Williams-Harward House

11.13.2009

(Durham County tax office)

(Below in italics is from the National Register listing; not verified for accuracy by this author.)

A combination of neoclassical and gothic motifs decorate this stucco-on-frame cross gable- roofed cottage constructed between 1925 and 1930 for Claude B. Willams, secretary-treasurer of the Austin-Heaton Company, a flour mill formerly located on South St. Heavy consoles support bold boxed molding outlining the arched entrance, while a flat crenelated roofline appears at the top of the attached arcade sun porch.

(The information below in italics is from the Preservation Durham Plaque Application for the Williams-Harward House)

 Susan and Cheryl say that their grandfather paid $3,000 for the land and $11,000  to build the house in 1926. Claude and Ruth selected the property so their children could  walk to school. Watts Elementary was built in 1918 and indeed Mary Esther attended and  then taught there for decades. Susan followed her path and also taught at Watts.   The family often rented rooms, both to single teachers (as shown in the 1930  census) and to soldiers and travelers who were passing through town. A nanny, Aunt  Sallie, is shown on the 1930 census and lived with the family for some time, sleeping in  the kitchen. Elderly aunts sometimes stayed with the family too.  
 

Mary Esther used an upstairs closet with a window as a sewing room, and the  walls are marked with the children’s heights and dress sizes over the years.   After Claude’s decline due to Parkinsons, Ruth ran the household for two decades.  Cheryl and Susan remember her using the front den as a bedroom, with her bed behind  the door and a small closet that held all her clothes.  

Source: family interview, conducted by Sara Lachenman, 9/4/2020