THIS WEEK IN WILLIAMSBURG
These 60-second weekly recordings
showcase life in Williamsburg, Virginia
prior to the Colonial Restoration.
These true stories were discovered
in The Virginia Gazette newspaper articles printed between 1893-1925.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
Williamsburg's Radio Station WMBG 93.5
produces new segments every week
and broadcasts them every day at 12:30.
Anecdotes are curated and recorded by Rebecca Suerdieck. Sound Design by Alan Peterson.
FIRST PLACE WINNER
Outstanding News Series
Virginia Association of Broadcasters
88th Annual Awards Program: June 20, 2025
JANUARY
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New Post Office in Hot Water (Centerville) - 1897
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Winter Carnival In Toano - 1915
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Construction Of Ice Factory - 1897
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Thomas Edison Moving Pictures at Cameron Hall - 1908
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Veterans Gather At Magruder - 1897
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APVA Plans to Restore Colonial Capitol - 1910
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Ice Skating On Jones Pond - 1905
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Palace Theater Opens - 1913
FEBRUARY
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Someone Should Write the History of Williamsburg - 1895
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Town of Norway Announced - 1903
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W.A.R. Goodwin arrives in Williamsburg - 1903
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Woman’s Sufferage Debate - 1912
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Luxury Stage Coach for Sight-Seeing - 1897
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Record Number of Weddings at Bruton - 1919
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George Washington Birthday Colonial Ball - 1906
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First Automobile Ferry Crossing on the James River - 1925
MARCH
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Williamsburg’s First Professional Photographer - 1906
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Ambler Farm event benefits Five Forks Church - 1908
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Masquerade Ball at Powhatan Farm - 1909
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Victory Bread taught in Norge - 1918
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Dogwood Trees planted for Arbor Day - 1909
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Boy Scouts entertained Campfire Girls - 1915
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Launching of Battleship Kentucky - 1898
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Williamsburg Drug Store Soda Fountain - 1914
APRIL
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Oldest Married Couple in Williamsburg - 1905
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English Visitor One Hundred Years Earlier - 1909
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Record Numbers of Tourists - 1894
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The Circus Came To Town - 1914
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Cornerstone Laid for College Library - 1908
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Professor’s Horse & Carriage Missing - 1910
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Harris’s Cheap Store Burns - 1896
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Williamsburg’s Oldest Citizen Turns 91 - 1910
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Williamsburg’s First Library - 1910
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Halley’s Comet Causes A Ruckus - 1910
MAY
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Will Trade Truck for a Horse - 1917
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May Day Festival - 1920
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APVA Pilgrimage to Jamestown - 1896
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Battle of Williamsburg Remembered - 1917
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Jamestown Church to be Restored - 1906
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Northern Lights in Williamsburg - 1921
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Fly Swatting Contest - 1912
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Penniman Ordnance Depot Hiring - 1920
JUNE
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Earthquake Rattles Williamsburg - 1897
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First Horseless Carriage Seen in Town - 1903
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Toano: Best Place To Live In Old Virginny - 1895
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Blacksmith Captures Swarm Of Bees - 1902
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Bicycle Parade on DOG Street - 1897
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First Communion at Jamestown Remembered - 1920
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In Memory Of Samuel Harris - 1904
JULY
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4th of July Picnic at Kingsmill - 1897
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4th of July Celebration in Norge - 1904
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Reminder of City Ordinances - 1897
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New Stamp to aid the Military - 1898
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James City County Agriculture - 1899
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Telephone Wire Installed - 1905
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C.W. Schreyer, Portrait Artist in town - 1899
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Polka Party in Toano - 1899
AUGUST
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E. H. Lively Publishes His Memories of Fort Magruder/ American Civil War - 1909
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Missing Husbands and Worried Wives - 1911
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Earl Gregg Swem Exhibits 1736 Publication - 1920
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First Automobile Accident in Williamsburg - 1911
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Yorktown Historical Society - 1909
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Mrs. Geddy’s Night-Blooming Flowers - 1911
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Reverend Edmund Ruffin Jones - 1909
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Druitt & Holloway Genealogy Found In Bible - 1920
SEPTEMBER
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Horse & Carriage Race Through Town - 1896
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Garden Party Raises Funds For Charity - 1906
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Hotel James City Hosts Dance Hop - 1896
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Five Forks School Chooses New Principal - 1911
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W&M Remodels Ewell Hall and the Brafferton - 1912
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W&M Admits Women For The First Time - 1918
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Reverend Dawson of First Baptist Church - 1909
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Mrs. M. Proctor Ball is First Woman To Vote - 1920
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Circus Comes To Town - 1900
OCTOBER
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City Council Chooses Gas Street Lights - 1897
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Military Carrier Pidgeon Found By Bucktrout - 1918
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Jacobson’s Record-Breaking Alfalfa Crop - 1902
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Caruso Performs In Norfolk Virginia - 1920
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Chicago Stenographer Wishes To Correspond - 1915
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Woman’s Club Gives Victrola To Nicholson School - 1916
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Huge Halloween Party in Williamsburg - 1912
NOVEMBER
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APVA Unveils Nathaniel Bacon Window - 1901
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Mary Foster Publishes History Of Virginia - 1906
November - week two (Veteran's Day Special)
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Soldier's Letter From France - 1918
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Marking Palace Of Colonial Governors - 1901
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Contest Winner Miss Pearl Parsley - 1912
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Norge Building Boom - 1904
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Thanksgiving-Eve Ball at Viking Hall - 1916
DECEMBER
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Kelton Train Station Name Change - 1897
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Souvenir Post Cards at Stone’s Drug Store - 1906
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King’s Daughter host a Literary Tea - 1900
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Free Land in Toano to build a Cannery - 1902
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Dr. Samuel J. Harris returns to Williamsburg - 1902
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Mr. Jennings purchases the Old Brick Hotel - 1904
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Page Memorial Window Installed - 1893
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Trolley Line Surveyed - 1904
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Letters To Santa - 1902 & 1915