Coastal Virginia Magazine: Reading the Buildings

My feature article for Coastal Virginia Magazine on a new book, "The Chesapeake House," published by UNC Press, tells about the ongoing research into early American architecture by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation historians.

Fascinating stuff (or at least I hope you think so). It begins:

Carl Lounsbury is used to letting folks down gently.

“Their buildings are often not as old as people think they are,” Lounsbury, senior architectural historian at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, says about people who send the museum photographs of their houses. “We urge them to do it because you never know what’s around the bend,” he says. “But it can be disappointing to them. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to give the bad news: ‘No, George Washington did not live in your house or stay there.’”

The College of William & Mary history professor and his accompanying team of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation historians are so seasoned and battle-tested that not only can they tell you whether Ol’ George stayed in your crib but also the likely room where he ate his supper.

The piece can be found in Coastal Virginia's Nov.-Dec. edition, which is the first issue since its name-change  from Hampton Roads Magazine.

The issue is on the shelves now, wherever fine magazines are sold. You can also read it by clicking right here.

(Photo: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)