The Ballard House

The Ballard House

This wooden home was built in the early part of the 18th century and it is quite remarkable that it still stands today.   It was built sometime between 1706 and 1709 and it was acquired ...

Colonial Parkway Bridges

The meticulous landscaping undertaken during the construction of the Colonial Parkway in the 1930s is evident to this day.

Construction of Halfway Creek Bridge

Construction of the bridge across Halfway Creek. Finished in 1942 this bridge, along with the Colonial Parkway tunnel, was one of the few federal highway construction projects completed during World War II.

Hydraulic fill at College Creek

More than 1.7 million cubic yards of earth were used to create fill for the construction of the parkway at the across the Jamestown isthmus and at College Creek (shown here).

Tree Planting

Meticulous landscaping is a hallmark of classically designed parkways. More than 17,000 trees and shrubs were planted between Yorktown and Williamsburg, including pines, cedars, dogwoods, redbuds, tulip and beech trees.

Large Oak

One of the two "Great Oaks" that stood along the Colonial Parkway, just west of the Newport Avenue access. Though the last was toppled by Hurricane Ernesto in 2006, a sign marks their location at one fo the parkway turnouts. ...

Evamere Estate

The Evamere Gatehouse is the most prominent reminder of the Evamere Estate, built by James W. Ellsworth and named for his late wife.

Newly widowed, Ellsworth returned to his hometown from Chicago in 1898.  He brought his two children with ...

Entering Colonial Parkway

Entering Colonial Parkway

The Colonial Parkway, part of Colonial National Historical Park located on the Virginia's James-York peninsula, is a National Park Service scenic parkway constructed by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads between 1931 and ...

Colonial Parkway Tunnel

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York River

York River

Known to the Indians as the Pamunkey, the colonists named it first Charles and then York, both in honor of the Duke of York. While only 16 miles in length, the tidal waters of the York River flow ...