Historically, bells in colonial market houses were used to signal the open and close of each business day, which is similar to the use of bells today at the New York Stock Exchange. When our new Market House bell starts swinging next month, it will signal the completion of all the hard work of the men and women at the Armoury, the Joiner, and across the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation….
Trading Secrets: the 18th-century Lock, Stock, and Barrel
In the 18th century, when 90 percent of the working population was farmers and most families found themselves living well outside of town, firearms were necessary for protection, hunting, and pest control. Almost everyone learned how to operate and shoot a rifle by the age of 13, and in the back country, each home contained roughly one gun per family member. Flintlock rifles, pistols, and fowling pieces were a part of everyday life in the 1700’s and are still made and used in the Revolutionary City today….