Custis Square

LOCATION

Williamsburg, Virginia

PARTNERS

Colonial Williamsburg

Five years of research and archaeological excavation by Colonial Williamsburg at Custis Square revealed the location of an enclosed 160 by 204-foot garden, including fence and gate posts, some of the garden paths, and planting holes. Earlier archaeological work in the 1960s had previously documented the location and size of the house. Rieley & Associates has spent several months synthesizing archaeological information and historical letters, journal entries, and landscaping principles of the early 18th century to envision what the house and garden may have looked like during Custis’s lifetime. Future restoration of the garden will broaden Colonial Williamsburg’s educational mission to include garden design of this era.