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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	Williams House Connecticut	Williams House
Location: New London County, southeast corner of the junction of Conn. 207 and Conn. 87, Lebanon.

Of the two extant residences of William Williams, this house, where he lived the greater part of his life, is less altered. His father, Rev. Solomon Williams, acquired it in 1748 and 7 years later presented it to William, who resided there until his death in 1811.

The dwelling is a two-story, rectangular frame building. A long, 1-1/2-story service wing extends from the center of the rear of the house. The original clapboard siding, covered with asbestos shingles in the 1930's, has recently been reexposed. The front entranceway, in the Greek Revival style, was probably constructed about 1830. Other exterior changes to the main house are limited to the lowering of the two original interior chimneys on the back side of the ridge of the gabled roof, the addition of a brick chimney at the north end, and the insertion of a one-story bay window in the living room at the south end.

The central hall divides each floor into two large rooms. Downstairs, to the north of the hall, which incorporates the original stairway, is a parlor, whose entire fireplace wall is still covered with the old paneling; to the south of the hall is the living room. Its entrance-way from the hall has been widened and two columns inserted. Upstairs are two bedrooms with fully paneled fireplace walls. The six original fireplaces, except for the one in the kitchen, have been closed up, but their mantels have been left in place. All the original wide floorboards remain. The rear service wing contains a dining room and kitchen on the first floor and four small bedrooms above.

The well-preserved house is today a private home and is not open to the public.

Williams House. (National Park Service, Wrenn)