John Bounds, Russell Burdette, Will Souther, and Ryan Pritchett display their News-Reporter in front of the nation's first Capitol. Three Wilkes County Briarwood Academy sophomores joined their class on a recent historical study trip to Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia.

Arriving in the Jamestown vicinity, they crossed the James River on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry and travelled on to Williamsburg. That evening they dined in the King's Arms Tavern where an eighteenth century dining experience was provided for them, including food that would have been enjoyed in the eighteenth century served by period dressed reenactors. The evening concluded with a guided tour of historic Williamsburg.

The second day the students were treated to a guided tour of Williamsburg. They first visited the Governor's Palace and then enjoyed navigating the maze of English boxwoods behind the Palace. The students went on for a tour of the house of George Wythe, tutor and friend of Jefferson, first professor of law at an American college, and first Virginian signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The group continued on through the site to learn about various trades and crafts, including basketry, gunsmithing, blacksmithing, brickmaking and wigmaking. While learning about brickmaking, the male students were enlisted by Williamsburg staff to assist in moving handmade bricks to the kiln.

Following their study of the trades, the students participated in two games young people of the seventeenth century would have enjoyed, bringing about much laughter and fun.

The group concluded the guided tour with a visit to the Capitol in Williamsburg, the first capitol building in America and home of the oldest representative assembly in our country and the General Court.

The third day began with a trip to Jamestown Island, where glassblowing was one of the colonists' first attempts at industrialization and manufacturing. The group enjoyed watching craftsmen create glass pieces by hand and learning about glassmaking.

They also studied the archeological research still continuing at Jamestown today and observed an archeological dig in progress. They toured the life size recreation of the colonists' fort and the ruins of the 17th century church tower, the only standing ruin of seventeenth century Jamestown, and the current memorial church built atop the foundations of the 1617 and 1639 churches.

October North Oliver St. - Elberton, It ' s Our Monday - Thursday: Friday: 5 - 12 a.Saturday: 12 p.m. - Sunday: 2 - 8 p.Admission: $5 (Under EXHIBIT CHECK-They continued on to Yorktown where in 1781 a British army under General Charles Lord Cornwallis was forced to surrender to General Washington's combined American and French army. The group viewed the Battlefield, Surrender Field, the Peace Monument and then went to Cornwallis' Cave which was reputed to have been Cornwallis' hiding place near the end of the siege.

The day concluded with a last walk through Colonial Williamsburg and a Lanterns (Lanthorns) Tour. On the tour, the group explored four colonial trade shops by lantern light and learned about masters, journeymen and apprentices, the technology of the trades and the circumstances that shaped Virginia's economy. They particularly enjoyed learning about bookbinding, cabinet/furniture making, and the printing of a newspaper by hand

The fourth day found the group headed to Georgia with a valued remembrance of the beginnings of the USA. The students missed Brandy Ray, a fellow sophomore, who was unable to make the trip due to illness.

Chaperones from Washington accompanying the group were Mrs. Lincoln Bounds, Mrs. W.E. Burdette III, and Mrs. Scott Lewis.