On what date did Colonial Williamsburg first come under the ownership
of the not-for-profit Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and what
entity owned the property and its structures immediately prior to that
date?

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Clarification of Question by nautico-ga on 20 Dec 2003 09:49 PST

Mark, please make that your official answer. I will now email the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and ask it the same questions. Surely
one of its staff will have the answers.

nautico --

Thanks for your clarification.  I am doing as you requested, but I
want to add a little more material that might allow you to focus your
follow-up inquiry to the Foundation. With one exception, the
additional information I am providing comes from sources other than
the Foundation's extensive Web site, which I assume you have visited. 
But just in case, here is a convenient link to it:
Colonial Williamsburg
http://www.history.org/

First, the new material:

The initial scope of Dr. W.A.R Goodwin's vision to restore
Williamsburg, which "consumed [his] life," was described by him in a
nutshell in an interview in about 1924:

"As we looked out over the somnolent village, glimpsing a colonial
gable here and a filling station there, Dr. Goodwin said, 'My dream
and hope is to make this town exactly as it was in the eighteenth
century.'
'What?!'
He repeated it.
'But Doctor, how about all these war-time and modern buildings of various kinds?'
'We'll have to tear them down or move them off.'
'How many are there?'
'Over three hundred, anyway.'
'How many old houses would be left when you got through destroying the new ones?'
'About fifty-five but, of course, we would have to rebuild all those
that have disappeared through the years.'"
History of the Restoration: "My Dream and My Hope," by Edwards Park
http://www.history.org/Foundation/general/introhis.cfm


After Goodwin got John D. Rockefeller, Jr. involved in 1926 and the
acquisition of historic properties from private owners began, it was
something of a "cloak-and-dagger" operation out of the fear of
creating a "land rush."  It appears that the titles to at least some
initially acquired properties were nominally held by Dr. and Mrs.
Goodwin, with Rockefeller disguising his role by adopting the alias
"Mr. David":

"Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Rockefeller began to buy up property
along Duke of Gloucester Street with Dr. and Mrs. Goodwin acting as
titleholders. Early communications from Rockefeller to Goodwin were
signed "Mr. David" to avoid publicity about the project. (David was
Rockefeller's youngest son and his father knew Goodwin appreciated the
boy's high spirits during the family's initial visit to
Williamsburg.)"
American Park Network: Colonial Williamsburg
http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/cw/history/restore.html

A consensus of online information appears to be that the Foundation
was established in 1926.  For example:
"Restoration began in 1926 when John D. Rockefeller founded the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a nonprofit educational institution
established to preserve and interpret the city's history."
Landmark Volunteers: Colonial Williamsburg
http://www.volunteers.com/locations/col_williamsburg/col_williamsburg.html

As I noted in my clarification, it is not clear whether there was a
consistent pattern of initial acquisitions in the name of Rockefeller,
Goodwin, the Foundation or other entities formed for the purpose of
buying the assets.  As noted above, this is not surprising, given the
fact that Rockefeller and the Foundation had good economic reasons to
be circumspect in the process of carrying out the restoration project,
at least in its early stages.


Finally, for the purpose of posting a "formal" answer to your
question, here is the substantive information that I filed in my
earlier comment.

What information there is online seems to indicate that property acquired for
Colonial Williamsburg may have been conveyed initially to different
legal parties before being ultimately conveyed to Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation, Inc.

Here are a couple of examples (I'm sure there are more):

"From 1895 to 1931 there were several liens, deeds of trust, etc. on
the property involving suits and court procedure. This can be studied
in full in the above cited chain of title. On November 10, 1931 the
property was held by the first National Bank of Williamsburg. The
Banking Company conveyed, with general warranty, the property to
Williamsburg Holding Corporation for the consideration of $45,000. On
December 2, 1937, Williamsburg Restoration, Inc. conveyed the property
by deed to John D. Rockefeller, Jr. On December 3, 1937, Mr.
Rockefeller conveyed the property to Colonial Williamsburg, Inc."
Past Portal:  John Greenhow House Historical Report, Block 13-2
Building 23E Lot 160
http://www.pastportal.com/Archive/Research%20Reports/Html/RR1257.htm

"[V]arious heirs have held the property until 1928 when it was sold to
W. A. R. Goodwin representing the Rockefeller interests for restoring
Williamsburg. In 1939 the property came into the full possession of
Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated."
Past Portal: Custis Tenement Historical Report, Block 13-1 Building 26A Lot 355 
http://www.pastportal.com/Archive/Research%20Reports/Html/RR1266.htm



Search Strategy:

Here are some of the more productive Google searches that I used in
gathering the information that I found to be available online:

"colonial williamsburg" founded
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22colonial+williamsburg%22+founded

"colonial williamsburg foundation" rockefeller "conveyed to"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22colonial+williamsburg+foundation%22+rockefeller+%22conveyed+to%22

"colonial williamsburg foundation" began
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22colonial+williamsburg+foundation%22+%22began%22


I always dislike posting a "non-answer" to a question, but this is an
unusual situation, and I hope that the above information will be
useful to you.   If anything is unclear, please ask for clarification
before rating the answer.


markj-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by nautico-ga on 20 Dec 2003 11:06 PST

Many thanks for expanding upon your original comments. I had indeed
looked through the Foundation's site, but apparently missed the fact
that Rockefeller himself had actually founded the Foundation, and it
was that date (1926) I had sought.

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Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 20 Dec 2003 11:13 PST

nautico --

Thanks much for the rating, the kind words and the nice tip.

markj-ga

Thanks for a lucid and comprehensive answer.

nautico --

In my view, this will be a very difficult answer to nail down.  What
information there is seems to indicate that property acquired for
Colonial Williamsburg may have been conveyed initially to different
legal parties before being ultimately conveyed to Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation, Inc.

Here are a couple of examples (I'm sure there are more):

"From 1895 to 1931 there were several liens, deeds of trust, etc. on
the property involving suits and court procedure. This can be studied
in full in the above cited chain of title. On November 10, 1931 the
property was held by the first National Bank of Williamsburg. The
Banking Company conveyed, with general warranty, the property to
Williamsburg Holding Corporation for the consideration of $45,000. On
December 2, 1937, Williamsburg Restoration, Inc. conveyed the property
by deed to John D. Rockefeller, Jr. On December 3, 1937, Mr.
Rockefeller conveyed the property to Colonial Williamsburg, Inc."
Past Portal:  John Greenhow House Historical Report, Block 13-2
Building 23E Lot 160
http://www.pastportal.com/Archive/Research%20Reports/Html/RR1257.htm


"[V]arious heirs have held the property until 1928 when it was sold to
W. A. R. Goodwin representing the Rockefeller interests for restoring
Williamsburg. In 1939 the property came into the full possession of
Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated."
Past Portal: Custis Tenement Historical Report, Block 13-1 Building 26A Lot 355 
http://www.pastportal.com/Archive/Research%20Reports/Html/RR1266.htm


markj-ga

This recd from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation:

Mr. Fliegel,
 
On July 1, 1970, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation was formed from
the merger of Colonial Williamsburg, Inc., and Williamsburg
Restoration, Inc.
 
Previously, on February 27, 1928, the Williamsburg Holding Corporation
had been formed to carry forward the physical work of the restoration;
and Colonial Williamsburg, Inc., had been established to undertake the
educational programs relating to the restoration.
 
On February 15, 1934, the Williamsburg Holding Corporation became
Williamsburg Restoration, Inc.
 
These dates are taken from a 50th-anniversary chronology of Foundation
history.  If you have additional questions about the 20th-century
history of the Foundation, I would suggest that you contact Ms. Donna
Cooke in our Archives and Records Department (dcooke@cwf.org).
 
I hope this answers your question.  We appreciate your interest in
Colonial Williamsburg.
 
Del Moore, Reference Librarian 
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library 
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 
P. O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA  23187-1776 
Phone: (757) 565-8515   Fax: (757) 565-8518 
Email:  dmoore2@cwf.org

Very interesting.  Thanks for posting the information.

markj-ga

nautico --

Your letter from Mr. Moore indicates that the Foundation was not
formed until 1970.  That struck me on first reading as being odd,
since so many apparently reliable online sources placed that formation
at around 1926.  Upon double-checking this morning, I discover that
the 1926 date also appears on the Colonial Williamsburg's Web site:

"The Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg is the first comprehensive
fund-raising campaign since the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation was
established in 1926."
http://www.history.org/Foundation/development/campaign_facts.cfm

Hmmm.


markj-ga

Clarification from the Foundation:

Mr. Fliegel,
 
I think what is happening in the correspondence about the founding of
the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and on the Foundation's web
site, is a merging of two concepts -- "Colonial Williamsburg
Foundation" and "restoration of colonial Williamsburg".
 
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which oversees the restoration,
traces its origins to the telegram John D. Rockefeller, Jr., sent to
Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin on December 7, 1926, authorizing the purchase of
the first house.  But no formal organization was established on that
date, only the beginning of the process that would become the
restoration and would lead to the incorporating of the organizations I
mentioned in my earlier message.  The word "Foundation" did not enter
the picture formally until 1970, but the Foundation was/is the result
of the process that began in 1926.
 
I hope this helps.
 
Del Moore, Reference Librarian 
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library 
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation