Old Capitol, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Colonial Williamsburg is a “living history” museum in the former capital of Virginia. It was the brainchild of Dr. William Goodwin along with several Virginia preservationist societies in the 1920s. Their goal was to recreate the colonial era town (circa 1770) by buying and restoring significant eighteenth-century structures and reconstructing others which had been torn down. Providing the lion’s share of the funding for this project was John D. Rockefeller Jr.

The three most significant buildings in Williamsburg in the late eighteenth century were the Governor’s Palace, the Capitol and the Wren building on the campus of the College of William and Mary. Of these three, only the Wren building was still standing, more or less: It had burned down four times and only slightly resembled its original appearance due to multiple reconfigurations. The plan was to restore the Wren building to its 1770s appearance and reconstruct the Governor’s Palace and Capitol on their original sites.

A debate arose over which capitol building to reconstruct, however. The original capitol was completed in 1705 after the seat of government was moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg. A colonial attempt at fire prevention was to simply not install fireplaces in the new building. But after 20 years of dealing with cold and damp weather, fireplaces were finally installed and subsequently, in 1747, that capitol building burnt to the ground. At that time, there was discussion about moving the Capital yet again but when that idea fell through, a new capitol was built on the same spot, but it did not resemble the first one at all.

It was this latter building that was in use during the American Revolution and would have fit the bill for the Colonial Williamsburg project having been frequented by George Washington, Patrick Henry, George Mason etc. But the original 1705 building was chosen for the reconstruction instead and thus, has always seemed somewhat out of place. Moreover, recent scholarship has established that the reconstructed building is not even a good replica of the original which was not as symmetrical nor as ornate on the inside.

The Old Capitol may be an anachronism in Colonial Williamsburg, but the situation is even worse for this stamp which celebrates Virginia’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution in June of 1788. By that time, the seat of government had already moved to Richmond where a new Capitol was being designed by Thomas Jefferson. But this stamp series (there were 13 in all, one for each of the original 13 colonies) rarely showed contemporary scenes and the 1930s beaux arts style Old Capitol is a handsome building in its own right.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 25-Jun-1988 Denomination: 25c Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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