Historic Williamsburg

17. Guardhouse

Williamsburg, VA

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The Guardhouse is a one-and-a-half story building that contains a small brick paved room. In 1715, Governor Alexander Spotswood built an octagonal tower called the Magazine. This building was used to store the weapons that protected the colonists against rioters, raiders and revolts. When the French and Indian War began, so much ammunition arrived between 1754 and 1763 that heightened security became necessary. The colonists built a high wall around the Magazine and added the Guardhouse a few yards away where sentries could be posted. The original Guardhouse and wall around the Magazine were demolished during the nineteenth century, and much of the Magazine itself was destroyed by fire. Efforts to save the brick wall, Guardhouse and Magazine were spearheaded during the late 1800s by Cynthia Beverley Tucker Coleman, a descendant of St. George Tucker and owner of the St. George Tucker House. Her efforts led to the formation of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. After restoring the Magazine and opening it as a museum, the APVA leased it to Colonial Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg reconstructed the wall and Guardhouse in 1934 and 1935 using sketches and illustrations as well as archaeological findings.