About the Williams-Brown House
In 1845, William C. Williams constructed his
unique brick home and store at the eastern end of downtown Salem, Va. A merchant
and hotelier by trade, Williams also became an amateur builder of some
reputation, most notably designing the first Roanoke County courthouse
(1841-1909). His house, the last known of his structures to survive, served as a
store and residence.
After Williams’ death in 1852, the house passed to
his daughter and son-in-law Mary and Joshua Brown. They continued to operate the
store and live in the house until their son, William E. Brown, took it over
after the Civil War. The Williams-Brown House stayed in the same family for the
better part of a century.
After the deaths of William Brown and his wife
Carrie, the house passed through several stages. It was a Roanoke College
fraternity house for a while, served briefly as office space, and was carved up
into apartments for much of the twentieth century. In 1970, the house became the
first in Salem listed on the national Register of Historic Places. But by the
1980s, it was vacant and dilapidated, and the owner at the time wanted to raze
the building and develop the lot.
Enter the Salem Historical Society. Concerned with
such an historic building being lost from main Street, the group convinced the
owner to donate the building on the condition it be moved from the original site
at the corner of Craig Ave. and Main Street. After securing a tract nearby
Logwood Park, SHS relocated the grand old building in 1987. After extensive
renovations, the Salem Museum opened in 1992.
Over time SHS outgrew the space available in the
Williams-Brown House, and the board of directors began to envision a major
expansion project. Two goals were adopted from the start: To preserve the
historic integrity of the original house, and to protect the environment with
cutting-edge environmental design. A capital campaign to raise the necessary
funds commenced, and soon over $2.7 million was raised from the state and local
governments, private foundations, corporations, and interested individuals. The
expanded Salem Museum re-opened to the public on September 25th,
2010.