The Wythe House, located in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, is a historic house that was built in the 1750s and was home to George Wythe, father of American jurisprudence and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The property was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The house was originally owned by Richard Taliaferro, George Wythe’s father-in-law, and remained in his possession until Wythe’s marriage to Taliaferro’s daughter Elizabeth in 1755. The couple received the house as a wedding present and lived there until Elizabeth’s death in 1787.
The Wythe House has had several subsequent owners, and its interior was restored to the form it would have been in during the time of the Wythe family in 1939, after it was acquired by Colonial Williamsburg. The house has a symmetrical façade constructed of red brick with white woodwork that is perfectly proportioned. The house has a hip roof with brick chimneys, with the roof supported by a modillion cornice. The lighter-colored bricks framing the doors and windows are called rubbed bricks, and the walls are laid in Flemish bond.
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and a private foundation dedicated to preserving the historic district of Williamsburg, Virginia. The foundation employs 7,300 people on-site and globally and operates 37 companies. The historic district covers 301 acres and includes hundreds of restored or re-created buildings from the 18th century, as well as 17th-century, 19th-century, and Colonial Revival structures.
The restoration and re-creation of colonial Williamsburg was championed in the late 1920s as a way to celebrate rebel patriots and early American history. Proponents included the Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now called Preservation Virginia), the Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Rockefellers. Colonial Williamsburg is part of the Historic Triangle of Virginia along with Jamestown and Yorktown and the Colonial Parkway.
Williamsburg is an independent city in Virginia, with a population of 15,425 as of the 2020 U.S. Census. The city was founded in 1632 as Middle Plantation, a fortified settlement on high ground between the James and York rivers. Williamsburg functioned as the capital of the Colony and Commonwealth of Virginia from 1699 to 1780 and became the center of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution. The College of William & Mary, established in 1693, is located in Williamsburg and is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. The city’s economy is driven by tourism to Colonial Williamsburg, and it is also a college town.
The author of this content embarked on a cycling tour of historic architecture in the fall of 2022, beginning in Montreal, Canada, and finishing in Savannah, Georgia. Over the course of 2.5 months, the author cycled 7,126 km and took over 68,000 photos. The tour included visits to the oldest parts of Quebec and the 13 original U.S. states. To support the author’s photography, readers are encouraged to become a patron on Patreon or donate.
Posted by Billy Wilson Photography on 2023-03-11 22:40:33
