Yorktown Victory Center050

The Yorktown Victory Center chronicles America's evolution from colonial status to nationhood through a blend of timeline, film, thematic exhibits, and outdoor living history.

Indoor exhibition galleries recount the American Revolution's effect on 10 ordinary men and women who witnessed the Revolution, highlight the roles of different nationalities in the Siege of Yorktown, and explore the story of the Betsy and other British ships lost in the York River during the war. Exhibits also describe experiences of ordinary soldiers, Yorktown's importance as an 18th-century port, and the development of a new government with the Constitution and Bill of Rights. A discovery room offers children the opportunity to learn about the Revolutionary era through a variety of activities, such as trying on 18th-century-style clothing, creating crayon rubbings, and guessing the identity of 18th-century reproduction objects.

Outdoors, visitors can explore a re-created Continental Army encampment, where historical interpreters describe and depict daily life of American soldiers at the end of the war. A re-created 1780s farm, complete with a house, kitchen, tobacco barn, crop fields, and herb and vegetable garden, shows how many Americans lived in the decade following the Revolution.