This is the sixth post in a travel series. In this series, we are headed east starting in Wisconsin and going all the way to Virginia to see the home of George Washington and Colonial Williamsburg. To start at the beginning, go HERE where we stop in Indiana to celebrate Easter with my daughter, son-in-law, and our grandchildren.
After spending one full day in Colonial Williamsburg, we wanted to travel the Historical Triangle and see Yorktown and Jamestown too. If you ever get the chance to visit Colonial Williamsburg, I would really recommend seeing all three places if you can. They are very close together and there is historical significance in all three locations that will broaden your understanding of early Colonial history and the American Revolution.
The first stop on our visit to Yorktown was the National Historical Park Battlefield. We have the America the Beautiful pass, so we got in for free.
The park has a nice visitor center where you can watch a movie and learn all about the great battle of Yorktown.
They had a cool ship replica inside the Visitor Center that you could walk inside of.
I can't even imagine getting a good night sleep in that little box.
Once done at the Visitor Center you can do an auto tour of the battlefield site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. There are also park ranger tours you can sign up for.
After our time at the National Historical Site, we left our car at the Visitor Center and got on the free trolley to explore Yorktown. We really didn't need to use the trolley as Yorktown was not busy at all, so parking wouldn't have been an issue. But I'm glad we did because the trolley driver gives a narrated tour of the area. I highly recommend taking a trolley ride just to learn the history of Yorktown; and besides, the trolley is pretty cute too!
On the Historic Main Street there are lots of cute houses all with historical significance. Some have been turned into shops/restaurants. Only the Nelson Home is open for viewing when staffing allows (it wasn't open when we were there), the rest are privately owned. There were signs in front of some of the homes with either a title or an explanation of the homes history.
Pictured above is Swan Tavern. It was the most prominent tavern in Yorktown during the 18th century. It opened for business around 1722. The tavern closed prior to the Civil War and by 1862 Union forces were storing munitions in the building. A huge explosion destroyed the building in 1863. In 1935, the National Park Service reconstructed the tavern and outbuildings to help recreate an important element in Yorktown's Colonial history.
The cute little house below is Dr. Corbin Griffin's Medical Shop. The Doctor was imprisoned by the British on a ship anchored in the York River. The original building was destroyed; this is a reconstruction.
Below is the headquarters of "The Fifes and Drums of Yorktown".
The building I am standing in front of below served THE MOST DELICIOUS ICE CREAM I ever had, so if you're ever in Yorktown, stop and get the ice cream!
It not only serves great ice cream but is famous for being the Somerwell House. It seems to have been constructed between 1700 and 1707, making it the oldest building in Yorktown.
It's pretty cute inside too!
Unfortunately I couldn't gather information on every single house in Yorktown, but I took pictures of all the cutest ones!
There are some pretty cute private homes in Yorktown too.
I loved the garden of this home. Their porch is high up on a hill and overlooks the water. What views it has!
This would be their view. Amazing right? This is the York River but it looked more like a lake to me with that beautiful beach.
There is a fabulous modern shopping/dining district down by the beach, but I have no photos of it for we didn't stop there. We just saw it from the trolley. We weren't hungry (after all I just had an ice cream) and I'm not much of a gift shop person.
Across from the beach was this interesting cave. It turned out to have lots of historical significance. In October of 1781 French/American forces besieged the British army in Yorktown and bombarded the town with artillery. Townspeople sought shelter under this bluff and forced the British commander to move his headquarters to the cave.
This impressive, gorgeous building is the Hornsby House Inn. It was originally built in 1933 for the Hornsby and Bowditch families, but not serves as a luxury bed and breakfast.
Dudley Diggs house was built in around 1760. The original home was damaged during the Revolution but was restored in 1960. Digges was a member of the Virginian Assembly and was captured by the British and held as a prisoner until the war ended.
The Coles Digges house was constructed in the 1730s and is now being used as Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters Store. It wasn't open when we were there.
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The Nelson Home is the most famous home in Yorktown. It was owned by Thomas Nelson Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was elected governor of Virginia in 1781 and was a commander of the Virginia Militia in the Battle of Yorktown. The house was damaged during the battle and that damage can still be seen today on the outside of the building. The Nelson descendants owned the building until 1908. In 1968 the National Park Service purchased the building and restored it to its original appearance in 1781. |
The Custom House was built in 1721 by Yorktown's wealthiest resident. He served as a collector of import/export taxes. The Custom House was where goods were stored until taxes were paid. During the revolution, it was used as a barracks. It's now owned by The Daughter's of the American Revolution and is open for tours on Sundays.
This old home is now a coffee/restaurant that has both indoor and outdoor dining. I stopped in for a latte and cookie. Yea, I know, I had way too much sugar that day! Anyway, other than taking too long for my order, which was no fault of the staff but rather a group of ladies with some lengthy orders, everything was delicious!
The upstairs dining room was as cute as could be! I love those black and white checkered table cloths.
You could see the Custom House across the street.
The outdoor dining consisted of picnic tables under shady trees.
The two most famous attractions in Yorktown is the American Revolution Museum and the Victory Monument. Sadly, we did not go to the museum. At this point on our trip, I was "museumed out". I just wanted to be outside, enjoying the beautiful weather and this lovely town. But looking back, I wish we would have gone because it is an AMAZING museum.
We did spend some time at the Victory Monument. Wow! What a monument this is. I could never get a photo of it without that bird in it though. So disrespectful 😀
The Victory Monument commemorates the Battle of Yorktown. There are many symbols on the monument to illustrate the sentiment "one country, one constitution, one destiny". Lady Liberty stands at the top with outstretched hands as a wish for growth and prosperity for the nation. Thirteen female figures are hand in hand beneath her to represent the thirteen original colonies. Four emblems are on the base of the sculpture representing nationality, war, alliance, and peace.
The Victory monument is 98 feet tall and is constructed in three parts: A base, sculptured podium, and a column.
Before we left the Yorktown area we thought we'd check out one more home recommended by the National Historical Site Visitor Center. Pictured below is the Moore House.
This home is famous for being the meeting place of Washington and Cornwallis, where the British would negotiate the terms of their surrender.
There was a family gravesite on the grounds.
And this cute little barn. It was a lovely property, but the inside of the building was not open to the public when we were there.
I really, really, enjoyed our visit to Yorktown. Perhaps it was because we were in Colonial Williamsburg the day before, where it was more crowded, and arriving in Yorktown the next day it was just so peaceful. It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves, and I just loved strolling down all the quaint streets. I'm not sure if it gets busier during peak tourist times. If I could plan this trip all over again, I'd probably add an extra day just to spend more time in Yorktown; then I would have to the American Revolution Museum, which is so huge, it needs a lot of time. I also could have spent more time down by the water, shopping and trying out some of those cool restaurants. If you have to choose between visiting Yorktown or Jamestown, I would recommend Yorktown. There is a lot more to do there! Although, if you have small children, Jamestown might be better because the historic settlement there...which we will talk about next week! See you then
Have a Great Week and a Happy 4th of July! Amy
Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs
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For more information on the Historical Triangle, check out these posts:
