B. F. Williams House

Duane's take

The marker tells it this way, and I'm just passin' it along. In Victoria, Texas, there stands a house that means business. Literally.

The man who built it, Benjamin F. Williams, was a Victoria businessman, a mayor, and a state legislator. Born in 1846, died in 1916, he packed a lot of living into those years.

And in 1909, he decided his family deserved something worth lookin' at. So he called on a local architect by the name of Jules Leffland, and Jules did not disappoint. What Leffland designed was a Classical Revival home.

Now, when you hear Classical Revival, think columns. Think grandeur. Think the kind of front porch that makes a man stand up a little straighter just walkin' past it.

Two-story Ionic columns anchoring the front, and then, wrapping around to the side, a gabled pedimented portico with matching one-story columns keepin' things balanced and proper. But here's the part I want you to picture. Up top, there's a balustrade on the balcony, all careful and distinctive, and then above that, a widow's walk.

A widow's walk, perched up high, where you can look out and see the Guadalupe River rolling along below. Benjamin F. Williams, businessman, mayor, legislator, built his family a home with a view.

That's not just architecture. That's a man saying, this is where we belong.

What the marker says

Victoria businesman, mayor and state legislator Benjamin F. Williams (1846-1916) built this home for his family in 1909. Designed by local architect Jules Leffland, the Classical Revival home features two-story front Ionic columns complemented by a side gable pedimented portico with matching one-story columns. Also of note are the distinctive balustrade on the balcony and the "widow's walk" from which the Guadalupe River may be viewed. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1987