Colonial Williamsburg - Taverns and Coffeehouses

Steven is ready to consume tavern grub.
At Chowning's Tavern on Gloucester Street.

Having been to DC on business, we are now taking a break for some living history in Colonial Williamsburg.  This city was at its apex before the Revolutionary War, as the state capitol of Virginia.  Its fortunes declined after the capitol was moved to Richmond, but it persisted as a quiet college town, home of the College of William & Mary (founded 1693), until John D. Rockefeller Jr. began funding the restoration of the town in the 1930's.  Now I hear they get four million visitors a year.

Mr. George Washington takes his coffee at Charlton's Coffeehouse.
Steven and I sat next to him and asked how his trip from Mt. Vernon went.

For a town founded in 1638, I was expecting something primitive.  But Williamsburg was built for the top 5% of society, and it resembles an upscale British village. Wealthy white male landowners came from hundreds of miles away to serve in the House of Burgesses, one of the ruling bodies for the state of Virginia. That included George Washington, who rode his horse hard for two days to reach the capitol.  When he arrived, he liked to have a coffee at R. Charlton's Coffeehouse or  perhaps something stronger at the Raleigh Tavern.  (We know this because we sat at the table with him.  See picture above. He introduced himself as Mr. Washington, and Steven asked if he was *the* George Washington.  He told us it wasn't the custom to ask strangers' their first name, but conceded that he was indeed that Mr. Washington.)

Our colonial guide shows off his collection of pipes
in the front meeting room of Raleigh Tavern.

Close up of the expensive wallpaper.

In our first day and a half in Williamsburg, we ate at the Chowning's Tavern and visited the Raleigh Tavern, the R. Charlton's Coffeehouse, and Wetherburn's Tavern.  All had to offer the public traveler food, lodging, and drinks at state mandated fees (7 pence for a sleeping space), but then offered private meeting spaces and ballrooms to wealthy patrons for an upcharge. Anyone that was anybody came to these taverns to see and be seen. 

The big meeting room at Raleigh Tavern that
held the first Virginia Continental Congress in May 1776.