We Found the Porch! An Update from the Trenches at the Raleigh Tavern

November 17, 2016 by Mark Kostro Leave a Comment

Archaeologist Brittany Higgs records a preserved patch of 18th-century brick paving along Duke of Gloucester Street at the Raleigh Tavern.

Archaeological research has a long history at Colonial Williamsburg, and this summer, visitors to the Historic Area had the unique opportunity to see it in action. For five months between Memorial Day and Halloween, Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeologists were busy systematically probing the ground in front of the Raleigh Tavern for evidence of a late 18th-century front porch that linked the iconic tavern to Duke of Gloucester Street….

A Report from the Trenches at the Raleigh Tavern

July 15, 2016 by Mark Kostro 10 Comments

A couple of weeks ago we announced the launch of an exciting new project to research and reconstruct a porch on the front of Williamsburg’s iconic Raleigh Tavern. The project builds on previous documentary research that determined the presence of a porch on the Raleigh in the late 18th century. What the porch looked like, however, remains largely an open question….

Before the Tavern …

May 11, 2015 by Mark Kostro 4 Comments

These two substantial postholes are part of an “earthfast” building that pre-dates Wetherburn’s Tavern.

Two weeks ago we profiled our recent investigation of a Revolutionary War era porch across the front of Wetherburn’s Tavern, and hinted at another important discovery made during our fieldwork. We are now ready for the big reveal….wait for it….a previously undocumented early 18th-century building pre-dating Wetherburn’s Tavern!

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