Ben Franklin's world is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios, and this

episode was produced with the support of William & Mary and the American Indian initiative

at Colonial Williamsburg.

People's visibility, it's almost been wiped completely clean of indigeneity, so that

the Braffordin stands today as kind of a silent sentinel for Native people's positionality

in this history, and as a reminder of the importance of Native people's to the development

of Virginia and eventually of America, the Braffordin really does stand as a visual reminder

that Native peoples are a part of society, both in the past and continuing to the present.

When you visit William & Mary's historic university campus in downtown Williamsburg, Virginia,

you will notice three old brick buildings.

The most prominent building is the Sir Christopher Ren building, the oldest college building in

the United States.

Designed by the famed English architect, Sir Christopher Ren, and built between 1695 and

1700, the Ren building once served as the College of William & Mary's soul school building.

It housed college classrooms, the boys dormitory, the school library, rooms for the school's

president and professors, and the college's dining hall.

In its earliest days, students and faculty simply referred to the Ren building as The College.

To the right and left of the Ren building, stand two other brick buildings.

The building to the right is the youngest building on William & Mary's historic quadrangle.

Built between 1732 and 1733, the president's house serves as the oldest official residence

for a college president in the United States.

And directly across from the president's house stands the Braffordin building.

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