williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg has 80+ buildings that are original to the city. Within several of these are shops that are manned by people in period costume working as they would have in the 1600's. Well versed in the history of the time, they protray the lives of the original inhabitents in such a manner that if you refer to something that would have taken place in a time after 1780, it will be a forigen idea to them.. For example, if you asked someone where the local McDonalds was, they would give you directions to the nearest McDonald who is a resident of the town or a neighboring town or farm. It is all very well done.

A little history:

Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia when the dream of American freedom and independence was taking shape. From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political, cultural, and educational center of what was then the largest, most populous, and most influential of the American colonies. It was here that the fundamental concepts of our republic — responsible leadership, a sense of public service, self-government, and individual liberty — were nurtured under the leadership of patriots such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Peyton Randolph.

Restoration of the town started with In the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Bruton Parish Church, who in 1926, shared his dream of preserving the city's historic buildings with philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., and the restoration began.

Dr. Goodwin feared that scores of structures that had figured in the life of the colony and the founding of the nation would soon disappear forever. Rockefeller and Goodwin began a modest project to preserve a few of the more important buildings. Eventually, the work progressed and expanded to include a major portion of the colonial town, encompassing approximately 85 percent of the 18th-century capital's original area.

http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/Foundation/cwhistory.cfm