The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation advances its mission — “that the future may learn from the past” — through educational programming, preservation and ongoing research.

Williamsburg was the thriving capital of Virginia when the dream of American freedom and independence was taking shape. From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political, cultural and educational center of what was then the largest, most populous, and most influential of the American colonies.

The seat of government in Virginia moved to Richmond in 1780. In 1926, the Rev. Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Bruton Parish Church, joined with philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. to restore the town to its 18th-century appearance.

Today we know it as Colonial Williamsburg, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 educational institution and the largest U.S. history museum in the world. By researching and sharing the fascinating stories of those who built America, including people of all backgrounds, we can better understand history and shape our future. And in so doing, continue our nation’s unending work to build a more perfect union.

Place has power. Stories have power. Ideas have power.

Before our nation was born, many kinds of people lived together in and around Williamsburg. Some had come by choice, hoping to find opportunity and build a new life. Others were captured and brought by force, their lives and life’s work exploited by others who bought and sold them as property. Indigenous people, who had been here long before any newcomers arrived, found their world upended and their lives uprooted by strangers.