WHAT ABOUT WILLIAMSBURG?

        In response to my claim that Cooperstown, New York, has more to see and do than any other town its size in America (see my post MY FAVORITE SMALL TOWN), a friend said to me, “What about Williamsburg, Virginia?”

Colonial Williamsburg

        I love Williamsburg! My wife Margie was born in Williamsburg. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with our entire family in Williamsburg. We’ve always enjoyed our visits there, and there is certainly much to see and do in Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg has always been one of our
favorites places to visit at any time of the year.
        There is also the well-known and very exciting amusement park Busch Gardens, which is lots of fun for people of all ages. Margie loves strolling the beautiful campus of William and Mary, where her father spent two years as a

Princeton's Historic Nassau Hall

professor of political science, before joining the faculty of Bucknell University. and finally Princeton University. He spent most of his teaching career at Princeton, New Jersey,which is another town with much to see and do.
        On one of our visits to Williamsburg during the turbulent early 1970's we were amused to see the college coeds wearing T-shirts labeled “Mary and William”! Well, why not?
        There is lots of history in and around Williamsburg, as there is in Princeton and Cooperstown, so none of the three towns has an edge over the others in that respect. Williamsburg and Princeton are both college towns, and that’s a big plus over Cooperstown, although there are two colleges in nearby Oneonta, New York.

Cooperstown, New York

        My original assertion about Cooperstown, however, does not need to be withdrawn or modified, because both Williamsburg, with a population of more than 15,000, and Princeton approaching 30,000, are much larger communities. All three towns are beautiful, but with respect to natural scenery Cooperstown has the decided edge, nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks on the shore of Lake Otsego.
        Now, there could well be another town of 2,000 or less that someone would like to nominate as the best small town in America. But until some advocate steps up and makes the case, I shall continue to lift up Cooperstown as my pick for the top town of its size in the USA. Everybody I've spoken to so far, who has been there, agrees with me.
        What about you?