Denise Schwartz, age 16, of Concord, N.H., for her question:
WHEN DID THE WILLIAMSBURG RESTORATION START?
Williamsburg is a historic city in Virginia that is a famous tourist attraction today because it looks much as it did in colonial times. More than 80 percent of the city's original buildings, including many homes, have been restored to their appearance of the 1700s.
Restoration of Williamsburg started in 1926 when John D. Rockefeller Jr. became interested in restoring and preserving the colonial appearance of Williamsburg.
The idea of a Williamsburg restoration came from a minister in the city named W.A.R. Goodwin. And Rockefeller provided the money that set up the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
The foundation has restored about 100 colonial buildings and has rebuilt more than 50 major buildings on their original sites.
Today, historic Williamsburg covers more than 170 acres. Eleven major' historic buildings and many colonial shops are open to the public daily. Guides in colonial costume escort visitors through the buildings and demonstrate such colonial skills as barrelmaking, cabinetmaking and candle dipping.
The furnishings of the Williamsburg 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 each year travel to Williamsburg. The city today covers about five square miles, almost three times its area in colonial times. Many modern buildings and housing developments surround the city.
Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia colony from 1699 to 1776 and of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1776 to 1780. During colonial times, the city ranked with Boston, New York City and Philadelphia as a cultural, political and social center.
English colonists established the Williamsburg settlement in 1633. They chose the site because it had fewer mosquitoes and better soil drainage than other nearby locations.
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.
Many principles of self government were established in Williamsburg. The famous statesman Patrick Henry delivered a noted speech against the Stamp Act in the Williamsburg Capitol in 1765.
Also in Willamsburg, the colonists adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776. This document included the guarantees of liberty that became models for the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution.
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the Virginians moved their capital from Williamsburg to Richmond. The westward shift of Virginia's population made the more central location desirable.
Williamsburg declined in importance and population after the Revolutionary War. Its economy came to depend largely on the College of William and Mary. The city changed little during the 1800s and early 1900s.