D for Duke of Gloucester Street

Duke of Gloucester Street was a narrow Indian trace which turned into a major street in the 17th century. When Virginia's General Assembly created Williamsburg in 1699, it said that this street would “in honor of his Highness William Duke of Gloucester shall for ever hereafter be called and known by the Name of Duke of Gloucester Street.” When it was becoming an official street on April 27, 1704, Francis Nicholson asked the House of Burgesses to buy four old homes and an oven. These were in the way of the street’s path and were destroyed after they were bought. On May 5, the burgesses ordered Henry Cary and a crew to take down the buildings.