Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 E State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested - Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National - Local government - University - designated a National Historic Landmark - Other Jrecorded by Historic American Buildings Survey - recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # our history. Bibilography 1862-1928 religious purposes. education Register D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, of a type, period, or method of construction or information important in prehistory or history. Property is: Name of repository: Significant Dates individual distinction.
Cultural Affiliation Architect/Builder Criteria Considerations Period of Significance -architecture high artistic values, or represents a significant and Significant Person unknown Applicable National Register Criteria (Enter categories from instructions) Ohio Historic Preservation Office distinguishable entity whose components lack for National Register listing.) Primary location of additional data: G less than50 years of age or achieved significance Previous documentation on file (NPS): Narrative Statement of Significance Byron Williams NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio Section 8. Significance finest examples of the Greek Revival style in Williamsburg, Ohio.
It has been evaluated in the context of Greek Revival architecture in Williamsburg, c. 1840-1870. The house represents a late example of the Greek Revival mode, with transitional Italianate styling characteristic of the Civil War era. The house is also a notable example of the I-house type, with L-shaped footprint, balanced plan and symmetrical fenestration. The Williams House has been little altered since its floor plan remain unchanged. It also retains many original features, including Greek Revival entrance, door and window enframements, staircases, mantelpieces and interior trim. The house also meets Criterion B because of its association with Byron Williams, a locally prominent house's period of significance begins with its date of construction in 1862, and ends in 1928, when it was sold by the Williams family. (Wilhelm and Noble 1996: 97).
Like the hall and parlor house, it is a traditional British folk form story, side-gabled, single-pile dwelling containing two rooms on each floor. The house type "is easy to identify because of its narrow, one-room depth and two-story facade" (ibid.). Roofs are uncommon is the hip and gable roof (hipped on one end and gabled on the other) as found on the Williams House. Facades contain three, four or five bays which may be arranged symmetrically or, as in some of the earliest examples, in a more casual fashion. One- or two-story ells are a nearly universal feature. Many, but not all, I-houses include a center hall that provided an was popular in Ohio c. 1820-1890 (Stephen C. Gordon, How to Complete the Ohio Historic Summary (8-86) Architectural Significance generally side-gabled, although hipped-roof examples can occasionally be found.
Even more enclosed, unheated space to greet guests before inviting them into family quarters. The I-house I-houses."[Tjhe I-house is the most widespread vernacular dwelling in Southern Ohio" educator and historian.It is the building that best represents Williams'life and work.The transplanted to the Tidewater region and brought westward by settlers.The I-house is a two- The Williams House meets Criterion C and is significant in the area of architecture as one of the construction and enjoys a high degree of integrity under all its aspects. Its original massing and NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio Inventory [Ohio Historical Society, 1992], p. 127).
In addition to variations in fenestration, I-houses are distinguished by variations in chimney earliest surviving examples, however, feature massive stone chimneys anchoring one or end walls. A few I-houses of the second and third quarters of the 19th century feature a single, large chimney centered in the roofline. Rare examples exhibit paired chimneys flanking the central passage. Another important distinguishing feature is the placement of the ell. Many I-houses, including most of those documented in the county, exhibit an approximately T-shaped form, with the rear ell (or, less commonly, a lean-to) extending from the center of the rear elevation. Generally one to two stories in height, the ell may exhibit one or more rear or side additions, the latter often resulting from enclosure of porches.
Other houses, such as the Williams House, exhibit an L-shaped footprint with an "integral" rear ell: a seamless extension of one of the side elevations. Such houses may have, in effect, two facades, with the front and side elevations assuming equal (or nearly equal) importance. Several substantial brick farmhouses of this type (albeit in a different cultural and social landscape) were built for German Amish/Mennonite families in Butler County, Ohio, in the 1840s and 1850s. (See Christian Augspurger Amish/Mennonite Settlement Thematic Nomination [National Register, 1984].) Several I-house subtypes can be found in Ohio. The earliest, sometimes labeled the "pre-classic I- house," is actually a hall-parlor house raised to two stories. Pre-classic I-houses, built c. 1800- 1850, exhibit facades punctuated by three, four or five bays.
The earliest examples exhibit the irregular fenestration often found in settlement-era dwellings, suggesting the unequal division of is exemplified by the Durham/Mott House (CLE-227-9; c. 1840) in Pierce Township, a Flemish bond brick dwelling with asymmetrical four-bay facade, located on Fagin's Run Road. By the mid-19th century, I-houses gained a more formal appearance as bilateral symmetry and enclosed center passages, reflected in symmetrical facades, became the norm. This era saw the rise of the "classic" I-house, which became one of the predominant house types of the second and (8-86) position.Many I-houses have chimneys standing in or adjacent to both gable ends. Some of the space within aswell as the placement of staircases.The pre-classic I-house in Clermont County Section _8 Page 2 OMB No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio the 1800s, and by the 1840s, the neatly balanced five-bay elevation expressing internal arrangement of rooms was a common sight from the Pennsylvania Piedmont to Virginia's Eastern Shore" (Gabrielle M. Lanier and Bernard L. Herman, Everyday Architecture of the Middle Atlantic: Looking at Buildings and Landscapes [The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997], p. 30). Classic I-houses, such as the Williams House, are characterized by symmetrical end chimneys. Another example of the type is the house at 3426 Jenny Lind Road (CLE-233-9; c.
1850) in Pierce Township: a brick dwelling with five regularly spaced bays and a centered A varied group of I-houses can be found in Batavia, the Clermont county seat, which is located about nine miles west of Williamsburg. (Because of the proximity of the two towns, it is possible the same builders worked in both communities.) The Robinson House (CLE-123-7), built in 1826, is a brick dwelling whose facade is pierced by five irregularly spaced bays. The Walker House (CLE-159-7), built in 1870, is a vernacular Italianate dwelling featuring a three- front elevation, off-center ridgeline chimney, and boxed cornice. Two Clermont I-houses, both of which are in Pierce Township, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Roas-Ilehardt House (CLE-229-9; NR, 1982) is a stone vernacular dwelling built c. 1849-1851.
It exhibits a symmetrical five-bay front elevation and gable-end several historic outbuildings, some of which are of stone construction. The Roas-Ilehardt Farm 1975) is a brick vernacular structure whose facade contains five closely spaced bays arranged in symmetry. A lower two-story frame wing projects from the north elevation. located numerous I-houses of various types in the village, none of which are included in the Ohio Historic Inventory. Most of these houses appear to have been built between 1850 and 1875. All, (8-86) entrance. five-bay facades, with the doorway into the passage constituting the central element, and gable- bay facade crowned by a centered gable.Tall chimneys flank the central passage.The R. third quarters of the19th century."The center-passage single-pile plan gained ascendancy during chimneys.The gable ends are blind apart from small attic windows.
The complex also includes Heichel House (CLE-94-7; c.1880) is a simple vernacular residence with asymmetrical three-bay A windshield survey of Williamsburg's architectural resources conducted in January 2001 NPS Form 10-900-a and Winery was listed in the Register in 1982.The Gaskins-Malany House National Register, NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio with the exception of the Williams House, are of frame construction. While most feature side- gabled roofs of moderate pitch, a few examples, which appear to have been built after the Civil War, exhibit hipped roofs. While some I-houses include Italianate cornices, window hoods or porches, most have no academic style.
The majority have undergone minor to moderate alteration such as re-siding or window replacement. On North Broadway north of Gay Street is a pre-classic I-house exhibiting an asymmetrical three-bay facade that contains an off-center doorway and two windows of unequal size. Extending across the facade is an elaborate arcaded porch with lacy scalloped trim and pendentives. Vinyl siding, new windows and doors have been installed. The house at 510 Gay Street, about three blocks west of the Williams House, is a similarly altered dwelling whose balanced facade is pierced by three bays. A concrete porch was added in the 1920s or 1930s. The walls have been wrapped in aluminum siding, and new windows have been installed. At 292 Gay Street stands a well-preserved frame residence whose symmetrical facade contains three widely 6/6 double-hung sashes, and the door features twin arched glazed panels.
The entrance is sheltered by a porch with flat-sawn trim and scrolled corbels, borne by chamfered posts. At 143 Gay Street, opposite the Williams House, is a two-story, hipped-roof house of simple design that appears to have been built in the late 19' century. It is distinguished by a symmetrical three-bay facade containing large focal windows, and an off-center ridgeline chimney. A hipped-roof porch, perhaps added in the early 20" century, is carried by Tuscan posts. Several similar houses were observed in the village, which may be the work of the same, still-unidentified builder; some exhibit two rather than three bays in the second story. The house at 155 Front Street, a block south of the Williams residence, is a nominally Italianate dwelling with tall windows and paired cornice brackets. The symmetrical facade contains three bays.
An encircling veranda was added in the early 20" century. The center bay in the second story has been closed in and an undersized window inserted While the I-houses of Williamsburg represent a variety of plan types and stylistic influences, none is comparable to the Williams House in form, materials or stylistic influence. The Williams (8-86) spaced bays. Tall brick chimneys frame the central passage. The tall, narrow windows contain OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio House is unique among the I-houses of the village for its L-shaped plan, brick construction, five- bay facade, Greek Revival details and fine state of preservation. Greek Revival architecture.
"Greek Revival was the dominant style of American domestic called the National Style" (Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses [Alfred A. Knopf, 1997], p. 182). The new style grew out of Americans' increasing interest in classical buildings (first Roman, then Greek) during the late 18th century. Archaeological discoveries in the ancient world also aroused interest in classical buildings. In addition, the Greek war for independence fought in the 1820s aroused much sympathy in the newly independent 184.). Other factors in the dissemination of the style included the "widespread system of transportation improvements (roads, canals, railroads), and the need to house the migratory waves that surged out of the northeastern and southern United States, as well as directly from Europe" (James Massey and Shirley Maxwell, House Styles in America [Penguin Studio, 1996], p. 66).
All "contributed to this style that was not only nationwide but nation-building as well" to moderate pitch; symmetry or balanced asymmetry, as in a door balanced by a pair of windows; and flat facades with rectilinear ornamentation. They feature "bold, classical details and architraves built in a post-and-lintel arrangement. The rectilinear nature of these elements imitates the post and beam construction of Greek architecture" (Gordon, p. 79). "All windows and doors are trabeated, because the arch had no place in Greek architecture; the place of the Adam style fanlight over the front door is taken by an oblong glazed opening" (Whiffen, p. 38). Windows generally include multi-light glazing, most often with six over six panes. The cornice lines, doorways and porches of Greek Revival houses were often focal points of ornamentation.
The "cornice line of the main roof and porch roofs [is] emphasized with wide (8-86) (ibid.). United States. Greek Revival buildings are characterized by simple rectangular ormassed plans;roofs of gentle The style was spread by carpenter's guides and pattern books, and by a growing number of NPS Form 10-900-a architecture during the interval from about 1830 to1850...during which its popularity led it to be trained architects who designed high-style buildings in the Grecian mode(See McAlester, p. Section 8 Page 5 NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio bands of trim (this represents the classical entablature and is usually divided into two parts: the frieze above and the architrave below)" (McAlester, p. 179).
Friezes may be adorned with dentil bring light to the attic story, sometimes with decorative grilles. Houses built after 1850 may feature scrolled Italianate-style brackets. Greek Revival doorways often feature shouldered architraves; they are often framed by narrow, impressive doorway. Multipaned transoms, sidelights, paired columns, and pilaster trim created an impact in the simplest entryways" (Massey and Maxwell, p. 71). Porches are common features of Greek Revival dwellings, although some, like the Williams House, were built without them. While some high-style Greek Revival houses were richly ornamented, in many examples, such as the Williams House, detailing is more restrained.
The Williams House's denticulated cornice, multi-pane transom and sidelights, and multi-light windows are characteristic Greek Revival Greek Revival buildings occur "in all areas settled by 1860..and especially flourished in those regions which were being rapidly settled in the decades of the 1830s, '40s, and '50s.... Not surprisingly, the largest surviving concentrations of Greek Revival homes are found today in (McAlester, p. 182). According to the authors, Ohio ranks third on the list, behind New York and 79). "In the interior states, and in rural areas everywhere, it remained a dominant style for domestic buildings until the early 1860s" (McAlester, p. 184). During the heyday of the Greek Revival in Ohio, regional variations developed.
In southern Ohio, including Clermont County, Greek Revival dwellings fall into four primary types: hall- and-parlor houses; I-houses; side-passage "two thirds Georgian" houses, generally with side- facing gables; and massed-plan "four over four" houses, which contain a double pile of rooms on (8-86) plans. details. those states with the largest population growth during the period from 1820 to 1860.." bands or simple moldings.More elaborate examples may be ornamented with classical details Pennsylvania (ibid.). The Greek Revival style was popular in the state c. 1835-1860 (Gordon, p. such as modillions, triglyphs or mutule blocks.They may also include rectangular windows to either side of a central passage.Most Clermont examples appear to use I-house or side-passage multi-pane transoms and sidelights. "It is rare indeed to find a Greek Revival house without an NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio Early examples of the Grecian style, built in the late 1830s and early 1840s, often include elements of the Federal mode, which preceded the Greek Revival in popularity; their proportions may also be more typical of Federal-era houses, with smaller windows utilized in the second story. Later examples of the 1860s and early 1870s, such as the Williams House, tend to be more vertical in orientation, with windows of the same size in both stories. Like the Williams House, they often include references to the Italianate style, such as tall windows, minimal bracketed cornices and trabeated entries. No comprehensive study of the Greek Revival buildings of Clermont County in general has taken place to date.
Ohio Historic Inventory forms prepared for buildings throughout the county provide an overview of the development of the style, and National Register nominations contain classic I-house with four-bay facade. Chimneys stand in the gable ends, and a hipped-roof Victorian porch now covers the two central openings. The Ross-Gowdy House (National Register, 1982) in the village of New Richmond, located on the Ohio River, is a brick side- recessed entrance and rectangular sawn stone lintels. An informal survey of the Greek Revival buildings of Williamsburg was conducted in January 2001. Three examples of the style were found in the village, including the Williams House. At Second and Gay Streets is an imposing two-story brick residence, built on the center-passage, double-pile plan, with gently pitched hipped roof. The cornice is accented by dentil molding and widely spaced single brackets.
A tripartite window, with narrow panes flanking a central sash, is placed in the center of the second story. At 137 Broadway is a one-story, massed-plan frame dwelling exhibiting deep eaves, a denticulated cornice, a trabeated entrance and large windows with 1/1 sashes which may be replacements of the originals. Integrity. The Williams House retains nearly all of the physical features that made up its character and appearance during its period of significance. The early 20" century addition does not detract from the house's significance since it is located unobtrusively at the rear of the house and does not conceal or disguise the house's original form. It also represents a common process (8-86) passage dwelling built c. 1850. It features a low hipped roof with modillioned cornice, a Revival dwellings represent a variety of subtypes.
The Butler House (CLE-251-9) is a frame pre- information about specific examples.These sources indicate that, as a group, the county's Greek Section _8 Page 7 NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio of expanding buildings to reflect new ownership and changing needs. The exterior of the building has seen only minor alterations since the early 20th century; as noted earlier, sections of the dentil moldings were removed, and the chimneys were rebuilt in their original locations. These cosmetic changes do not measurably diminish the building's integrity. Therefore the Williams Williams family. The Williams family, of Welsh ancestry, emigrated to America in the late 1600s, settling originally in North Carolina and New York State.
By the late 1700s the New York branch of the family relocated to Cayuga County, near Lake Ontario, where they operated a mill. John Cooley Williams (1800-1876), the original owner of the Williams House, was one of ten children born to Zebina Williams, an "expert wheel and mill builder," and his wife Mary Cooley Williams. In 1810 the elder Williams moved his family west to Ohio, settling first in Columbia (now part of Cincinnati), near the confluence of the Ohio and Little Miami Rivers, and nearby Red Bank. After several years the family relocated to Clermont County, where they are credited with the construction of the first brick house in Stonelick Township in 1819 (Williams, p. 146). In his youth John Williams made his living on the river, taking charge of crews transporting flatboats loaded with produce down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans.
During these "laborious and hazardous" voyages he was habitually entrusted with large sums of money, which he took up the real estate business, which he pursued for 40 years with considerable success. For three years he served as justice of the peace in Stonelick Township. A largely self-educated man with a deep love of learning, he also taught school for several years. Williams was a devout Baptist and a "notable" Free Mason. Irish Pennsylvania stock. Five children were born to the couple, two of whom died in infancy. The Williams family lived first on lower Stonelick Creek, then on the Wooster Pike near Goshen. In 1859 they moved to Williamsburg. Construction of their house on Gay Street began in 1862 (8-86) Historical Development House exhibits a high degree of historic integrity under all its aspects. he handled "with a prudence and fidelity that were never reproached" (Everts, p.
308). At age 30 In 1830Williams married Rachel Copeland Glancy(1813-1909),a Clermont Countian of Scots- OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio and was finished a year later (ibid., p. 149). The 1860 Federal population census lists John Williams as a 59-year-old farmer born in New York. His wife, Rachel was 46 years old and a native of the Buckeye State. Also residing in the household were daughter Louisa, 23, and son Byron, 17, both of whom had been born in Ohio. Byron Williams. Byron Williams, the most illustrious member of the Williams family, and one of Williamsburg's most famous residents, was a prominent educator, historian and entrepreneur. Born in 1843, he was the only son of John and Rachel Williams to live to adulthood.
Troubled by ill health as a child (which later kept him out of the Union Army), he consoled himself with books and became a prodigious reader. He enrolled in Ohio Wesleyan University near Columbus, where he followed a "classical course." While still a young man, Williams became "one of the leading educators of the county" (Clermont Sun), and earned the title "Professor Williams." In addition to his years in the classroom, he served as county school examiner, president of the Clermont County Teachers Institute, and superintendent of the Williamsburg and Milford schools (ibid., p. 150). During his tenure with the Williamsburg schools, the town's first high school was established. ventures of his own. During the 1870s he and a partner turned a profit manufacturing pruning equipment.
A second enterprise, producing "novelty goods in wood," proved a failure despite the partners' substantial investment in buildings and machinery. Williams also promoted the Cincinnati & Eastern Railroad, which connected Cincinnati with its eastern hinterland. The mid- 1880s, however, marked a "turning point to a more definite concentration of effort for a loftier purpose than a chase for coin" (Williams, pp. 150-151). The 1880 Federal census lists Byron Williams as a 37-year-old schoolteacher. His wife, Kate, age mother, Rachel, also lived in the household. A second daughter, Louise, was later born to the family. Dion Williams graduated from Annapolis and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel in (8-86) John Williams owned real estate worth $2,700 and personal property valued at $8,000.
Williams also assisted his aging father with his business affairs and embarked on several NPS Form 10-900-a 34,kept house.The couple had two children:Ella,12,and Dion,10.Williams'widowed Section 8 Page 9 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio the the United States Marine Corps. He went on to became the Legation Military Commandant at Peking, China. Louise Williams became the wife of Chas. R Kain of Williamsburg (Clermont Sun, February 24, 1915). In 1890 Williams retired from education and business and embarked on still another career, as historian and lecturer. His interest in history was doubtless inspired by his family's pioneer his best-known work is the two-volume History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, published in 1913.
He also produced studies of the Ohio counties of Hamilton and Tuscarawas. According to the Clermont Sun. Springing from pioneer ancestry, [Williams] early became interested in the early history of Clermont County and by his researches rescued from oblivion a rich store of materials related to the pioneer life of the county. It is not too much to say that Byron Williams, above any other man who ever lived in the county, was in possession of the facts of her history. With such tastes for research and superior literary ability, it is not strange that he was sought out by those interested to perform historical work and many of his later years were devoted to this labor.
His histories of Tuscarawas, Hamilton and Clermont counties are the fruits of this period of his activities, that of Tuscarawas being rated by librarians as the most profusely and elegantly written and illustrated county work yet published. His latest historical work was the text of the joint history of Clermont and Brown counties, which is remarkable not only for wealth of detail, but for literary finish. (Clermont Sun, February 24, 1915) For several years after the Spanish-American War Williams "devoted his time to the preparation and delivery of a series of lectures dealing with naval affairs, and during this time visited most of the principal cities of the country.
His lectures on 'Our Young Defenders' and 'Our New Navy,' the first being a study of cadet life at West Point and Annapolis, met with instant public Together, A Battle Song for All Who Have the Noble Gift of English Speech," concluding with (8-86) the stanza: NPS Form 10-900-a approval"(ibid.). He also penned a rousing anthem called "We'll Bravely Face the World origins and his own role in the Civil War.(See"The Williams House in the Civil War.")Perhaps NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Page 11 Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio On high to wave Above the battles of the free and brave; And here's our pledge to both-or rather Than loss or wrong shall come to either, We'll quickly arm Gainst jealous harm And bravely face the world together.
Like his father, Williams was a committed Mason. He joined the Order when a young man, and "took a deep interest in its work and was deeply read in its literature. He served for nineteen years as Worshipful Master of the Williamsburg Lodge" (Clermont Sun, op.cit.). Williams died on February 19, 1915, at the age of 72. He was eulogized as a "man prominent in the affairs of Clermont County for more than fifty years" (Clermont Sun, op.cit.). Funeral services were held in his lifelong home on Gay Street. He is buried in the Williamsburg The Williams House is the building most strongly associated with the life and work of Byron Williams. There he lived for 52 years (his entire adult life) and wrote the books that gained him brought him notoriety in his youth. Other buildings associated with Williams have been demolished or have not been located.
The Williamsburg school where he taught for many years, for example, was destroyed by fire in 1922. Other buildings where he may have maintained an office, in the capacity of school superintendent or school examiner, also have not been identified. The location of the factory of which he was co-owner in the 1870s also remains unknown; moreover, the manufacturing concern-although successful-was, for Williams, a short-lived interest (Izella Cadwallader, personal communication). Therefore the Williams House is uniquely significant for its association with this illustrious Clermont County resident. Williams House. Clermont County deed records indicate that the land on which the Williams (8-86) cemetery. Section 8 Forever save The friendly flags that Heaven kindly gave local fame. The house was also the site of Morgan's Raid and the Captain Harris incident,which NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio House sits originally belonged to Mark and Mary M. Simpkins. On August 7, 1862, the couple 1937, the Williams descendants, including Louise Kain, Ella Williams and Dion Williams, sold the property to Maggie White. It remained in the White family until 1968, when it was purchased by Bettie and Don McAdams and Pauline Donham. They owned the house from 1977 to 1983, The Williams House in the Civil War The Morgan raid. During the summer of 1863, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, the "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy," launched a raid across Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Confederate General Braxton Bragg in Tennessee.
Bragg, Morgan's superior, had retreated to Tullahoma following the battles of Stones River in December 1862 and January 1863, and sought to tall back through the Sequatchie Valley to Chattanooga. He feared attacks from Union generals Henry M. Judah and William S. Rosecrans, and a possible flank attack from General being sent to aid Rosecrans" (Lester V. Horwitz, The Longest Raid of the Civil War [Farmcourt Publishing, Inc., 1999], p. 2). Cut off for more than a month from Confederate sources of resupply, the soldiers stole food, horses, clothing, weapons and ammunition as they went. Altogether they raided 6,576 dwellings and shops, including 4,375 in the Buckeye State (ibid., pp. 377-378). "The horses and food seized were military necessities, but often property taken by the raiders was due to their plundering propensities..." (Eugene H. Roseboom, The History of the State of Ohio, Vol.
IV. The Civil War Era: 1850-1873 [Ohio Historical Society, 1944], pp. 423-425). The Morgan raid, which covered over a thousand miles, was the "northernmost penetration of the Confederacy into the Union north" (Horwitz, p. 377). It brought the conflict, formerly the stuff of newspaper headlines and of distant battles (at least for civilians), to the fields and towns of the Ohio Valley. "On a personal level in July 1863 the war seemed far away in Tennessee or (8-86) Ohio. It was designed primarily to draw the attention of the Union army from the movements of when they sold it to Don and Marcia Sutton. The present owners purchased the house in 1997. "diversion to occupy the Federal forces² attention and to harass supplies and reinforcements sold In-lots 53 and 55 to John Williams for $1,500.In two conveyances executed in 1928 and Ambrose E.
Burnside's forces headquartered in Cincinnati.The Morgan raid was intended as a Section 8 Page 12 NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio As Morgan galloped eastward, the raid "lost all military significance" and "became a game of of the Ohio" (Roseboom, pp. 423-425). Its "military value was slight": "While it drew Federal forces away from other service in Kentucky, the Confederates were unable to take any advantage admire the audacity, and wonder at the narrow margin between the failure and the success of the expedition" (Williams, p. 430). force, which at this point totaled 1,900 men. Exhausted, the soldiers stopped to rest.
Morgan "set up his headquarters" at the Kain House tavern at Third and Main streets (no longer extant). His men rested wherever they could, and several offficers slept at the Williams House. (See Horwitz, The next morning the troops burned the covered bridge spanning the East Fork of the Little Miami River at Gay Street (east of the Williams House): an unnecessary action since the river was nearly dry at the time. (See location map.) They then galloped eastward, pressing into service a guide who led them toward the villages of Mount Orab and Sardinia. Unfamiliar with the Clermont countryside, and misled by a local guide, Hobson's main force did not reach Williamsburg until one o'clock on the afternoon of July 15t.
There they paused only long enough to partake of a bountiful repast prepared by the women of the town, then sped off after An account by an "unknown contributor," likely a Williamsburg resident, details the progress of the raid in the village. The advance guard reached Williamsburg at about 4 o'clock p.m., and at the top of the hill two officers with a revolver in each hand, rode their horses in a walk down the street to inspect the town, and give notice that nobody would be harmed or injured if the rebs (8-86) pp. 146-147.) hare-and-hounds with Morgan trying to elude his pursuers long enough to make a safe crossing the rebels. Morgan reaches Williamsburg.Morgan's advance guard rode into Williamsburg around 4:00 of this the words of Byron Williams:"A generous and successful foe must Virginia, but now they heard the cry: 'Rebels! The Rebels are coming!'" (Ibid., p.
v). NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio were not fired on or molested. In a few minutes their forces covered all the streets and pickets were thrown out guarding all the roads leading into town to prevent a surprise by the militia of Hobson's approaching men. When the rebs reached Williamsburg they were completely worn out, having come 92 miles in 35 hours...with no sleep, save that obtained in the saddle.... [The next day] Hobson was, and what his future moves would be.... The men had a torch ready to burn the school building, but on Dr.
Doyle telling them it wasn't a courthouse they left it escape so well as it did, and its joy knew no bounds when the Union hosts came in sight and pressed on to overtake the fleeing enemy. (Richard Crawford, Lightning Across the River: The Story of Gen. John Hunt Morgan's Raid on Clermont County, Ohio [Rhiannon Publications, 1996], pp. 50-53) After leaving Clermont County Morgan rode due eastward through Appalachian Ohio for 12 days, traveling through 19 counties on his way to the Ohio River. (See map copy.) He was Ironically, a mere four months later he and six of his men escaped and made their way back to the South (Horwitz, p. 357). In ensuing years, the Morgan raid achieved legendary status in southern Ohio. Along the trail of the raid sprouted a crop of anecdotes that grew with the telling until they became community traditions.
Some told of deeds of valor or deceptions whereby the bold raiders were outwitted, but more dealt with the ridiculous actions of individuals thrown into a panic by the spell of Morgan's name.... In this wise, Morgan's raid in time was magnified to the proportions of a legend, and yet a kindly legend, unmarred by the horrible barbarities so often associated with war. Morgan's men stole and confiscated and (8-86) finally captured on July 26th and was imprisoned in the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus. until the bridge was burned and then left, and hardly were they gone when the advance of pillaging of the stores and stealing all horses in sight..This loyal town was glad to Morgan sat on his horse..and read out of the Cincinnati papers the accounts of where Hobson came in sight..
No excesses were committed by the rebels save the general alone...Hobson's force was only about five hours behind... Morgan's rear guard stayed NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio fought, but murder and rapine did not darken the picture. (Roseboom, pp. 425-426) for the Union cause. For some time Captain George Harris, an artillery officer, had longed to leave the Confederate service and be reunited with his father, a Union loyalist and friend of General Burnside. When he arrived in Clermont, which was close to Burnside's headquarters in Cincinnati, he saw his chance. After meeting Byron Williams, Harris convinced him to hide him in the attic of the Williams home.
Ironically, several other officers, asleep in the bedroom below, were unaware of Harris' presence in the house. The next day Williams, with the help of two friends, helped Harris make his way to Cincinnati. could recover his failing health in the English countryside. He died at sea within sight of land, and is buried near London. (See Horwitz, pp. 146-147.) According to Byron Williams, the Harris episode, "one of the strange incidents without any (Williams, p. 431). The "unknown contributor" describes the incident thus: Captain George Harris, chief of Morgan's artillery, deserted the Confederate service here. When the rebellion broke out he was in the senior class of the military school at Nashville, Tennessee, which class as an entirety went into the rebel service, and after the battle at Shiloh his battery was detached and set off to Morgan's. His father was a paymaster in the U.S.
Navy and remained loyal to the government. When here he met Professor Byron Williams on the street, engaged him in conversation, and said he would leave the rebel army if he could do so without being caught. Mr. Williams, then a young man under age, secreted Harris in the garret of his father's two-story brick residence on was made for him. When the Union forces had passed through and had got beyond some three miles, an officer and squad of men were sent back by General Hobson to arrest and get a rebel spy supposed to be there, meaning Harris, it having leaked out in the Union (8-86) When the rebs started off the next morning Captain Harris was not missed and no search the northwest corner of Gay and Front streets (112 Gay St.),where the professor lived.
The Harris incident.As Morgan's men raided Williamsburg,young Byron Williams did his part known parallel in those most eventful times,"was"told all over the English-speaking world" There he took the oath of allegiance to the Union. Harris' father sent him to England, hoping he NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Section 8 Page 16 Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio army, through Captain William Ulrey....that such a man was there. This squad passed Professor Williams and Captain Harris on the street, but Williams gave out that Harris was a Mr. , an old college chum of his at Delaware (present Ohio Wesleyan Williams, having been up two nights, could not take the captain to Cincinnati, but Dr. S.S. Walker and Frank A.
Warden did, and delivered him over to General Burnside. The latter had him placed in a citizen's prison up north, where he fared sumptously, and where the rebels couldn't get him, though they put a big price or reward on his head Professor Williams ran a great risk, but managed the affair with rare discretion, and Morgan thus lost his best officer. Captain Ray, who ordered the bridge burned, and Chaplain Moore and Captain Hines, three of Morgan's most trusted officers, all slept in the Williams' mansion, little dreaming that Harris had deserted them and was passing the night in a little garret room directly over their heads. Captain Harris left his old jacket with the Williams family, which they prized highly as memento of the hero who left the rebel ranks and espoused the Union side. Harris had been preparing to leave Morgan whenever he safely could....
Captain Harris told his friend, Byron Williams, that he had left only four rounds of ammunition for his four cannon. (Crawford, pp. 50-51) (8-86) cornfield. University),visiting him on vacation.The second night he secreted his charge in the NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio 9. Major bibliographic references Cadwallader, Izella, Williamsburg historian. Personal communication to Margaret Warminski, Clermont County, Ohio, deed records. Clermont County recorder's office, Batavia, Ohio. Crawford, Richard. Lightning Across the River: The Story of John Hunt Morgan's Raid On Clermont County, Ohio. Newport, Kentucky: Rhiannon Publications, 1996. Gordon, Stephen C. How to Complete the Ohio Historic Inventory.
Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Historic Preservation Office, 1992. Harmony Hill Association. "Historic Williamsburg, Ohio." Published privately, 1999. "Tour Map of Olde Williamsburgh, Ohio." 2000. "Historian of Clermont County and Prominent Educator Passes From Life-End of Long Career Fruitful in Good Works," Clermont Sun, February 24, 1915. Horwitz, Lester V. The Longest Raid of the Civil War: Little-Known and Untold Stories of Morgan's Raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Cincinnati: Farmcourt Publishing, 1999. Lanier, Gabrielle M., and Bernard L. Herman, Everyday Architecture of the Middle Atlantic: Looking at Buildings and Landscapes, Creating the North American Landscape Series. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Massey, James C., and Shirley Maxwell. House Styles in America. New York: Penguin Studio, 1996. (8-86) 1880. April 9, 2002. Section 9 Page 1 Everts, Louis H.
History of Clermont County, Ohio. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Company, NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Roseboom, Eugene H.. The Civil War Era: 1850-1873. A History of the State of Ohio, Vol. IV, general editor Carl Wittke. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1944. Reprinted, The Ohio Historical Society, 1968. and Francis P. Weisenburger. A History of Ohio, ed. James H. Rodabaugh. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio Historical Society, 1996 Smith, William E., Ph.D. History of Southwestern Ohio: The Miami Valleys, Vol. I. New York and Palm Beach: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1964.
United States Federal Population Census 1860, 1880 for Clermont County, Ohio. Microfilm, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1981. Williams, Byron. History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, From the Earliest Times Down to the Present. Milford, Ohio: Hobart Publishing Company, 1913. Reprint, Gateway Press, Baltimore, 1987. 1997. (8-86) Section 9 Page 2 Clermont Co., OH 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property Less than one acre (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.) - See continuation sheet 11. Form Prepared By organization _ .
date _September 27, 2001 telephone 859-581-2883 city or town Newport - state KY - zip code 41071 Submit the following items with the completed form: (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.) name Mr. and Mrs. Ennis Treton street & number 112 Gay Street - telephone 513-724-3778 city or town Williamsburg state OH . zip code 45176 a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). instructions, gathering andmaintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect Maps Easting Photographs Northing Boundary Justification Continuation Sheets Additional items Verbal Boundary Description Representative black and white photographs of the property.
UTM References Williams House Estimated Burden Statement:Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including time for reviewing name/title_Margaret Warminski, Historic Preservation Consultant Paperwork Reduction Act Statement:This information isbeing collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate Additional Documentation (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. L413/21671510 A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. Zone NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio 10. Geographical Data Situated in the Village of Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio, and being a part of In-lot No. 53 and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at the intersection of the north line of Gay Street with the west line of Front Street and the most southerly corner of In-lot No. 53 of said Village; thence with the north line of Gay Front Street south 30 degrees west 86.00 feet to the place of beginning.
Beginning at the intersection of the north line of Gay Street, which point is north 60 degrees west 100 feet from the southerly corner of In-lot 53 (intersection of the northerly line of Gay Street and the westerly line of Front Street), thence north 30 degrees east 89.49 feet to a point; thence north 58 degrees west 10.01 feet to a point; thence south 30 degrees west 89.84 feet to a point in House. (8-86) Verbal boundary justification Verbal boundary description degrees east 100.06 feet to a pipe in the west line of Front Street; thence with said west line of The nominated property includes the entire parcel of land presently associated with the Williams Parcel II: the north line of Gay Street; thence south 60 degrees east 10 feet to the place of beginning.
Street north 60 degrees west 100 feet;thence north 30 degrees east 89.49 feet;thence south 58 Section 10 Page 1 NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio 12. Additional documentation Name of property: Byron Williams House (same for all photographs) Location: Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio (same for all photographs) Photographer: Margo Warminski (same for all photographs) Date taken: January 2001 (same for all photographs) Location of negatives: 112 Gay Street, Williamsburg, Ohio (same for all photographs) View: Streetscape view of north side of Gay Street, with Williams House at right. Looking northwest from intersection of Gay and Front streets.
Photo 1 Streetscape of west side of Front Street, with Williams House at left. Looking southwest. Photo 2 Facade(south) and west elevations of Williams House, looking northeast from front lawn. Photo 3 Main entrance, with transom, sidelights, and stone lintel and steps. Looking north. Photo 4 Typical double-hung 6/6 window, main facade. Looking north. Photo 5 Denticulated frieze and circular vents, west elevation. Looking east. Photo 6 West elevation and rear frame addition, looking northeast from side yard. Photo 7 Rear (north) elevation of house, and frame addition with lean-to. Looking southwest. (8-86) Photograph key NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Williams House Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio East elevation of house, looking west from Front Street.
Photo 9 Main entrance hall and staircase. Looking north from main doorway. Photo 10 Looking east through doorway toward music room. Photo 11 Music room, looking northeast. Photo 12 Photo 13 Staircase, dining room; music room visible through doorway. Looking southwest. Photo 14 Dining room, looking northwest toward rear wall. Photo 15 Parlor; looking northwest through archway into breakfast room. Photo 16 Bedroom, second floor. Photo 17 (8-86) Greek Revival mantelpiece, north wall of music room. Looking north. Photo 8 Kitchen MUsic Williamsburg Parlor Clermont County, Ohio First floor plan Williams House Poom Sneahfast Clermont County, Ohio Williamsburg hibnany Second floor plan Williams House Bath Bed noom Clermant Caunty Ohio Williams House Williamsbung /' Road Center Line 2000 Feet 1000 300 1:18000 Legend 300 Meters DSR.32 Clerwont Co.
COBB RD TRAIL DR - Townships RIDGE RD AI Elevations are in Meters RUN-FOSTER hocotioin Map NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Section number - SUPPLEMENTARY LISTING RECORD NRIS Reference Number: 02000704 Date Listed: June 26, 2002 Property Name: Williams House County: Clermont State: Ohio Multiple Name This property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with the attached nomination documentation subject to the following exceptions, exclusions, or amendments, notwithstanding the National Park Service certification included in the nomination June 26, 2002 for Signature of the Keeper Date of Action Amended Items in Nomination: Section 8: Statement of Significance The year 1863 is hereby deleted as a significant date.
The events that occurred on this date are not related to either of the areas of significance under which The Ohio State Historic Preservation Office was notified of this amendment. Nominating Authority (without nomination attachment) Page documentation. (8-86) the property is nominated. none DISTRIBUTION: Continuation Sheet National Register of Historic Places National Register property file UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET OTHER : N PDIL: N PERIOD: N PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: N COMMENT WAIVER: N ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: The Williams House is locally significant as under Criterion B, for its association with educator, style I-house with transitional Italianate elements.
The house was the lifelong residence of Byron Williams, who rose through the ranks of the local school system to eventually become superintendent of the Williamsburg and Milford schools. After retiring in 1890, he devoted his energies to his longstanding interest in history and wrote the two-volume History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, which was published in 1913. He also produced studies of Hamilton and Tuscarawas counties and lectured widely. Williams died in 1915. Today, the house remains one of the finest examples of Greek RECOM. / CRITERIA DATE TELEPHONE RETURN 5/15/02 6/19/02 6/29/02 MULTIPLE REJECT NAME: historian, and entrepreneur Byron Wiliams, and under Criterion C, as an example of a Greek Revival- Revival architecture in Williamsburg.
DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: REASONS FOR REVIEW: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF 45TH DAY: DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N ANIEL VIVIAN DISCIPLINEH/ KTORAN REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION STATE & COUNTY: OHIO, Clermont DATE OF PENDING LIST: 6/03/02 PROPERTY ACCEPT REVIEWER Williams House Williomsbung NOR 61+1G NNNNN-O8AU 225 NOR 61+09 HNNNN-04AU 225 william Heue 4 williama House Cleruout Co. OH williamsbene - williams House NOR 61+G9 NNNNN+03AU 225 williams House williams buns NOR 61+G9 NNNNN-07AU 225 o williums House williambun Uilliamsbune Clenmout Coi NOR 61+G8 NNNN+16AU 225 williauscbuns NOR 61+08 NNNNN+G7AU 225 NOR 61+08 NNNNN+20AU 225 WIL LIAMSBURG.
OHIO WILLIAMSBURG QUADRANGLE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UNITED STATES .S MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR December 11, 2001 Ohio Historic Preservation Office 567 East Hudson Street Columbus, Ohio 43211-1030 Attn: Mr. Amos Loveday home of Mr. & Mrs. Ennis Ireton, 112 Gay Street, Williamsburg, to the National Register of The home is situated on the corner of Front Street, where the first settlers built their log cabins, and Gay Street, which was the main thoroughfare at that time. It is within a short the second floor bedrooms, not knowing that Col. Williams' son, Byron, had befriended a Byron's son, Dion, was also born in the home and was a highly decorated officer in the Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Major. Izella Cadwallader Freedom. 513-724-7790 Sincerely, Historic Places.
home was used by several of his officers as their headquarters.They spent the night in two homes were recently listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Byron Williams in later years became a well-known educator and author.He wrote the histories of Clermont and Brown Counties as well as several other counties in Ohio. distance from where the pioneers forded the East Fork to travel the Dela Palma Road to The lreton's have generously opened their home on several occasions for county and local The home played a very important part in Civil War events when on July 14,1863 Chillicothe, the State capitol. items from the period when the home was built in 1862-63.lt was the home of Colonel Dear Mr.
Loveday The lreton's have faithfully restored this historic home and have furnished it beautifully with home and garden tours and it is always included in the historical tours of the village. We young soldier and agreed to hide him in the attic until Morgan's army left town. John Williams and his family. lt sits on a quiet, tree-lined street in the same block where I am writing on behalf of the Harmony Hill Association in support of the nomination of the feel the home is very worthy of the honor of National Register designation. General John Hunt Morgan and 30o0 of his men stopped here overnight. The Williams 3907 State Route 133 RECEIVED 567 East Hudson Street MAY , 5 2002 Columbus, Ohio 43211-1030 614/ 298-2000 Fax: 614/ 298-2037 Visit us at www.ohiohistory.org/resource/histpres/ National Park Service SINCE 1885 Ms.
Carol Shull, Chief of Registration National Register of Historic Places Suite 400 800 N Capitol St, NW Washington DC 20002 Enclosed please find three (3) new National Register nominations. All appropriate notification procedures have been followed for this new submission. NEW SUBMISSION Williams House West Orange Road-Thomas Bridge Euclid Avenue Historic District If you have questions or comments about these documents, please contact this office. Amos J. Loveday, Jr State Historic Preservation Officer COUNTY Cuyahoga SOCIETY enclosures Clermont Delaware Sincerely, HISTORICAL OHIO Ohio Historic Preservation Office Dear Ms. Shull: NAT. REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACE.
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