Williamsburg Audio Walking Tour

Highlights

• College of William & Mary

  Picture a 1693 royal charter from King William III and Queen Mary II founding this college in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its stones and lawns belong to the second-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the ninth-oldest in the English-speaking world.

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  Wren Building

  Picture the oldest college building in the United States rising in the College Yard, first raised between 1695 and 1700. First constructed between 1695 and 1700 to host students and courses for William & Mary, this is the oldest college building in the United States.

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  Governor's Palace

  British governors of Virginia once lived here at the Governor's Palace, funded by the House of Burgesses in 1706. Imagine a house funded by the House of Burgesses in 1706 at the behest of Lt.

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  Raleigh Tavern

  The Raleigh Tavern once counted among colonial Virginia's largest taverns. Once one of the largest taverns in colonial Virginia, it was named for Sir Walter Raleigh — a lead bust of Raleigh even sat above the entrance door.

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  Bassett Hall

  Rockefeller made this 18th-century farmhouse, Bassett Hall, his home during the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. Built by Philip Johnson, a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, between 1753 and 1766, this house later took the name of Martha Washington's nephew, Burwell Bassett, who purchased it in 1800.

All 25 stops

• College of William & Mary (Williamsburg)

  Picture a 1693 royal charter from King William III and Queen Mary II founding this college in Williamsburg, Virginia.

• Wren Building (College Yard)

  Picture the oldest college building in the United States rising in the College Yard, first raised between 1695 and 1700.

• Brafferton (College of William & Mary)

  Picture the Brafferton, built in 1723 to house the College of William & Mary's Indian school, among the oldest buildings in Virginia.

• President's House (Ancient Campus)

  Notice the President's House, home to nearly every president.

• Sunken Garden (Old Campus)

  Grass sinks below the surrounding ground here, the Sunken Garden, heart of the Old Campus at William & Mary.

• Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall (Williamsburg)

  On October 22, 1976 Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall at William & Mary in Williamsburg hosted the third and final presidential debate.

• Muscarelle Museum of Art (Williamsburg)

  A portrait of Robert Boyle arrived in 1732, the first gift in a collection that now fills the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg.

• Crim Dell bridge (College of William & Mary)

  Cross the wooden bridge over Crim Dell, the pond it is named for, here on the William & Mary campus in Williamsburg.

• Lake Matoaka (College Woods)

  Around 1700 this water was dammed to power a gristmill, and today Lake Matoaka sits at the western edge of William & Mary's campus.

• Merchants Square (Colonial Williamsburg)

  Over 40 shops and restaurants fill Merchants Square today, a 20th-century take on an 18th-century retail village in Colonial Williamsburg.

• DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum (Colonial Williamsburg)

  Reader's Digest money built this place, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, just outside Colonial Williamsburg's historic boundary.

• Matthew Whaley School (Peacock Hill)

  Charles M. Robinson designed Matthew Whaley School, the Georgian Revival landmark that rose between 1929 and 1930 beside the Governor's Palace.

• Raleigh Tavern (Colonial Williamsburg)

  The Raleigh Tavern once counted among colonial Virginia's largest taverns.

• Peyton Randolph House (Colonial Williamsburg)

  Two names cling to this house, the Peyton Randolph House and the Randolph-Peachy House.

• Colonial Williamsburg Courthouse (Williamsburg Historic District)

  Red brick and white trim mark the Colonial Williamsburg Courthouse, raised from 1770 to 1771 facing Market Square.

• Governor's Palace (Colonial Williamsburg)

  British governors of Virginia once lived here at the Governor's Palace, funded by the House of Burgesses in 1706.

• Wythe House (Palace Green)

  George Wythe's home rises on the Palace Green here in Colonial Williamsburg.

• Williamsburg Inn (Williamsburg)

  Queen Elizabeth II has twice been a guest at the Williamsburg Inn, a historic resort hotel in Virginia.

• Bassett Hall (Colonial Williamsburg)

  Rockefeller made this 18th-century farmhouse, Bassett Hall, his home during the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg.

• St. George Tucker House (Historic Williamsburg)

  Built in 1718 for William Levingston, this house later became the St. George Tucker House in Historic Williamsburg.

• Brush-Everard House (Palace Green)

  Hand-split weatherboard covers the Brush-Everard House, a five-bay, story-and-a-half home on the east side of Palace Green next to the Governor's Palace.

• James Semple House (Colonial Williamsburg)

  Thomas Jefferson is credited with the design of the James Semple House on East Francis Street in Colonial Williamsburg.

• Tayloe House (Williamsburg)

  Tayloe House has faced E. Nicholson Street since 1759, an 18th-century home in Williamsburg, Virginia.

• Ludwell–Paradise House (Colonial Williamsburg)

  Your walk down Duke of Gloucester Street brings you to the Ludwell–Paradise House, part of Colonial Williamsburg.

• Williamsburg Bray School (Williamsburg)

  At Benjamin Franklin's suggestion a school for Black children opened here in 1760, in the building known as the Williamsburg Bray School.

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