Editing James City County, Virginia (section)

====Anheuser-Busch====
[[File:Clydesdale-busch-gardens.jpg|thumb|300px|right|One of the famous [[Clydesdale (horse)|Clydesdale horses]] is seen at the [[Busch Gardens Williamsburg]] theme park, part of a massive [[Anheuser-Busch]] development in James City County which also includes a brewery, office park, and the [[Kingsmill, Virginia|Kingsmill Resort]] located east of Williamsburg just west of [[Grove, Virginia|Grove]]]]

In the second half of the 20th century, distant from the Historic Area and not along the carefully protected sight paths, the vacant land east of town which was owned by Colonial Williamsburg and locally known as the Kingsmill tract had been long unproductive for either CW or the community. That changed in the early 1970s, under the leadership of CW Chairman [[Winthrop Rockefeller]].

Rockefeller, a son of Abby and John D. Rockefeller Jr., was a frequent visitor and particularly fond of Carter's Grove in the late 1960s. He also served as Governor of the State of [[Arkansas]]. He became aware of some expansion plans elsewhere on the Peninsula of his St. Louis-based neighbor, [[Gussie Busch|August Anheuser Busch Jr.]], head of [[Anheuser-Busch]] (AB). A businessman and promoter, he had originated the use of the now famous [[Clydesdale (breed)|Clydesdale]] team as a company logo in the 1930s.
In 1959, the company had opened what today is known as a [[theme park]] in [[Tampa, Florida]] which was known as simply "Busch Gardens". It was visionary, and predated the massive [[Walt Disney World]] development nearby by several years; today it is known as [[Busch Gardens Tampa Bay]].

While details have never been widely publicized, by the time "Win" Rockefeller and "Gussie" Busch completed their discussions and negotiations, the biggest changes in the Williamsburg area since the Restoration began 40 years earlier were underway. Among the goals were to complement Colonial Williamsburg attractions and enhance the local economy.

The large tract consisting primarily of the Kingsmill land was sold by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to [[Anheuser-Busch]] (AB) for planned development. The AB investment included building a large brewery, the [[Busch Gardens Williamsburg]] [[theme park]], the [[Kingsmill, Virginia|Kingsmill]] planned resort community, and McLaws Circle, an office park. A {{convert|60|acre|m2|adj=on}} portion was donated by Anheuser-Busch in the late 1960s to develop the James City County office complex.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dooley|first1=Emily C.|title=Will brewer's philanthropy go flat?|url=http://www.richmond.com/news/article_7cf32d74-3895-595a-ab6c-7fc12957e4b9.html|publisher=Richmond Times-Dispatch|access-date=December 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623031939/https://richmond.com/news/article_7cf32d74-3895-595a-ab6c-7fc12957e4b9.html|archive-date=June 23, 2022|date=July 20, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

AB and related entities from that development plan now are the source of the area's largest employment base, surpassing both Colonial Williamsburg and the local military bases. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch ranked as the world's second largest brewer.