Senior Moments

Scenes from Westover Parish Church, Charles City, Virginia. June 23, 2009.

On our anniversary trip in 2007 Betsy and I drove toward Richmond after leaving Jamestown-Yorktown-Williamsburg.  Our route took us parallel to the James River, which was the ‘highway’ of colonial Virginia.

About halfway to Richmond we came to Westover Parish Church.  I knew that Westover was one of the earliest Virginia plantations, so we decided to stop.

Westover Parish was formed in 1613 and a church was constructed between 1630 and 1637 on Westover Plantation.  The present church building was completed about 1730.  Between 1803 and 1833 the church was abandoned and used part of the time as a barn.  But in 1833 the building was repaired and restored and religious services were revived.  Westover Church was badly wrecked by Federal troops during the Civil War, but it was restored again in 1867 and has been in continuous use ever since.

Through the years farmers, plantation owners, slaves and presidents have worshipped at Westover Church.  The presidents include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler (whose plantation is nearby) and Theodore Roosevelt.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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I’m grateful to the people who love and preserve the history of this wonderful country.

Scenes from our second day at Williamsburg. June 22, 2007.

A couple of days ago I posted about our first day at Williamsburg.  Betsy and I went back a second day to see more of the historic area.

We visited the Museums of Williamsburg — the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.  Both museums were wonderful and they had excellent collections.  Betsy was especially impressed with the grandfather clocks we saw (she has always wanted one).  Fortunately we had to check our back packs before we went in and she couldn’t fit one in her pocket!

We also visited the College of William and Mary, where we toured the Wren Building, the oldest academic building still in use in America.  Construction on the building began August 8, 1695.  It was destroyed by fire three times, but was always rebuilt.  Today it looks very much as it did in 1723.  It was the first major building restored by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., after he began Williamsburg’s restoration in the late 1920s.

We also enjoyed a military review on Williamsburg’s Market Square by the 2nd Virginia Regiment and the Fife and Drums Corp.  The review included drills, musket firings and the firing of a cannon.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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I’m grateful for the blue skies we enjoyed yesterday after a week of dreary gray skies.

Scenes from our visit to Colonial Williamsburg. June 21, 2007.

In 2007 Betsy and I went to Virginia on our anniversary trip.  We went primarily because it was the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, but while we were in the area we also visited Yorktown and Williamsburg.

Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia from  1699 to 1780, when Virginia was the largest, most populous, and most influential of the American colonies.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and George Mason all spent time in Williamsburg during this time.

In 1780 the capital of Virginia was moved to Richmond and Williamsburg reverted to a simple, quiet college town, the home of the College of William and Mary.  In 1926 the rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg talked to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., about preserving the city’s historic buildings.  That was the beginning of Colonial Williamsburg, which today encompasses approximately 85 percent of the 18th-century capital’s area.

On our first day at Williamsburg we visited the Governor’s Palace, the Capitol, Bruton Parish Church and had lunch at the King’s Arms Tavern.  We also saw a performance by the Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drums.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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I’m grateful to the young adults in the Sunday School class at Mom and Dad’s church who have taken Mom and Dad under their wing and are helping them with chores around the house.