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Like people all over the country, the people of Williamsburg enthusiastically embraced a series of civic improvements in the early 1900s. When politicians dragged their feet, mass meetings and civic organizations demanded progress, and the voters passed numerous bond bills. Williamsburg installed sewers, provided municipal water, and built public schools.

The growing number of cars also required government action. The city began regulating auto traffic and paving a few roads. At the urging of Williamsburg resident and state highway commissioner George Coleman, in the 1920s, the city turned Duke of Gloucester Street into a paved boulevard with curbs and a wide median.1

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A note about the contents of this site

This website contains the best available information from known sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of William & Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information in this website is not complete, and it changes as we continue to research and uncover new sources.