Williamsburg, historic city, seat (1654) of James City county (though administratively independent of it), southeastern Virginia, U.S., on a tidewater peninsula, between the James and York rivers, 27 miles (43 km) northwest of Newport News. First settled by the English in 1633 as Middle Plantation, it originally stood within a 6-mile (10-km) stockade and served as a refuge from attacks by Powhatan Indians. The College of William and Mary, second oldest school of higher education (after Harvard University) in the United States, was founded there in 1693. In 1699, after the burning of nearby Jamestown, the city became the capital of Virginia and was renamed to honour King William III.
Williamsburg subsequently became the political, social, and cultural centre of the colony. It was home to Virginia’s first theatre (1716), first successful printing press (1730), first newspaper (1736), and first paper mill (1744). In the Capitol, Patrick Henry presented his historic speech against the Stamp Act (1765), and on May 15, 1776, the Virginia Convention passed resolutions urging the Continental Congress to declare American independence from Britain. Williamsburg declined in importance after the state government was moved to Richmond in 1780. During the American Civil War, Confederate forces were defeated at the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862), and the city remained in Union hands until the end of the war.
Colonial Williamsburg, a restoration of a large section of the early colonial area, was begun in 1926, when the Reverend William A.R. Goodwin, rector of the city’s Bruton Parish Church (1710–15; restored 1905–07), originated the idea and convinced industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to sponsor the project. Since then, the historic area has been expanded and is now about a mile (2 km) long and a half mile (1 km) wide; more than 500 buildings have been restored or reconstructed. The exhibition buildings—which include the Capitol, Governor’s Palace and Gardens, Public Gaol, and Raleigh Tavern—are furnished as they were in the 18th century, and the entire area is landscaped as it was in colonial times. Hostesses, craftsmen, militiamen, and attendants costumed in the style of the period give a flavour of living history. Part of the city is included in Colonial National Historical Park. Nearby are Carter’s Grove settlement (c. 1619) and the Winthrop Rockefeller Archaeology Museum.
Williamsburg’s economy depends mainly on services to Eastern State Hospital (founded there in 1773), the College of William and Mary, and tourism. Inc. city, 1722. Pop. (2000) 11,998; (2010) 14,068.