Mission of CWF information History Restored CW Journal Careers at CWF News Releases One visit to compound Williamsburg and it is hard not to stand back and be impressed by what is indeed a thrilling and awesome achievement. Once home to the bud ideas of independence and democracy and a catalyst to revolution, this historic town was literally restored from the ground up. Today it is a living and working town on 173 acres, with over 500 historic buildings. But more than just a snapshot of 18th-century life, Colonial Williamsburg serves as a testament to a season when colonists started down the path toward becoming Americans. The motivating force behind the towns on-going operation is the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a group of dedicated men and women with shared out values and a shared missionTo help the future take heed from the past... by preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg. by engaging, informing, and inspiring people as they learn almost this h istoric colonial swell of the United States, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape our new nation. To understand the Foundations goals, you mustiness know Colonial Williamsburgs invoice After serving as the capital of Britains largest and most powerful colony and then as the seat of Virginias government, Williamsburg aphorism historys path veer away. When Richmond became Virginias new capital in 1780, Williamsburg was left field a quiet country town with fond but attenuation memories. Later, the Civil War left scars in Williamsburg, but neither metre nor war could extinguish its brilliance. The town stirred excitement in the empyreal Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin when he arrived in 1903 as rector of Bruton Parish Church. On evening walks, he sensed the patriots unseen presence. "They were glad and gallant ghosts," he wrote, "companions of the silent minute of reverie." Inspired, Dr. Goodwin pursued a dream of restoring his beloved tow n. In 1926, one mans indefatigable quest met anothers visionary generosity. Philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., undertook restoration of the colonial capital on a scale never before attempted in American history. Legions of architects, archaeologists, and historians worked with masses of data. The earth yielded old foundations, walls, and cellars. Buried fragments of marble, brick, hardware, and tiles rendered authentic architectural and ornamental clues. When, in 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to celebrate the completion of the first human body of the restoration, he told the nation, "The atmosphere of a whole glorious chapter in our history has been recaptured.