Editing James City County, Virginia (section)

====Colonial Williamsburg====
Perhaps the best-known of the 20th century changes of a local nature which affected James City County was the Restoration and development of [[Colonial Williamsburg]]. Driven by the vision of an Episcopal priest and initially funded by the heir to the [[Standard Oil]] fortune, [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] and his wife [[Abby Aldrich Rockefeller]], Colonial Williamsburg (or "CW" as it is informally known locally) became a world-class attraction like no other.

{{main|Colonial Williamsburg}}

While the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg is within the city limits of Williamsburg and not located within James City County, in the earliest periods, CW acquired vast acreage in the entire area, notably to the north and east of the Historic District. Foremost was a desire to preserve views and facilitate the effort to allow a visitor to experience as much of the late 18th century experience as possibly with regard to the surrounding environment.

The entrance roadways to the Historic Area were planned with great care. Even in modern times, pathways from the Colonial Parkway and from the relocated [[U.S. Route 60 in Virginia|U.S. Route 60]] at Bypass Road and North Henry Street are without commercial development. The protected vista was extended along [[Route 132 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 132]] in York County to the new road when [[Route 143 (Virginia)|Route 143]] was built as the [[Merrimack Trail]] (originally State Route 168) in the 1930s. When [[Interstate 64 in Virginia|Interstate 64]] was planned and built in the 1960s and early 1970s, the additional land along Route 143 from the designated "Colonial Williamsburg" exit was similarly protected from development. Even in modern times, no commercial properties are encountered to reach the Visitor's Center, although the land is very valuable and the distance is several miles.

The area to the immediate east of the Historic Area in James City County included a vast tract known as the [[Kingsmill, Virginia|Kingsmill Plantation]] property. It was bisected by the historic [[Quarterpath Road]], dating to the 17th century, which led from Williamsburg to the James River at Burwell's Landing. The manor house, built in the 1730s, had burned in 1843, but several brick dependencies survived (and still do into the 21st century). Immediately to the east of the Kingsmill tract was [[Carter's Grove|Carter's Grove Plantation]]. It was begun by a grandson of Royal Governor [[Robert Carter I|Robert "King" Carter]]. For over 200 years, it had gone through a succession of owners and modifications. Then, in the 1960s, after the death of its last resident, Ms. Molly McRae, Carter's Grove Plantation came the control of the Rockefeller Foundation, and was given to Colonial Williamsburg as a gift. At that point in time, the mid-1960s, CW owned land extended all the way from the Historic District to [[Skiffe's Creek]], at the edge of [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]] near [[Lee Hall, Virginia|Lee Hall]].

''(Carter's Grove, at a distance of {{convert|8|mi|km}}, was operated as a satellite facility of Colonial Williamsburg, with several important programs there, until 2003. Eventually, most of the programs were relocated to be closer to the Historic Area, and the property was sold in 2007, with restrictive and conservation covenants to protect it. See separate article [[Carter's Grove]] for more details).''