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Williamsburg
Walking Tours

Pollarded Willows and the Setting Sun Vincent van Gogh, 1888
history

What’s Wrong With Those Trees?

At the corner of Nassau and Francis Streets stand these stately sycamore trees.  In my opinion they are at their most beautiful in winter, when their bare branches and “knuckles” stand out against the brilliant blue sky. People on my tours often ask, “What’s wrong with those weird trees?”  I love this question because it gives me a chance to talk about an ancient and ingenious technique called pollarding. 

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Margarita Schuyler - From A Godchild of Washington
Lin-Manuel Miranda

What Happened to Peggy?

We meet them in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit “Hamilton,” but who were they? Why is Peggy not included after the first act? 

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spices on spoons
american history

The Sweet and Spicy History of Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Spice, a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice, took America by storm when Starbucks started putting it in their coffee in 2003. However, this blend is much, much older…    Medieval European History The Age of

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antietam isle
american history

Thanksgiving at Point Lookout, 1863

Point Lookout, Maryland was a prison camp for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. One of the Union doctors — Dr. William Child, Surgeon of the 5th New Hampshire Volunteers — wrote a letter to his wife about his lonesome Thanksgiving at a military hospital on the Chesapeake Bay

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Crabbing boat sally T Smith Island in Maryland Photo Courtesy of Greg Hager
history

A Brief and True Account of Oysters

By Trish Thomas |
Williamsburg Walking Tours

Oysters have been consumed by humans as far back as the Neolithic Era (3500 to 3000 B.C.). We know this because of the large piles of discarded shells dating back to that era.  Some archeologists believe that the first knives and spoons were oyster shells.

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