Qualla: Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia)

Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia): Introduction

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Frances Benjamin Johnston, Public domain. On May 29, 1765, a twenty-nine-year-old Hanover County lawyer named Patrick Henry stood up in the chamber of the House of Burgesses and gave the speech that became known as the Caesar-Brutus speech. He was attacking the Stamp Act. According to legend, when shouts of "Treason!" interrupted him, he answered: "If this be treason, make the most of it." The room where he stood is a reconstruction, completed in 1934, on the foundations of the original Capitol that burned in 1747. But the chamber's dimensions, its proportions, even the heavy panels of dark wood, follow the original. Stand inside today and the air carries the strange double weight of a building that has been destroyed twice and rebuilt to remember the words that were spoken in it before the destruction.

Image: Frances Benjamin Johnston | Public domain

Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia): Out of the Swamps

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1698 the State House at Jamestown burned for the third time. Virginia's legislators decided enough was enough. The swampy ground at Jamestown had been malarial and disease-ridden from the beginning, and the colony needed a capital on higher ground. James Blair and five William...

Image: Martin Kraft | CC BY-SA 3.0

Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia): The First Capitol, 1705 to 1747

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Henry Howe (1816-1893) (author); after drawing by unknown artist, Public domain. For four decades, the building Cary built without fireplaces held the colony's government. In 1723 chimneys were added because the structure was so damp the records were rotting. On January 30, 1747, the building burned anyway, leaving only walls and foundations. A second Capitol...

Image: Henry Howe (1816-1893) (author); after drawing by unknown artist | Public domain

Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia): Abandoned for Richmond

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Harvey Barrison from Massapequa, NY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Capitol's prominence did not survive the Revolutionary War. Williamsburg, perched on the peninsula, was militarily vulnerable. Governor Thomas Jefferson urged that the capital be moved inland to Richmond for security reasons. The General Assembly adjourned at Williamsburg for...

Image: Harvey Barrison from Massapequa, NY, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0

Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia): A Third Capitol, Standing Longer than Both Originals

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY 2.5. The building that stands at the east end of Duke of Gloucester Street today is the third Capitol on the site. It is a reconstruction completed in the early 1930s as part of the Colonial Williamsburg restoration funded by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and led by the Reverend W.A.R. Good...

Image: CC BY 2.5