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 America, and other buildings—all of brick. In honor of the reigning monarch the name of the place was in 1699 changed to that of Williamsburg, for which a city charter, in 1722, was obtained in the name of King George I., and under the seal of the Colony.

Thenceforward, the history of Williamsburg became the history of Virginia—for here until 1779 resided the Governor of the Colony, and here were held the sessions of the Council and the House of Burgesses, and the sessions of the Supreme Court.

THE FOUNDER OF WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE.

But the life in Virginia was essentially a rural one, and Williamsburg never attained a population of over two thousand. During great public occasions, it assumed something of a real city character. On such occasions, the streets of Williamsburg were crowded with the chariots of the great planters, who rolled in great state from their plantations, carrying their families and attended by postilions and outriders.