Carter's Grove is one of the more famous colonial era plantations that line the lower reaches of the James River. It's a part of Colonial Williamsburg, and an admission ticket for Williamsburg will get you into Carter's Grove, too.
The site is a fascinating blend of four centuries. The reconstructed slave quarter, which you see on your walk to the main house, is staffed with interpreters who are more than willing to talk about the life of a slave in 18th century Virgina. The small rustic cabins in which the slaves lived are a striking conrast to the elegant main house beyond.
The main house is decorated as it was in the 1930's, when it was purchased and restored by the McCrea family - an interesting look at how the well-to-do of the early 20th century romanticized the lives of the well-to-do of the early 18th century.
In the vast "front yard" of the house, which is bordered by the James, stands the reconstructed pieces of Wolstenholme Town and the Winthrop Rockefeller Archaeology museum, where artifacts recovered at the site are displayed.
Wolstenholme Town takes you back to the earliest days of Virgina, and plaques placed throughout the sight tell the tale of the settlement and its eventual demise following a Native American uprising. I found the bits and pieces of reconstructed stockade at Wolstenholme Town the most evocative site I visited in Williamsburg. As I stood on the gun platform, peering over the rough-hewn boards of the stockade towards the sun setting over the James, I had a sudden flash of what it must have been like to live in a tiny outpost, in what you consider to be a wholly uncivilized land.
Note that Carter's Grove will be closing in 2003 for renovations and will remain closed of 2 to 3 years, so if you want to see the site, you have to hurry up and go or be prepared to wait.