Enjoy a comfortable stay at Rodeway Inn® Historic, a stately hotel located within walking distance of Colonial Williamsburg, the largest outdoor living history museum in the nation. Explore Williamsburg history at Great Hopes Plantation, tour the grand Governor’s Palace, which dates from the days before the capital was moved in 1870, view the antique furniture, ceramics and textiles at DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and experience The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. The shops at Williamsburg Premium Outlets, slides, pools and lazy rivers at Water Country USA and the rides, entertainment and animal encounters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg are nearby and Historic Jamestowne, an active archaeological dig on the site of the Jamestown settlement, is just a short drive away.
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THE HISTORY OF WILLIAMSBURG
Prior to European settlement, the area around modern-day Williamsburg was settled by the indigenous American tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy. Williamsburg was first settled in 1638 and was originally referred to as Middle Plantation due to its location on the high ground in the middle of the Virginia Peninsula. In 1699, Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in honor of King William III of England.
By the turn of the 20th century, Williamsburg was a quiet country village, and many colonial buildings, while still standing, were in disrepair. The Reverend Dr. D.A.R. Goodwin made it his goal to restore Williamsburg to its colonial spendor, seeking financial help from none other than John D. Rockefeller Jr., the heir to Standard Oil. It was due to the Rockefeller contributions that Williamsburg became what it is today: A living museum, with history preserved and on exhibit every day.