February 24, 1934: Colonial Williamsburg Opens

The Governor's Palace. Original Building, 1710-1781.

Reconstruction: 1931.

February 24, 1934: Colonial Williamsburg opens. Although there are other "living history museums" in America, including Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts (set at the start of America's colonial era) and Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan (set in various periods from the colonial era to the 1920s), Williamsburg is the most famous.

Jamestown was the 1st capital of England's colony in Virginia. The statehouse burned down in 1698. The capital was moved 6 miles inland, to Williamsburg, home of the College of William and Mary, only the 2nd college ever established in America, after Harvard in Massachusetts.

Williamsburg served as the capital of Virginia until 1780, when it was moved 50 miles northwest to Richmond. The next year, the Governor's Palace burned down, about 2 months after the British surrendered at nearby Yorktown, the decisive battle of the War of the American Revolution.

Williamsburg remained a college town, and figured in the other defining conflict of American history: The Battle of Williamsburg was fought as part of the Peninsular Campaign of the American Civil War, on May 5, 1862 -- the same day as the Battle of Puebla during the French Intervention in Mexico, inspiring the holiday Cinco de Mayo.

As the 20th Century dawned, Williamsburg was in decline, but it was the only colonial capital that could, theoretically, have been restored as a historic park. The others were either pretty much abandoned or, as in the case of Boston and Philadelphia, had already become too modernized. The Rev. Dr. William Archer Rutherford Goodwin, a community leader, convinced John D. Rockefeller Jr., of the nation's richest family, to fund the colonial area's rebuilding and restoration. This was done at the depth of the Great Depression, at the same time as "Junior" was funding the building of the Rockefeller Center complex in Midtown Manhattan. That's how much money he had from being the country's top banker, above and beyond even his billionaire oil baron father's fortune.

Today, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has over 7,300 employees on 301 acres. Some of the buildings are restored originals, some are constructions based on photographs or paintings. Costumed employees are thoroughly versed in the customs of the era, including records of how people spoke: While they have not attempted to copy the accents of the time (to which, sound recording not having been invented for another 100 years, they could only guess), they do try to match the grammar and the diction that was common at the time.

And they must stay not only in character, but in time. The last time I visited, a town crier was giving the news of the Battle of Saratoga, in October 1777, and he wanted the visitors to join him in three cheers (three shouts of, "Hip, hip, huzzah!") for the winning general of that battle. Benedict Arnold. He had to act as though he didn't know how Arnold's story ended, so, when he saw some people laughing at the mention of the General's name, he said of Arnold, "I know, he's from New England, and they're a little strange up there... " (Arnold was from Norwich, Connecticut. Among the people laughing at that line was a man wearing a Boston Red Sox T-shirt.)

About an hour later, at the restored courthouse, there was a demonstration of the British capture of Williamsburg, and an actor playing Arnold -- who is not known to have ever visited the city, but did cause a lot of damage through his turncoated actions in Virginia -- told the crowd from atop his horse that they should have stayed loyal to the Crown, that they lived better under British rule. He was roundly booed by the early 21st Century tourists. The actor stayed in character, and didn't look bothered by it. An hour later, I looked back at the courthouse, and the Union Jack had once again been replaced by a 13-star American Flag.

Part of the problem of portraying the time is the recognition that much of the American economy, particularly in Virginia, the largest Southern State, involved slavery. The Foundation has chosen to tell the truth about it, though in such a way that it would not upset the children among the tourists.

*

February 24, 1934 was a Saturday. Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. But there were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 8-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Frank "Buzz" Boll, Harvey "Busher" Jackson and Frank "King" Clancy -- a defenseman -- each had 2 goals for the Leafs. Jackson, Joe Primeau and Charlie Conacher, "the Kid Line," combined for 4 goals and 3 assists.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum. Pit Lepine scored all of the Canadiens' goals, including the winner, with 2:40 left in overtime.

* And the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins, 9-4 at the Ottawa Auditorium. Earl Roche, Gerry Shannon and Nick Wasnie each scored 2 goals. This would be the last season for the Senators, hurt by the Great Depression: They moved, playing the 1934-35 season as the St. Louis Eagles, and then folded. The World Hockey Association had the Ottawa Nationals for the 1972-73 season and the Ottawa Civics for 6 games in 1976, but the NHL would not return to its founding country's capital until the new Ottawa Senators began play in 1992.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal, in the process of successfully defending their Football League title in spite of the death of manager Herbert Chapman (Joe Shaw was now leading them), beat Newcastle United, 1-0 at St. James Park in Newcastle-on-Tyne in the North-East.