“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other word would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet v. Q2 1599 What is in a name? How does naming a thing affect its destiny and how later generations will view it? The story of how a popular native holly came by its name, and how that name destroyed a promising Colonial American industry, demonstrates that names have incredible power to shape the future....
The former Colonial Williamsburg Garden Historian, Wesley Greene, had a discussion with Scott Hemler, Colonial Williamsburg’s nurseryman this year in August, about the origin of our famous Compton Oak. In this exchange, Greene raised questions about the “legend” of this tree and how it came to be planted on Nicholson Street in historic Williamsburg. So, at Green’s suggestion, I began an investigation to see if the Archives at the Rockefeller Library could provide any additional information about the time...
Colonial Williamsburg welcomes visitors to the natural beauty of one of the wilder, quieter portions of the historic area. The Bassett Trace is named after Burwell Bassett, Martha Washington’s nephew and a Virginia legislator and congressman. In 1800, he purchased a white farmhouse near the trailhead. In 1936, that farmhouse, now known as Bassett Hall, became the favorite home of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. During the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, an...
A recent old photo that appeared on Facebook triggered a search through the Colonial Williamsburg Archives that led to the discovery of what may be the oldest living tree in this historic city. The photo, shown above, shows a group of workers standing in a very deep hole with the caption “Moving Cedar Tree 1933.” A comparison with that photo and an Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) standing behind Bassett Hall at the Northern entrance to the Rockefeller Vista, led...