Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [89]
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Gloucester Parks, Recreation & Tourism, tel. 886-VISITUS, 804-693-2355, www.gloucesterva.info.
TOWN MOTTO: Gloucester has dubbed itself “Land of the Life Worth Living.” Its symbol is the beehive, for industriousness.
Yorktown
Around Town
A few days after September 11, 2001, a small crowd gathered at Yorktown’s Victory Monument for a National Day of Prayer. The Fifes and Drums of Yorktown marched up Main Street dressed in their red uniforms and tri-cornered hats. As dusk fell, about 100 people passed around candles, held them in silence, then joined together in spontaneous song for “God Bless America.”
It took a national calamity for us to revisit Yorktown, a small burg with a large presence in United States history as the site where the English surrendered to General George Washington. We live close by, but our visits tend to be once, maybe twice a year. Is it human nature for people to ignore treasures in their own backyard? Maybe it’s the notion that since it’s so close we can do it anytime.
With renewed purpose, I strode forth on a spring morning to walk Yorktown’s narrow streets and browse Colonial-themed shops and galleries. Inside the Watermen’s Museum, volunteers prepared for that spring’s Heritage Celebration. Over at the Yorktown Visitor Center, national park officials awaited arrival of a restored tent used by George Washington during the siege of Yorktown. Back in my car, I drove the Colonial Parkway, a national park draped in April’s splendor – delicate blooming white dogwood and magenta red bud. This is truly one of America’s most beautiful driveways.
Come winter, Yorktown hosts a different sort of holiday tradition on its riverfront. Cauldrons of cider steam over beach bonfires as folks draw nearer to the heat, bundled in their coats, scarves and mittens. Off shore, yachts, small sailboats, pleasure cruisers and even fishermen’s workboats decked with holiday lights cruise proudly in single file. Held the first Saturday in December, the holiday boat parade is preceded by a candlelight procession down Main Street and ceremonial lighting of the community tree. The next day, private homeowners open their doors for a Christmas Homes Tour. Altogether, it captures nicely the community pride in a history of watermen and war.
A good place to start a walking tour of Yorktown is at the Yorktown Visitor Center, the entry to the battlefield, operated by the National Park Service. Inside, the story of the siege is told through exhibits and films. From the roof you get a panoramic view of the battlefield. The center is open 8:30 am-5 pm in spring, till 5:30 in summer, and 9 am-5 pm in winter; grounds are open till sunset. A seven-day pass is $5 for adults and free for children under age 16. (tel. 757-898-2410, www.nps.gov/colo)
From here it’s just a short walk (466 yards to be exact) on a shady pathway to the village of Yorktown, passing en route the massive Victory Monument. The Continental Congress authorized it in 1781, but construction didn’t begin until 100 years later during the Centennial Celebrations of the Allied Victory over the English. The monument was completed in 1884.
If you’re lucky, your visit may coincide with a performance of The Fifes and Drums of Yorktown. This local treasure provides a musical backdrop for historic events, festive Fourth of July celebrations and solemn Veterans’ Day observances throughout York County. In summer they perform several times a week at the Yorktown Visitor Center and at the Victory Monument. Formed for the bicentennial celebration in 1976 of youth ages 10 to 18, the corps has performed at the Smithsonian Institute, before the Virginia General Assembly, and has opened for the Virginia Symphony. (tel. 757-898-9418, www.fifes-and-drums.org)
Riverwalk along the York River beach has benches, hand-molded Virginia brick paving, granite seawalls, and wrought iron streetlights.