About

Yorktown’s Story:
Yorktown is known for the Virginia Tea Party on November 7, 1774, and the victory of the French and American allied forces over the British at the last major battle of the American Revolution. Lord Cornwallis’s British Army capitulated on the ground known today as Surrender Field on October 19, 1781.

Yorktown’s many historic sites gives visitors the opportunity to discover:
• How the French fleet won a critical battle for control of the Chesapeake Bay at just the right moment forcing Cornwallis to dig in for a siege in Yorktown;
• How General Washington and General Rochambeau were able to move their combined force so quickly to Yorktown; and
• The culmination of the stories of Washington, Rochambeau, Cornwallis, Lafayette, De Grasse, and the thousands of soldiers and sailors, Native Americans, enslaved people, and civilian refugees that make up the collective story of Yorktown.

Historical Sites:
• Yorktown Battlefield at Colonial National Historical Park – Explore the fields, earthworks, and historic buildings where American independence was won. Driving tours of the Battlefield include siege lines and encampment areas. Ranger-led tours of the Battlefield and historic town leave from the visitor center daily, and Junior Ranger Programs are available for younger visitors. Administered by the National Park Service as part of Colonial National Historical Park.
• Grace Church, Yorktown’s oldest building, is a historic Episcopal church and cemetery constructed in 1697 and later updated with a Greek Revival style. Thomas Nelson, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and other pre-Revolution Founding Fathers attended the church.
• Custom House – The Custom House, built circa 1720, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and owned by the Comte de Grasse Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
• Moore House – The site of negotiations that led to the British surrender at Yorktown in October 19, 1781.
• Nelson House – Restored mansion of Thomas Nelson Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Virginia, and commander of the Virginia Militia during the Siege of Yorktown.
• Poor Potter Archaeological Site – Described as a “poor potter” by Royal Governor William Gooch in 1732, William Rogers actually operated a large-scale pottery in Yorktown from 1720 to 1745 in violation of English trade laws.
• Yorktown Baptist Church – Yorktown Baptist Church is set in the midst of the Yorktown Battlefield where brave individuals gave their lives for our freedom.
• Yorktown Victory Monument – A marble monument erected in 1884 in Colonial National Historical Park commemorating the 1871 victory at Yorktown and the alliance with France that brought the end of the American Revolution.

Museums:
• American Revolution Museum at Yorktown – This museum tells the story of the nation’s founding, from the twilight of the colonial period to the dawn of the Constitution and beyond. Exciting indoor galleries feature period artifacts, immersive environments, and films, including “The Siege of Yorktown,” with a 180-degree surround screen and dramatic special effects. Visitors can muster with troops in a re-created Continental Army encampment and help with chores at a re-created Revolution-era farm.
• Watermen’s Museum – Tells the story of lives along the Chesapeake Bay and the history of the people who work on and harvest the bounty of the bay.
• York County Historical Museum – Displays artifacts from Yorktown’s past including Native American tools, colonial Yorktown, Revolutionary and Civil War, and 20th Century exhibits of the USS Yorktown, the Naval Weapons Station, and more.

Local Events

1774 Yorktown Tea Party: Colonial Costume & Dance Workshop
October 26, 2024 - October 26, 2024
York County

Step back in time with us...literally! Learn the basic dance steps from the colonial era and discover the elegant clothing of a 1774 dance as we celeb... Read More

Yorktown Tea Festival
November 06, 2024 - November 08, 2024
York County

The goal of the Yorktown Tea Festival is to instill a sense of admiration for the history and traditions of tea and tea drinking in Virginia. The thre... Read More

250th Yorktown Tea Party Anniversary
November 07, 2024 - November 10, 2024
York County

On November 7, 1774, Thomas Nelson, Jr. and his group of fellow patriots marched to the Yorktown waterfront and threw two chests of tea overboard as a... Read More

If This Be Treason…Dressing the Liberty Pole in 1774
November 12, 2024 - November 12, 2024
York County

Hear ye! Hear ye! Come to the County Committee of Safety meeting, and join us in a debate over the Articles of Association. In 1774, Virginia was divi... Read More