WILLIAMSBURG
Williamsburg is a community boasting a long and storied past. The settlement was a borough from 1829 to 1841, when the charter was forfeited. In 1893, it was reincorporated. Failure to elect borough officials was the reason for the forfeiture of the charter. Land was purchased by Jacob Ake in 1790. It contained 314 acres. Ake was attracted to the site because of its beauty and its big spring. By 1810, there were thirty-four houses in the village. The name of the village was changed from Aketown to Williamsburg to honor William Ake, the son of the founder. Jacob Ake established the first free school in the area. He donated the land, erected the building, hired the teachers, and if neighborhood children failed to attend school, he acted as truant officer.
By 1820, an inn was owned and operated by John Martin who was assessed with a distillery and one slave. This is the only record of slavery in Williamsburg. On the first of June 1831, contract bids for work on the Pennsylvania Canal between Huntingdon and Hollidaysburg were received at Williamsburg. Several thousand people attended and there were more than four thousand bids. The internal improvements included work on fourteen dams, forty-three locks and seventy-three sections. Completed in 1832, the canal was opened on November 28 and the packet boat John Blair departed its berth in Huntingdon, proceeding westward. At Williamsburg, a great celebration took place, greeting prominent citizens aboard the vessel with music and musketry.
Small businesses flourished in the village. By 1905, the Williamsburg Manufacturing Company’s new plant was opened and was given the franchise to furnish light and power to the borough. The West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company purchased this company in 1906 and operated a paper manufacturing plant in the borough for many years. The Blair County home for homeless children was also located in Williamsburg. The United States Envelope Company was officially opened on January 1, 1965, in the borough.
Royer Mansion, located in Woodbury Township, is situated along Route 866, which connects Martinsburg and Williamsburg. Part of the mansion was constructed around 1790, and the Royer family acquired it in 1815. The mansion remained within the Royer family until 1965. In 1979, the Blair County Historical Society intervened and saved the mansion from being razed. In 2022, the Royer Mansion Preservation Society obtained the property with the goal of protecting and enhancing the beauty of Royer for the benefit of community events.
By 1820, an inn was owned and operated by John Martin who was assessed with a distillery and one slave. This is the only record of slavery in Williamsburg. On the first of June 1831, contract bids for work on the Pennsylvania Canal between Huntingdon and Hollidaysburg were received at Williamsburg. Several thousand people attended and there were more than four thousand bids. The internal improvements included work on fourteen dams, forty-three locks and seventy-three sections. Completed in 1832, the canal was opened on November 28 and the packet boat John Blair departed its berth in Huntingdon, proceeding westward. At Williamsburg, a great celebration took place, greeting prominent citizens aboard the vessel with music and musketry.
Small businesses flourished in the village. By 1905, the Williamsburg Manufacturing Company’s new plant was opened and was given the franchise to furnish light and power to the borough. The West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company purchased this company in 1906 and operated a paper manufacturing plant in the borough for many years. The Blair County home for homeless children was also located in Williamsburg. The United States Envelope Company was officially opened on January 1, 1965, in the borough.
Royer Mansion, located in Woodbury Township, is situated along Route 866, which connects Martinsburg and Williamsburg. Part of the mansion was constructed around 1790, and the Royer family acquired it in 1815. The mansion remained within the Royer family until 1965. In 1979, the Blair County Historical Society intervened and saved the mansion from being razed. In 2022, the Royer Mansion Preservation Society obtained the property with the goal of protecting and enhancing the beauty of Royer for the benefit of community events.
