Williams, Olzie Whitehead, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1860 in Wilson, the house is a single-story frame cottage in an L-shaped plan, with a veranda carried on chamfered posts, bracketed eaves, and an Italianate canopy over the main window decorated with sawn fleur-de-lis motifs. Its exterior decoration is considered unusually complete for a small house of the period, reflecting the spread of mass-produced wooden ornament in the decades after the Civil War. Olzie Whitehead Williams, a widow who ran a millinery shop, owned the land from 1863, and her son Latimer Williams enlarged the house in the early 1870s. The Williams family kept it until 1980, when it was offered for removal because of development pressure. It was moved in 1981 to a site outside the city limits, where the new owners undertook a renovation.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be an unusually complete survivor of the richly decorated, mass-produced Italianate cottage of the mid and late nineteenth century, retaining its porch, bracket cornice and canopy. It is also linked to the early history of the town of Wilson and to the Williams family, who owned it for roughly a century. The nomination presents its architectural character as significant within both the town and county context despite the move.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83004004, listed December 19, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | SR 1332, Wilson |
|---|---|
| County | Wilson County |
| Listed | December 19, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83004004 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Moved from its original site in 1981 and renovated by its owners; the document states the house was moved and altered. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 35.78954, -77.91867 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83004004.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q23074040
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.