Colonial Williamsburg Magazine

The octagonal powder magazine built 1715 at the center of Williamsburg, which became the flashpoint of the Virginia Revolution. Royal Governor Dunmore had royal marines remove the colony's gunpowder from this building in the early morning of April 20, 1775 — the same date as Lexington and Concord. The seizure provoked Patrick Henry's march on Williamsburg with Hanover County militia and precipitated the collapse of royal authority in Virginia. The magazine survived and stands today as one of the most significant original structures in Colonial Williamsburg.