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Living out the historical story in Greater Williamsburg has helped me to understand why, even in modern times, Americans talk about freedom as though they invented it and no one else has it.

As an Australian, I feel very free and have access to many opportunities, so when Americans talk like they are the only free country in the world, I’m curious as to why that is.

Thanks to visiting historical sites in Greater Williamsburg, VA, in the aptly named Historic Triangle (Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown), I understand it’s not a statement necessarily made in ignorance of other countries, but in celebration of how they arrived to that conclusion.

The belief is that freedom is for all, and it’s what drives us to create the life we have now, which is why it’s worth fighting for, and fighting for others to have it (most of the time – everything is mostly!).

We all travel with our own way of looking at the world – many things we encounter will seem strange and we may be judgmental or overly critical of them, but once we learn the stories and why they are so important, we can better understand.

Our perspective changes and so we can connect more deeply to the culture.

This is what I learned in Virginia, after exploring the historic Greater Williamsburg area and learning more about American history through its myriad of historic landmarks.

In this guide, I share the top historical landmarks in Williamsburg, and why they are worth visiting, especially if you’re looking for inspiring history lessons.

Historical Landmarks in Greater Williamsburg

In learning more about America’s Revolution and their fight for liberty, I gained insights into the evolution of Australian culture.

It’s a past filled with people, beliefs and lifestyles that seems to bear no significance on the present moment.

The top historic sites in Greater Williamsburg, Virginia are made up of towns nicknamed the Historic Triangle; Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown.

1. Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg

At Colonial Williamsburg, you can step away from the hustle and bustle of today, and into the world of horse and carts clipping over cobblestone streets.

Really, slow down, and amble beside them.

Listen to the leaves rustle as the breeze brushes past your face. It’s so quiet and slow here that you can’t miss the sounds of nature.

You will love exploring the beautiful, restored 18th century Colonial Williamsburg.

The live history at Colonial Williamsburg offer re-enactments and characters roaming the streets and pretending to be tradespeople.

They give you an interactive history lesson, and provide a profound sense of the evolving American story, delivered in a way to help kids understand the ideas and values that crafted the world they live in today.

There are over 35 historical sites and 22 trade sites in Colonial Williamsburg, including the Capitol Building, where the people’s representatives voted for Independence; the opulent Governor’s Palace; and working trade shops including the apothecary, the shoemaker and more colonial era buildings.

George Washington Speech at Governor’s Palace

I loved the mesmerizing speech by George Washington at the Governor’s Palace, one of the largest buildings in Colonial Williamsburg and the official residence of the governors of Virginia, including the wartime governors Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.

As George Washington told us during a re-enactment at Colonial Williamsburg, the constitution was written with amendments, so the constitution could be changed to evolve with society and what was best for the common good.

This was quite profound for its time and indeed revolutionary. Now I understand why Americans worship the constitution, leaders and political figures like George Washington, and their soldiers.

After years of fighting for independence, the Americans were able to create the vision of what they were fighting for.

These wise, brave men, who had studied philosophies of visionaries and teachers, were able to spend time crafting a document, and a road map for the people to follow so their society could be exemplary.

Bruton Parish Church

Bruton Parish Church is was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two parishes in the Virginia Colony. The building was constructed between 1711–15 and is the oldest building in Colonial Williamsburg. 

During the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, the church served as a hospital as well as a mass burial site for Confederate soldiers killed during the Battle of Williamsburg. 

The church is still an active Episcopal parish today. 

Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg

The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg is home to the collection of decorative arts and artifacts belonging to the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, all under one roof.

Located on Nassau Street, the museum’s expansive galleries have lovingly preserved American and British antiques, including housewares, toys, colonial folk art, and decorative arts from the 17th century up to the 1930s.

Other unmissable attractions

We did not get to experience the Fife and Drums March, but we hear it’s a must not miss experience. We also loved walking past Merchants Square, and seeing the re-enactments there, and admiring the grandeur of George Wythe House,

The kids will love Patriots at Play, where they can learn and play different 18th century games.

When it comes to dining, there are eateries serving period-inspired food and historic taverns within the historical park if you want to really immerse yourself in 1770 Virginia.

The fun continues into the evening with music, dancing, ghost walks, and live performances.

Plan your visit well as there are so many different shows and workshops happening throughout the day, and some of the homes and places like the Capitol run tours at certain times of the day.

The Colonial Williamsburg app is super helpful to know what is happening and where. It can also track certain characters around the historical park if you want to stalk them.

2. Jamestown Settlement

In 1607, English colonists arrived to establish a permanent English colony. Despite enduring immense hardship, and almost failing several times, the settlement eventually grew and prospered.

Jamestown Settlement is a living history museum that tells that story. The museum, operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, is located a mile from the original site of the settlement.

The day begins with the docudrama, 1607: A Nation Takes Root, which presents an overview of the first two decades of the Virginia colony.

After that, explore the great hall of exhibits showcasing the journey from 1600 – 1699 when the capital of Virginia moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg.

The museum tells the different stories during this period from the English colonists, the local Powhatan Indian, and the West Central African cultures.

I had no idea that slaves were even a part of the beginnings of the English colony. I thought that came much later in US history.

The museum does a wonderful job of sharing the complexity of the relationship between the colonists and the Powhatan people.

I particularly loved the exhibit showing a life-size speaking Powhatan Indian girl, a slave boy, and a white colonist sharing their stories during this settlement period.

It’s so helpful for kids to make the perspective connection.

Outside is where the Jamestown Settlement comes alive for kids. There are three areas:

1. The Powhatan Village: where you can walk through tepees, play feather games, learn how their canoes were made, how they farmed, and handle their deerskin clothes and fur blankets. The story of Pocahontas and how instrumental she was in helping to restore peace to the two is told extensively at this museum. Our girls were very excited to learn that she’s so much more than a Disney princess.
2. The Jamestown Fort: historical interpreters demonstrate activities typical of daily life such as blacksmithing, farming, and domestic duties. Get a sense of the difficult living conditions endured by the colonists including starvation (and eating the dead bodies to survive) harsh weather, and frequent Indian attacks.
3. Recreated Ships: Down by the water, climb into a sailor’s bunk, steer with a whipstaff, and wander through the cramped decks below on one of three recreated ships that brought the first English colonists to Virginia in 1607.

There are free guided tours of the outside conducted throughout the day that are about an hour long.

We joined one for a brief time before the girls got a bit antsy, so we finished it on our own.

It’s well worth joining a tour to get more in-depth insights and stories.

3. Historic Jamestowne

Historic Jamestowne is the original site of the 1607 Fort and the place where legendary figures John Smith, Pocahontas, John Rolfe, and more, walked and helped write the beginnings of the USA.

This is a preserved area where you’ll see crumbling walks and remains of the settlement that was unearthed by archaeologists in 1994.

You can possibly even see archaeologists at work as they continue to recover artifacts that give a deeper insight into the settlement story and life in Jamestown.

Don’t miss the Archearium, which showcases various artifacts as well as actual skeletons. You’ll learn who they are, how they met their fate, and what their role and life in the community was like.

It’s amazing how much they can learn from the bones of a person who has been dead for hundreds of years.

There is a 5-mile Island Loop Drive you can do to explore the natural environment of Jamestown Island. Waling and interpretative signs continue to tell the story.

We were going to explore on kayaks and then bikes, but the cold weather, unusual for this time of year in Greater Williamsburg, drove us indoors.

I know a living history experience is great when the girls ask many curious questions. Kalyra was baffled as to why the settlers chose Jamestown as the water was full of salt so undrinkable and conditions were so harsh.

When we reached the visitor center, we discovered an exhibit on the wall explaining the reasons they did choose Jamestown and stay there despite it seeming like a bad choice.

In the end, they relocated the capital from Jamestown to Middle Plantation in 1699, which was later renamed to Williamsburg, and located five miles inland between the James Rivers and York Rivers.

4. Yorktown Battlefield

Follow in the footsteps of the brave and determined soldiers sacrificing their lives for their ideals at Yorktown Battlefield.

Start at the Visitor’s Center with the introductory video of The Siege of Yorktown. It will put everything into context when you explore the battlefields.

Otherwise, you are sort of just looking at mounds and open fields unaware of their significance.

You can browse through a collection of Revolutionary War artifacts and see the tent that George Washington used to plan the siege.

Then, jump in your car and follow the self-guided auto tour map of the battlefields. The historical trail will take you to the significant spots of the siege.

Earthworks and siege lines mark the positions of the British and American troops.

It was fascinating to clearly see how close the two armies were in the battle and where the French and British took control of Redoubt 9 and 10, which ultimately lead to the surrender of the British.

Kalyra was able to understand how the Americans won and what retreat means.

She could clearly see how the British were backed right up to the river and how it was too dangerous for them to cross. So, it was surrender or risk losing all their men.

You then stop at the Moore House, where the terms of the surrender were negotiated and the Surrender Field, where the humiliated British troops marched to throw down their guns to the cheers of the victorious Patriots.

I think you may even let out a cheer yourself. Take that Red Coats!

Even six-year-old Savannah was so intrigued and asked lots of questions as she pieced together what she just watched the movie and tried to understand the relevance of this war.

5. American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

The American Revolution Museum tells the story of the nation’s founding from the twilight of the Colonial period to the dawn of the Constitution.

Personal stories of citizens and soldiers involved are told in the introductory film “Liberty Fever”.

The film shows the events that lead to the uprising, like the Boston Massacre, and took us through the Revolutionary story from the perspective of different people involved.

It offers perspectives from a Native American fighting with the Americans; a fierce Irish Immigrant woman loyal to the Patriot Cause: a young terrified Patriot who found his strength and motivation to continue after George Washington fiercely rode into battle at Princeton to help bring back morale.

Begin there and then walk through the galleries and exhibits to learn the incredible story.

The “Siege of Yorktown” film within the galleries is a must.

It’s shown on a 180-degree screen with special effects that include gun smoke wafting through the air in front of you. It will transport you back to the 1781 battle and victory.

After this, wander outside to the re-created Continental Army encampment.

The girls loved looking inside the tiny tents that slept 6 soldiers to the more extravagant Commander’s tents.

Within the camp are interpreters dressed as soldiers who help to tell the stories.

The surgeon showed us his various tools for performing surgery and caring for his sick patients and one of the soldiers explained how effective the firing line was considering the challenging circumstances of war and why it was designed that way.

He then gave us a musket firing demonstration.

You can engage with the Declaration of Independence to understand it a little more.

There’s a neat section on the Constitution where you can click on various parts to see how it applies to various aspects of life today.

I thought it was clever to make it so relevant for children and help them grasp its meaning.

Don’t forget to write what freedom means to you on the Liberty Tree.

Where to Stay in Greater Williamsburg VA

We recommend the Doubletree by Hilton, which is one of the hotels near Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.

As we had children with us, it was great to be so close to Water Country USA, a water park, as well as be one mile from Busch Gardens.

It has an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a gym, and a daily buffet breakfast.

The guest rooms were spacious and comfortable, and came with with free Wi-Fi, a flat-screen TV, and tea and coffee facilities.

Historic Colonial Williamsburg is 5 miles away, and Jamestown and Yorktown is 10 miles away.

Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) is 20 minutes away, Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is 55 minutes away, and Richmond International Airport (RIC) is 50 minutes away by driving.

Final Thoughts

History is the story that has helped create who we are, what we believe in, and shows us what we are capable of.

It (hopefully) inspires us to follow in the footsteps of those before us who created greatness, or, warns us to turn back from the path that creates the opposite.

Visiting  Greater Williamsburg, VA gave me a fascinating insight into the birth of the United States, a greater understanding of the American culture, and strangely enough, a better understanding of my own culture.

I don’t incorporate history lessons in my homeschooling, we instead experience history through our travel moments – giving our girls the opportunities to experience the place history happened, so they can use their imagination to connect and their curiosity to explore.

Williamsburg offered just that. It was a place where they could absorb the stories of the past and understand the strength of the human spirit, so they may recognize their own greatness, form a sense of their own beliefs, and use that to create a better future for all.

What do you think? Do you think Williamsburg is the history lesson we all need? Let us know in the comments.

More Virginia Travel Tips

Need more inspiration for visiting Virginia? Check out these other guides…

• Things to do in Shenandoah Valley
• An East Coast Revolutionary War Trail Road Trip
• Visit to Luray Caverns, Virginia
• Spring getaway to Virginia’s Blue Ridge
• Things to do in Roanoke, VA
• Walking an alpaca at Point of View Alpaca Farms

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