Custom House, circa 1720

In 1691, Virginia's colonial legislature passed "An Act for Ports" to better regulate trade and collect import and export fees and duties, creating several ports including Yorktown and providing for Collectors of Ports appointed by the royal governor. During Yorktown's peak as a commercial port in the mid-1700s, Richard Ambler, and later his son Jacquelin, served as collector of ports. In 1721, Richard Ambler built a large brick storehouse where he and his son carried out collector duties as newly arrived ship captains and merchants arranging transport of goods gathered to complete required paperwork and pay associated fees. The American Revolution ended many port activities, including the collection of customs; in 1776, Virginia militia troops used the Custom House for barracks, and two years later Jacquelin Ambler sold the property. In 1924, the Compte de Grasse Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution purchased the Custom House and restored it five years later, and today it continues in use as a Chapter House and Museum.

Yorktown, Virginia · United States