Williams House
Also known as: The Clinch Valley Coal and Iron Company
Why it's listed
Standing in the middle of the business district of Richlands, Virginia, this 2 1/2-story Georgian Revival building was erected in 1890 as an office for the Clinch Valley Coal and Iron Company. It was among the first structures built in the new town, which Philadelphia investors planned as a coke and iron-manufacturing center. The weatherboarded frame house has a symmetrical facade, a hipped roof with pedimented dormers, a long porch with six Tuscan columns, and oversized windows that reflect the founders' large ambitions. A small oval window beside the front door once served as the company pay window. After the company sold the property in 1901, Dr. William R. Williams bought it, lived there until 1943, and used an outbuilding as an operating room and the house for patients, making it the town's first hospital before he opened a larger one in 1913. The building is now unoccupied and deteriorated, with restoration planned.
Significance in brief: Built in 1890, it was one of the first buildings in Richlands and served as the main office of the investment group that planned and founded the town. Its oversized windows reflected the group's ambition to make Richlands the Pittsburgh of the South. It later became the first hospital in Richlands under Dr. W.R. Williams, a prominent local figure.
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 83003319, listed July 7, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 102 Suffolk Ave., Richlands |
|---|---|
| County | Tazewell County |
| Listed | July 7, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83003319 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1890 |
| Architect / builder | Clinch Valley Coal & Iron/Unknown |
| Architectural style | Georgian Revival |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Commerce, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as unoccupied and somewhat deteriorated, with rehabilitation and adaptive reuse planned, including restoration and donation to the town for use as a public library. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 37.09344, -81.79853 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 83003319.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16903453
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.