In colonial days, when cabinetmaker Anthony Hay made furniture in Colonial Williamsburg, at least six shops catered to local tastes. As the colony grew in taste and sophistication, shops developed in other port cities such as Norfolk, Fredericksburg, Alexandria and Petersburg.For instance, in Fredericksburg alone, more than a dozen manufacturers made European style furniture in shops owned by cabinetmakers like Robert and Alexander Walker, James Allen and Thomas Miller. Many of these early cabinetmakers also worked at house joinery, making an intimate connection between the rooms and the objects in them