As the nation prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, few places carry the weight of that history more tangibly than Colonial Williamsburg. Ron Hurst, the foundation’s chief mission officer, has spent his career ensuring that weight is felt—honestly, fully, and accessibly. Madeline Mayhood, Virginia Living’s editor-in-chief, sat down with Hurst to discuss why preserving physical history matters, how the foundation is evolving to reach new audiences, and what he hopes every visitor takes away from the cradle of American democracy.
Madeline Mayhood: What do you hope today’s visitors to Colonial Williamsburg will take away?
Ron Hurst: Historic sites need to tell you everything that happened in the period you’re discussing—the good and the bad. They should not tell you what to think about it. That’s up to you. We hope people coming to Colonial Williamsburg in this anniversary year will always get a really full picture of what happened in this particular place in the years leading up to and just beyond the Revolutionary War—from astonishing political developments to the realities of enslavement. I hope everybody goes away with a broader picture of what really happened here…