Mary Payne, age 13, of Atlantic City, N.J., for her question:
HOW WAS WILLIAMSBURG RESTORED?
Williamsburg is a historic city that lies on a peninsula between the James and York rivers in Virginia. Today the town is a famous tourist attraction because it looks much as it did in colonial times.
More than 80 of the city's original buildings, including many homes, have been restored to their appearance of the 1700s.
The town of Williamsport declined in importance and population after the Revolutionary War. Its economy came to depend largely on the College of William and Mary, the second oldest college in the United States that was founded in 1693.
Then in 1926, philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. became interested in restoring and preserving the colonial appearance of Williamsburg.
The original idea of restoration came from a Williamsburg minister named W.A.R. Goodwin. Rockefeller provided the initial money that set up the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. By the 1970s, the foundation had restored more than 80 colonial buildings and had rebuilt more than 50 major buildings on their original sites.
When you visit the area of Williamsburg today, you'll discover that it covers more than 170 acres. Eleven major historic buildings and many colonial shops are open to the public every day. Guides in colonial costumes escort visitors through the buildings and demonstrate such colonial skills as barrelmaking, cabinetmaking and candle dipping.
The furnishings of the homes, public buildings and shops make up one of the finest collections of American and English antiques in the United States.
More than a million visitors explore the streets and buildings of Williamsburg each year. One of the favorite spots they visit is the beautiful Governor's Palace.
Williamsburg today covers about five square miles, almost three times its area in colonial times.
Many modern housing developments surround the present day Williamsburg. But the heart of the town is made up of structures that duplicate the look of 250 years ago.
At first the town was named Middle Plantation because it lay in the middle of the peninsula. Then in 1699, the colonists renamed their settlement Williamsburg, in honor of King William III of England. Also in 1699, the capital of Virginia Colony was moved to Williamsburg after fire destroyed Jamestown.
The Virginia Colony became one of the first colonies to vote for independence from England. It passed the Virginia Resolution for American Independence in Williamsburg in May, 1776.
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the Virginians moved their capital from Williamsburg to Richmond.