l Once owned by a nephew of Martha Washington’s, Bassett Hall became the
Williamsburg residence of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife, Abby.
The first phase of the restoration of Colonial Williams- burg was completed by 1934.
she would have to promise not to entertain tourists there. Like so much in Williamsburg, Bassett Hall is steeped in history. The two-story, white, frame house was once owned by a nephew of Martha Washington’s named Burwell Bassett, and according to Rockefeller’s biogra- pher, Raymond Fosdick, the simple home was Rockefeller’s favorite. “Here, surrounded by the details of a vast project,” Fosdick noted, “he found the satisfaction of creation, of being a part of one of his own great dreams.” The first phase of the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg was completed by 1934, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt praising the reopened Duke of Gloucester Street by calling it “the most historic avenue in America.” When Rockefeller died in 1960, he was still heavily involved in the town’s restoration.
Past and Present
While many cities have historic districts, Williamsburg is unique in its scope. The 301-acre historical area is devoted to showing visitors what life was like in the eighteenth century, with restored public buildings, shops, and homes. The oldest surviving
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u In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called Duke of Gloucester Street, shown here decorated for the holidays, “the most historic avenue in America.”
commercial building is the Prentis Store, which was built in 1740, and here visitors can purchase items made by Williamsburg’s tradesmen, who work throughout the city.
Williamsburg’s other shops are just as they would have been in the eighteenth century as well. The
blacksmith, one of the most important men in a colonial village, can be seen working at his anvil with a smoking piece of iron. At the Golden Ball silversmith shop, sterling silver is melted and poured into cast-iron molds. And visitors can buy laces and fabrics like those that would have
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1
PHOTOS: COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION, WILLIAMSBURG, VA
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