Outside of the Masonic Cemetery in Fredericksburg, VA at the grave of Christiana Campbell.
Transcript below (captioned YouTube video posted in comments):
I'm Sharon with River City Cemetarians and today I'm standing outside the
Masonic Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I was really
excited about coming out today but with COVID-19, it appears that the
cemetery gates are locked. Fortunately for me I was able to find
the gravestone that I was looking for which is right behind me. You'll see
Christiana Campbell. She became one of the capital's most
prominent tavern keepers and when I say capital, I'm talking about
Williamsburg, Virginia. She specialized in offering what was
described as "genteel accommodations and the very best entertainment." Her
clientele included George Washington and also Thomas Jefferson. Now
when Richmond became the capital in 1780, many of the tavern owners and merchants
moved to the new capital. Ms. Campbell actually decided to stay in Williamsburg
and then eventually retired there. Her tavern,
she passed away in 1792 but her tavern continued
to operate under new hands until 1859 when it did burn down.
Then Colonial Williamsburg Foundation actually reconstructed her tavern
in 1956. so if you've been a tourist
to Colonial Williamsburg, you may have heard of Christiana Campbell
and here is her grave right behind me.
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