Williams House (Swain House)

The Williams House stands in the All Saints neighborhood, southwest of downtown Tallahassee. Being near two historic railroad stations. the neighborhood came to contain houses for railroad employees and boarding houses for transients. The Tallahassee Railroad Company was founded in 1834, ten years after Tallahassee was founded as the new capital of the territory of Florida. The Williams House is older than most of the other homes in the neighborhood. It may have been constructed by the railroad company. The earliest known occupant was Burfoot Williams in 1862. Williams and his wife, Ellen had no children.

The Williams House was constructed by 1862 of cypress and longleaf pine. The weatherboarded home has a side gable roof covered in asphalt shingles. The physical evidence of construction and documentary evidence were combined to estimate the initial construction date and the time period when the second story and attic were added (1876 to 1920). Burfoot Williams petitioned the local railroad company in 1862 to be able to purchase the lots where he then lived. Another clue was Burfoot William's will in 1875 that detailed four rooms of furniture and a kitchen, which likely was detached from the house at that time. The floorboards of the first floor in 1996, which were likely the original flooring, differed from those in the second story and attic, suggesting two building episodes. The interior arrangement of the kitchen may have shifted with the addition of running water. The chimneys probably were two stories tall originally; a handwritten note reading "Tallahassee 1900" was noted on the plaster covering the brick of one chimney at the second story level. A coal-burning fireplace was added around 1900 in a crawl space under the house, as was indoor plumbing.

Burfoot Williams eventually owned the whole block and a neighboring block. After his death on December 30, 1876, his widow inherited his estate. Ellen Williams (age 49) shared the house in 1880 with a number of boarders and servants: Carroll Gettings (age 22, White male, telegraph operator), Martha Hawkins (35, Black, cook), Martha's husband, Robert (36, Black, railroad shop worker), James Moore (25, Black, servant), Julia Elliott (35, Mulatto, keeps house), and Julia's children: Warren (6, Mulatto) and Steter (2, Mulatto female).

When Ellen Williams died in 1897, she left no direct descendants and no debts. It took seven years for the court to divide the estate among the heirs. The house and lot at 450 St. Francis St. were put up for auction in August 1904 and were acquired by Joseph A. Edmondson for $1.495. Two years later, the house and part of the lot was sold to Ida M. Allen for $1.425. Mrs. Allen likely lived in the home; she appeared in the 1910 census in Tallahassee as a widow living with her four children, ages 5 to 16. The 44-year-old was the proprietor of a boarding house, but no boarders were listed in the house. Ida M. Allen married W.C. Rouse in 1915. The Rouses sold the house in early 1919 to William C. Lewis and his wife, Mary, who conveyed the property less than a year later to James W. and Lattie M. Swain.

James W. Swain worked as a machinist at the Seaboard Railroad Shop; the 54-year-old shared the Williams House in 1920 with his wife, Lettie M. (54) and three daughters: twins Jewel and Pearl (24), and Emily (14). The Swains rented out part of the house to another Seaboard Railroad employee, J. William Pitts (24), his wife, Mattie Mae (23), and daughter, Alma H. (1). The house was divided into apartments in the 1920s and became the "Swain House." There are rumors the house became a speakeasy; a crude cellar dug into the backyard is said to have been a hiding place for liquor during Prohibition, but this seems far-fetched. James W. Swain lived in the house in 1936 but no occupation was listed in the city directory; his daughter, Jewell Swain, also lived in the house and worked as a schoolteacher at Sealey Memorial School.

New owners in 1953 were Margaret E. and M.L. Langston. From 1957 to 1971, the house became the Langston Apartments. The house was purchased by Jean L. Kendrick and her son, Mark E. in 1992 with plans to rehabilitate the structure. The Williams House remains a private residence.

Bachmann, John. Birds eye view of Florida and part of Georgia and Alabama. New York, New York. John Bachmann, 1861.

Goodwin, Gary V.. NRHP nomination of Williams House, Tallahassee, Florida. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1996.

R.L. Polk & Co.. Polk's City Directory of Tallahassee, Florida, 1936. Jacksonville, FL. R.L. Polk & Co., 1936.

US Census. Household of Ida M. Allen, 153 Jackson St., Enumeration District 79, Tallahassee, Florida, Dwelling 46, Family 46. Washington, DC. US Government, 1910.

US Census. Household of James W. Swain at 153 St. Francis St., Enumeration District 108, Tallahassee, Florida, Dwelling 720, Family 746. Washington, DC. US Government, 1920.