Photo
Credit: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Williamsburg
was first settled in 1632. It was originally called Middle
Plantation. In 1693, the College of William and Mary, named
after the King and Queen of England, was established in
Middle Plantation. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington
were among those who attended the college.
In
1699, a year after the statehouse burned for a second time
in Jamestown, the capital of the Virginia colony was moved
to Middle Plantation. Middle Plantation was built on higher
ground than Jamestown, had an adequate supply of fresh water,
was not infested with mosquitoes, and featured the facilities
of the new college. Later that year, the town was renamed
Williamsburg after the King.
In
1705, America's first state capitol building was built on
Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg. Williamsburg
would soon become the social, political, and economic center
of Virginia. It was the site of America's first theater
and Virginia's first successful newspaper, The Virginia
Gazette. In 1722, it was granted a royal charter as
a city.
Williamsburg
remained capital of Virginia until 1779. During the Revolutionary
War, Governor Thomas Jefferson permanently moved the capital
to Richmond because he thought Williamsburg was vulnerable
to a British attack.
