America’s Historic Triangle: Part 1 (Yorktown and The Presidents Heads, Virginia)
When I was married to the boys’ father, we lived on the east coast for quite a bit. Between the two of us, the military had us (not in this order) in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, and Connecticut. I think that was all of them. During the years we lived in the mid-Atlantic, the boys and I explored as much as we could. We visited DC, Valley Forge, Plymouth Rock, NYC, everything in between and many more historical and cultural places of importance. We did not do a whole lot in Virginia, though. We did not neglect Virginia for any specific reason – there is just so much to explore that it is impossible to do it all in only a handful of years.
The Ruins of Presidents Park
Before we even got to our new home, I had purchased tickets to see the giant busts of past presidents. The Curious Therapist had sent me a post on Instagram about it a long time ago, after we found out I would be moving to the region.
Presidents Park in Williamsburg, Va. was the creation of Everette H. “Haley” Newman II, a local entrepeneur, and sculptor David Adickes. The park became operational and open to the public in 2004 and closed it’s doors due to bankruptcy in 2010. In 2012, a company bought the property and it was time for the sculptures to be demolished. The contractor who was hired to demolish them elected to save them and move them to his private property eleven miles up the road, which is where they have resided for over a decade.
https://thepresidentsheads.com/
Located on private property, this exhibit is not open to the public. The owners, John Plashal Photo and Fred Schneider Photography, host scheduled special events in which you must purchase tickets to attend. The tickets are around $25, plus fees. The directions to the property are clear, and there is plenty of parking. There is one port-a-potty on site and there are people guiding you to the right place, a tent to check in, and a tent to purchase photography.
Each ticket has a two-hour block to walk around, which is plenty of time. The owner is available for questions and he also provides two 25-minute presentations during each two-hour block.
I suppose we do not walk around the planet wondering how large someone may make busts of US presidents, but if you do, I am here to tell you they are enormous. An adult person is about as tall as the shoulders.
I think what makes this such a worthy side quest is the “ruins” part of the exhibit. No one would question they were simply set in this field to be saved from demolition. The trees growing around and through them and the weathering and decay of the structures make them fascinating to try to photograph. To me. Thing One and Stewie went with us and I do no think either of them took a single photo. “We live right here, Mom. It is not that big of a deal.” But, it was! And also, I realized I am officially old and they are the young, cool adults now. I am pretty sure I was young and cool yesterday, so now I question everything.
Yorktown Battlefield
I had hoped that we could visit Presidents Park and the entire historic triangle in one weekend, but the weekend was Memorial Day weekend and that was the. dumbest. idea. ever. Even if we tried, it would not have been possible. Or at least not possible to experience it fully and enjoy it. So, we limited the exploration to Yorktown, where it felt like we spent as much time looking for a place to park as we did walking around.
An Archer House: Yorktown had a “great fire” in 1814. This destroyed all but the foundations of this house, thought to be one of Thomas Archer’s “Houses under the Hill.” The present restoration is the nineteenth century dwelling built on the older stone foundations.
York “Under The Hill:” Initially Yorktown was laid out above the bluffs, but the thin strip of ground here between water and cliff was essential to the town’s commercial life. Port facilities crowded the area – wharves, warehouses and stores as pictured here. These same facilities, and the excellent harbor, prompted Cornwallis to establish his base at Yorktown in summer of 1781.
YORK Under Siege 1781: Early in October French-American forces closed their grip on the besieged British army in Yorktown and bombarded the town with their combined artillery. Incessant shellfire drove townspeople to seek shelter under this bluff and forced the British commander, Lord Cornwallis, to move his headquarters to a nearby cave. the end came quickly with the British surrender on October 19. Yorktown returned to peace, but never to its former prosperity.
Tobacco Road: Tobacco, in the 17th and 18th centuries, was a valuable form of currency. It could be used to pay taxes, fines and salaries of government and church officials as well as purchase merchant goods. Upon the founding of the commercial port of Yorktown in 1601, the price for a half-acre town lot was 180 pounds of tobacco.
Tobacco Road is now a walkway that connects the beach to the National Park Service Visitor Center and other historical outdoor exhibits.
In 1834 the citizens of Yorktown had asked Congress that the monument be erected as specified in 1781 since, as the Congressional committee report indicated, it would emphasize “an event that terminated the struggle of our fathers for liberty and independence” and that “no event in our history is more worthy of commemoration than that which crowned the American revolution with success and triumph.” The resulting bill anticipated the purchase of grounds and “a railing” around them.
There was no follow up in 1834, however, nor in 1836 when the proposal was again active. When in 1876 a memorial from the Common Council of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was before Congress, the desirability of the project was recognized.
The Committee of Public Buildings and Grounds nonetheless, felt that it needed to be postponed “…considering the financial condition of the country, and the fact that Congress, at the present session, has assumed the completion of the Washington National Monument…” A memorial from the City of Boston in 1876 suffered the same indecisive fate. The Centennial of Yorktown, however, was approaching and this became instrumental in generating the necessary interest.
The matter of implementing the basic authority was raised in 1875 by Historian George Bancroft, in a letter to the Mayor of Newport, Rhode Island, in June of that year, pointed out that in 1781 “Congress [had] pledged to the victorious army, to France, to America, to the world, that the nation should build at Yorktown a monument of marble, with the emblems of the great alliance, to keep fresh in memory the all decisive successes that had been achieved.” The letter and various memorial, although ineffective immediately, were part of the initial move that led to the erection of the monument. A study group was authorized by Congress in 1879 and positive action came a year later as the citizens of Chicago, the legislature of North Carolina and others added their voices to the increasing public swell.
https://www.nps.gov/york/learn/historyculture/vicmon.htm
Part 1 Complete
Between having just driven nearly 3,000 miles and the climate being so much hotter and more humid than North Idaho, this one-day adventure with Thing One and Stewie was just the right amount of fun that I think both Barbarian Scientist and I could handle. Honestly, all we wanted to do was hug them and listen to their stories about work and school and hobbies, which we also got to do.
Me: “Okay, next time we will do Jamestown and Williamsburg!” …Ah yes. Perhaps I am the old one here.
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