Have you ever wanted to travel back in time?
So, take a step back several hundred years to the 18th Century and the dawn of the United States, to a place where the very ideas of our country were being formed by our Founding Fathers. At over 300 acres, Colonial Williamsburg is the world’s largest living history museum. The historic area includes original buildings from the 18th Century (during most of which the city was the capital of Virginia), as well as 17th Century, 19th Century, and colonial revival structures. Colonial Williamsburg is a “live” interpretation of a colonial American city with hundreds of exhibits and role-players recreating the atmosphere and circumstances of the 18th Century American colonies.
Williamsburg was founded in 1632 as Middle Plantation, a fortified settlement on the high ground between the James and York Rivers. The city was renamed in honor of King William III of England in 1699 and served as the capital of the Colony and Commonwealth of Virginia from 1699 to 1780 when the capital was moved to Richmond to protect it from British forces during the Revolutionary War. Colonial Williamsburg was the center of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution with some of the major participants being people such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, Patrick Henry, and George Mason. The College of William & Mary (at the west end of Colonial Williamsburg), established in 1693, is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and the only one of the nine colonial colleges located in the South. It became known as the “Alma Mater of the Nation” due to the large number of Founding Fathers who were alumni. Come experience the history!
To claim this virtual, you must answer/complete following:
1) Just outside the southwest corner of the wall surrounding the Capitol, you’ll find one of the most interesting trees you’ve ever seen. What makes it so unique?
2) On the bakery side of the Raleigh Tavern, in the courtyard near the well is a multi-trunk tree. How many main trunks does it have?
3) If you walk 360 degrees around the Magazine, how many windows are there on the second floor of this unusual building?
4) Since Jefferson was last there, what new addition was added to the Courthouse next to its cellar doors?
5) Near the middle of the grassy oval in front of the Governor’s Palace there is a plate on the ground with a large word written on it. What does it say?
6) Standing in the gate to the handicap entrance to the Bruton Parish Church courtyard, what name do you see clearly at the base of an obelisk?
7) In front of the Wren Building is a statue. On the south side of the statue’s base is an engraved inscription that uses 4 unusual abbreviations and 2 letters interchangeably. What are those 4 words and 2 letters?
8) Post a picture of yourself in front of your favorite site at Colonial Williamsburg, preferably holding a geocaching related object. The guidelines state that you do not have to show your face if you’re not comfortable posting it.
Email or message me the answers to questions 1-7. Please post the picture with your Found It log. There is no need to wait for me to respond before logging the find. However, if you decide to log first, you are expected to send me your answers within 24 hours.
Please do not post answers in your log, even if encrypted. Logs containing answers will be deleted immediately. Additional photos are welcome and encouraged, as long as they don’t reveal answers to the above questions.
Additional information about each location is available in the waypoint notes.
Walking around Colonial Williamsburg is free. You do NOT have to enter any of the historic buildings (some of which require tickets) to complete this Virtual Reward Cache. However, if you have the time, I highly recommend you get tickets and tour the many incredible historic buildings while you are there.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.