In the meantime the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg provided a School for Discussion.
At the time when Parson Jones with his shrewd eyes was observing society in the Old Dominion, Williamsburg was still a small village, even though it was the capital.

Towns indeed, in any true sense, were nowhere to be found in Virginia.

Yet Williamsburg had a certain distinction.

Within it there arose, beneath and between old forest trees, the college, an admirable church--Bruton Church--the capitol, the Governor's house or "palace," and many very tolerable dwelling-houses of frame and brick.
There were also taverns, a marketplace, a bowling-green, an arsenal, and presently a playhouse.

The capitol at Williamsburg was a commodious one, able to house most of the machinery of state.