The Blog of Colonial Williamsburg
Lena Richard. Courtesy Newcomb Archives and Vorhoff Library Special Collections, Newcomb College Institute, Tulane University.
Today the Travis House contains offices and sits in its original location at the corner of Francis and Henry. But once upon a time, it was a Colonial Williamsburg restaurant at the foot of Palace Green, and it was where a talented chef with an entrepreneurial knack built a national reputation for her take on Southern cuisine….
If you’re inclined to buy the old adage that “behind every great man is a great woman,” then you should know the name Elizabeth Hayes. For 18 years she was the personal secretary to Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, the “father of Colonial Williamsburg”—and like so many other women who toiled out of the limelight, her contributions to making the dream of Colonial Williamsburg a reality deserve more attention. And we have the records to prove it….