The Visitors' Center at Colonial Williamsburg is walking distance from the Woodlands Hotel.  For that matter, just about everything is walking distance - that is, if you like walking long distances.  Our Teachers Institute group were transported to designated locations on dedicated busses, and we could easily catch one of the shuttles back to the hotel when our programming was complete each day.

This trail goes past the Great Hopes Plantation, an area depicting rural farm life in the 18th Century.  It is one more area that I did not get to enjoy due to it being after hours.

Soon, however, I found myself on the bridge to the Visitors Center.  I had seen this bridge in a video prior to my visit, so I felt some bit of familiarity to the area.  I will present the photos below in their proper order. Traveling from the Visitors Center to the historic area, the first embedded marker is the one below.  Its display sets up the remaining markers.

From the Visitors Center and walking toward the historic blocks, the plaques display Walking Back in Time.  When a person walks as I did, in reverse, the plaques highlight History Makers.  See both sets below.

No longer do most people walk this bridge.  Most of us ride the convenient shuttles rather than take the long walk to some point along the Duke of Gloucester.  I realize that these embedded markers don't have historical value, but I was pleased to at least have the​opportunity to enjoy them.  I enjoyed reading each of them and considering the messages displayed on their faces.

It was a quick visit after hours, but I did find the archaeological dig that is currently taking place at the First Baptist Church location in Colonial Williamsburg. This is not only an important place for the history of the Baptist Church in American history, but also has deep ties to Black history.  in another location, I found the historical marker that honors Gowan Pamphlet (left).

There wasn't much to see as, on this very hot day in July, all of the scientists had already tarped the dig site, parked their wheel barrows upside down, and clocked out.  Perhaps the next time I visit, the actual building, which had been moved to the College of William and Mary, will be repositioned in its historical location.

Does God intend for us to read His Words and accept them at face value?  Or does He build in proofs that His Word is His Word?  How could we possibly know that the Bible is inspired, that It is correct, and that It is complete?  This study takes us there, guiding us into the knowledge that our faith does not have to be blind.

Dr. Gary Crossland has put together the video below, and it happens to fit the purpose of introducing our study about the accuracy of the Bible.

Analyze the two paintings (below).  Look for the details.

• What do you notice?
• What do you think is happening?
• What caused the scene in the painting?
• What might happen after the scene shown?
• What does this piece make you wonder?

Jamestowne was named after the same King James who "authorized" the King James Version of the Bible. The video here (right) is a humorous presentation of the naming of new colony.  The influence of a king in everyday life and in religion is an interesting topic to consider when studying the origins of our English Bible.

That is not, however, intended to say that this was the original religious center of the first successful American colony.  Realizing that the colony was established in 1607 and this standing structure was built some time between 1660 and 1690, how might you think the colony felt about Christianity?

Actually, just to the right of the church tower, with a closer proximity to the James River, is the site of the first church structure, built in 1608.  Incidentally, this was the location of the wedding between John Rolfe and Pocahontas.

In fact, the Christian religion (the English, or Anglican, church) was well known and promoted around the area much earlier than the construction of the church tower. One of the men buried in the Chancel was Robert Hunt, listed as a "reverend" and known to be the first Anglican minister to Jamestown.  Another, Captain Gabriel Archer, must have also been a devout adherent to the faith as he was buried with a reliquary (See video, below), a silver box containing human bone fragments and a small container of liquid (thought to be oil, holy water, or the blood of a saint).

​It would be difficult to keep the many Indians, the working laboring class, and the gentry all in line through lean and desperate times.  In fact, the famous (or infamous) Captain John Smith, governor of Virginia (1608), is known to have locked up food supplies and required men of every class to work to earn it or else starve.  The political slogan, "He who does not worke shall not eate," was taken was 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (which would also make for a great refrigerator magnet in any household containing a preteen boy).

One point to be made is, Christianity was important to our nation, even 169 years before our independence from Britain.

I quickly took a walk away from the historical area of Colonial Williamsburg to find the Art Museums.  I arrived with very little time remaining before closing. Checking in at the front desk, I was asked to put the things I carried into a locker before proceeding to the museum.

I knew I would not be able to see both sides of the museum, so I selected the folk art side.  Some of the contents on this side were purchased in the early days for the historical district, but they were inauthentic additions.  That doesn't mean they lost their historic value; it just means they needed to be taken in a more authentic context.

In the restroom, the instructions for washing hands were appropriate to the setting:  "Wash your hands to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy!"

​Afterward, there was a concert on the lawn by a Jimmy Buffet tribute band.  I spent a little time there, but Buffet is not my musician (with literally every song being about drinking alcohol), and I needed to eventually get back to the hotel to cool off before another interesting evening activity.

If you look at the main entrance to the Governor's Palace and then allow your gaze to drift to the left, your eyes might land upon the George Wythe house.  This house served as headquarters for the more well-known George - Washington, that is.  This latter-mentioned George used the former's house as headquarters before the decisive Yorktown Battle.

But George Wythe (pronounced like with) is more than the placard on the outside of his house describes.  Not only was he a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but he also:

• tutored Thomas Jefferson
• was the first professor of law at William and Mary
• was the second professor of law in the English-speaking world
• introduced judicial review
• was the only founder to free his slaves during his lifetime

We can't appreciate this man enough for his contributions to society and to this nation.  Later in the week, we were introduced to Wythe, interpreted and portrayed by Robert Weathers.  Pictured here, Weathers presents Wythe with a distinct and intricate vocabulary, tinged with political commentary that touches on both the large events of the 18th Century, as well as everyday life in the colonial capital.  Much of his presentation speaks to our own current events and could be debated just as easily on talk radio, today.

​Music would have been front and center, as well as all of the fancy china, fine crystal, and silver service.  As you enter this room, you may be drawn to the molding around the doors and windows, as well as that marking the chair rail and outlining the ceiling.  The candle holder in that fourth picture below, by the way, was originally used by the British sympathizer, Lord Dunmore.

In the dig efforts, some items were recovered and included in the rebuild.  Among them was an ornately-carved mantlepiece in the room on the right.

There are things to see and soak in from all directions as one imagines the governor's family living in this setting.  It rivals and perhaps surpasses many modern governors' mansions in appearance, but in history, there would be few to rise to the occasion of this one.

Of course, it would difficult to discuss the Governor's Palace without mentioning Lord Dunmore.  Dunmore was appointed to the role of governor on behalf of King George III, and he was as loyal to the Mother Country as one could get.

The problem may come in that for many, Dunmore is a hero.  After all, isn't he the progressive man who offered to set some of the enslaved population free?  Well, actually there is more to the story:

First, Dunmore only offered to set free the men owned by Patriots.  He did not promise the slaves of Loyalists to be freed, and thus, the British did not have slaves running away to fight.

Second, he only freed the men, leaving the rest of the enslaved family behind.

And that's not to mention that when the British lost, many of the enslaved men who had cut the deal with Lord Dunmore were returned to their masters anyway.

Dunmore was forced to leave the Palace, running away from factions stronger than his own British resolve.  He left some items in the Palace that are true to Dunmore's family, including the candle holders on the dining table (See tomorrow's report for photos).

There comes a time when we must visit the governor. One such governor would have been Lord Dunmore, infamous for his attempt to manipulate the Revolution in favor of the British.  He did so by recruiting the slaves of Patriots to serve in the British military, promising them freedom if they did.  Notice, he did not recruit the slaves of Loyalists.

There came a time when Dunmore had to skip town, abandoned the Governor's Palace.  The original building, like so many, burned, but in the ashes and ruins, archaeology has discovered some interesting things - including human remains.

The Colonial brick building has been rebuilt and refurnished at great expense and in intricate detail.

Our group had a scheduled tour of the Governor's Palace, in which we were directed into the various rooms on two stories.  We'll see interior in future articles, which include some of Lord Dunmore's possessions.

The Governor's Palace sits in stark contrast to some of the other lifestyles in the area.