Timberlake-Dana Lots (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Block 23)
Site History
The Timberlake-Dana site on Francis Street in the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg is situated on Colonial Lot 255, as established by the Town Trustees of Williamsburg in the early 18th century.
The first owner of this lot was Benjamin Harrison, who acquired it by Act of Assembly of 1705. The Harrison family retained Lot 255 until sometime after 1753. By 1769, Dr. William Pasteur owned the property and he possibly built the dwelling now known as the "Semple House" around 1773-1777. The property passed through several owners in the last two decades of the 18th century before coming under the ownership of attorney James Semple. The Semple heirs sold in 1851 to John B. Christian and it then passed through the Scarborough, Southall, Custis, Smith and Hansford families in the second half of the 19th century.
Archaeological Investigations
The first Colonial Williamsburg Foundation excavations on Lot 255 took place under the direction of James Knight in 1942. Diagonal trenches were excavated across the lot, uncovering the partial remains of six structures. Two of these structures (A and B) appear to have been represented on the 1782 Frenchman’s Map of Williamsburg.
Structure A appeared to have dimensions of 18 × 24 ft. with a 10 × 12 ft. cellar. A brick bulkhead entrance led into the cellar, which appeared to have been dug directly into the clay and not walled with brick. The cellar fill contained 18th-century ceramics and glass, as well as mortar and brick architectural debris.
Structure B was represented by very fragmentary remains and appeared to have been 26 ft. wide (length was not able to be determined due to property boundaries). Structure C appeared to have been a forge or shop that predated the construction of Structure A. The remains of a forge and a double fireplace were found in the cross-trenching. Two outbuildings of indeterminate function were also located, as well as a square depression (approx. 23 × 23 ft.) with no intact foundation walls.
References
1942 Timberlake-Dana Lots Archaeological Report, Block 2 Lot 255. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series 1057. Electronic resource accessed May 7, 2026 at https://teacherresources.colonialwilliamsburg.org/API/Download/v1_0/GetOriginalLimited?Identifier=CW114QPV&SourceAction=API_VIEW_DETAILS_TRX&UsePreviewPdf=False.
1964 William Finnie House Historical Report, Block 2, Building 7, Lot 257. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series 1011. Electronic resource accessed May 7, 2026 at https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/DigitalLibrary/view/index.cfm?doc=ResearchReports%5CRR1011.xml&highlight=.