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The following article appeared in the Travel Section of the Courier-Post Newspaper
Sunday, June 17, 2001
History Revisited
Visitors get in touch with the true past at the Yorktown Victory Center in Virginia
By LYFORD M. MOORE
Courier-Post Staff
Silently, the York River continues its nomadic journey past Yorktown, Va., just as it did in 1781 when American troops defeated the British at the Battle of Yorktown.
Catfish and crabs still vie for food on its bottom, townspeople still gather along its edge to watch ships slide by and animals still enjoy a smorgasbord of vegetation along its scenic, tree-lined shores.
For American history buffs, a trip to Yorktown is a must. The victory at Yorktown more than 200 years ago marked the last major battle of the American Revolution and secured independence for the United States.
But don't look for a stampede of restaurants or overnight
accommodations. Commercial establishments are in short supply in this historic little village.
We stayed at the Marl Inn, one of only two bed-and- breakfasts and one that features gourmet breakfasts such as crab quiche and eggs Benedict as part of the nightly rate. Its former owner, 87-year-old Eugene Marlin, stops by frequently for coffee and isn't above hobnobbing with the guests. The visitors, of course, don't mind, since Marlin often can be spotted on one of Yorktown's free trolleys regaling tourists with historic commentary.
Convey an interest in history and the elderly gentleman is likely to tell you all about Cornwallis' Cave (and how to get there) or about a strange tombstone behind the Moore House, where the terms of British surrender were negotiated. The inscription on that stone lists Feb. 30 1847 as the date of death, a nonexistent date that locals can't explain.
In addition to the unexpected, visitors to Yorktown should expect the expected: cannons and cannon balls, Virginia split rail fences, signage explaining what lies ahead and the ever-present York River, which has sat in the front row of American history since the beginning.
Some of the most popular attractions include the Yorktown Victory Monument, the first custom house in the United States, and the Yorktown Victory Center, which is operated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and includes a museum and a 1780s farm and Continental Army encampment.
Christine Hafke, a fourth-grade school teacher from Richmond, Va., said her first visit to the Yorktown Victory Center was one she wouldn't forget. She was at the facility with nearly 100 fourth graders in preparation for the state' s standard of learning test in history.
"We teach things like the American Revolution all year, telling our students the soldiers lived in camps like these, but they don't get it until they actually see it," she said. "This is a great place for them to come for their review."
Steve Beliveau, a history teacher from Melrose, Mass., said he was pleased by the fact his students didn't have to venture far for answers.
"They have interpretive guides at all the right locations and I like that," he said.
Built on land donated in 1976 by two Greek immigrants, the Yorktown Victory Center museum is tastefully lighted, carpeted and complete. It's the kind of place someone without kids could spend hours. It chronicles events from colonial unrest in the 1760s through the adoption of the U. S. Constitution and the ratification of the Bill of Rights. It is crammed full of interesting artifacts (shackles, tobacco pipe bowls, wick curlers), historic documents (a letter from American Gen. Thomas Nelson Jr. to Friedrich Wilhelm Von Steuben, inspector general of the Continental Army, requesting weapons) and large, colorful pictures and murals.
Many of the indoor exhibits are accompanied by sound. The following recording, for instance, tells of a black man' s decision to join the Army of the United States.
"I was a slave and had heard about the cruel things done by the British," he relates. "I was confident my master traded with them and I suffered much from fear that I should be sent to board a ship of war. When I saw the people all engaged for the support of freedom, I could not but like such a thing. These considerations induced me to enlist in the American Army."
Visitors to Yorktown will find it relatively free of of congestion, stocked with interesting antiques and doable by bicycle.
They also will learn it is part of Virginia's famed Historic Triangle. Jamestown, where America began, and Colonial Williamsburg, where government first grabbed a toehold in America never to let go, complete the triangle.
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