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INSTITUTIONAL FACT SHEET

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, Va. 23187-1776

Summary

Founded in 1926, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to the preservation, restoration, interpretation and presentation of the 18th-century capital of Virginia. Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the United States, with an annual paid attendance of more than 700,000.

Audience

  • All ages and nationalities

Hours of Operation

  • 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days a year; evening programs

Collections

  • 301 acres of the original town
  • 88 original buildings, 225 period rooms
  • 500 buildings reconstructed on the basis of extensive archaeological, architectural and documentary research
  • Archaeological collection includes 500,000 objects; 50,000,000 fragments; 200,000 artifacts are added yearly from archaeological excavations in and around the Historic Area
  • 60,000 American and English antiques, including arms and equipment, ceramics, costumes and accessories, household items, furniture, musical instruments, games and toys, glassware, kitchen equipment, rare books, maps and prints, paintings, silver and other metals, textiles, and various hand tools and scientific instruments; the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art collection comprising 5,000 paintings, sculpture, carvings, textiles, metalwares, furniture, pottery, and miscellaneous decorative usefulwares and whimsical pieces made by minimally trained or untrained artists in America between the early 18th century and the present
  • At John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, a circulating collection of approximately 103,671 items (books, CDs and videotapes), more than 12,000 rare books, approximately 160 manuscript collections, more than 6,000 reels of microfilm, more than 50,000 architectural drawings, 250,000 slides, 150,000 photographs, approximately 25,000 digital images, and access to many databases relating to relevant fields of study.

Use of Collections

  • Percentage of collection on exhibit: about 50 percent
  • Number of objects on exhibit: 30,000+

Educational Programs

  • Costumed staff interpret buildings and trade shops
  • Specialized tours and evening programs
  • Themed tours for school groups
  • Teacher Institute in Early American History (weeklong programs June-August; 4,930 graduates as of 11/06)
  • 46 electronic field trips; two primary source CDs “Think Like a Historian”; six “Educating America’s Citizens” lesson units; four “Hands-on History” kits; “Discovering the Past Through Archaeology” kit; “A Day in the Life” instructional video series and teaching resources; teaching guides for the “Young American” series and for “Jefferson & Adams” (CD); Declaration of Independence poster with teaching resources
  • Permanent and temporary exhibits at the Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, combined collections of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art and DeWitt Wallace Decorative Art
  • Introductory audiovisual presentations, including the film “Williamsburg – The Story of a Patriot,” seen by more than 30 million guests
  • Publications: 102 books currently in print; 145 out of print
  • Scholarly journal: William and Mary Quarterly by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, co-sponsored by the College of William and Mary (in addition to 180 published books)
  • Quarterly journal, Colonial Williamsburg
  • 48 educational movies produced; 32 videotaped programs, including CD-ROM; 37 recordings on LP, cassette and CD

Employees

  • Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: 1,919
  • Colonial Williamsburg Company: 1,335
  • Volunteers: 920 (including youth volunteers)

Separate Colonial Williamsburg Museums

  • The Museums of Colonial Williamsburg (the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, the Abby Aldrich Folk Art Museum and the Public Hospital)
  • Bassett Hall

Research Facilities

  • Bruton Heights School Education Center, a 30-acre research facility, including Bruton Heights School; the Costume Design Center; the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library; and the DeWitt Wallace Collections and Conservation Building
  • Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

 

— CWF —


01/07



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