Welcome to Williams Manor in Franklin County, 1936

“Williams Manor” by Alice Dugger Grimes, published in the Carolina Co-operator, December, 1935

It’s over in Franklin County and from this picture you can see that it’s one of the loveliest country homes in North Carolina. They do a lot of farming on the 350-acre tract, too.

Should you be longing to feast your eyes upon a lovely country home with all that implies, I can very readily suggest one to you that I think will meet your fancy—the country home of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Williams of Franklin County, situated about a mile southeast from Franklinton. Here you will be welcomed by a fine old Southern gentleman, 84 years of age, and his lovely wife, many years his junior.

This estate of 350 acres has been in the family nearly a century, and a large, re-modeled, colonial-type dwelling stands where formerly rows and rows of tents for the housing of the religiously inclined—for this was originally a famous old camping ground of many, many years back.

Mr. Williams brags with gusto that he has been a farmer for more than 60 years, never swerving from his allegiance to the soil. He has other interests though, both financial and civic. His farming activities embrace cotton, corn, wheat. His cotton acreage is, of course, much cut, but he tells me that he still makes his bale of cotton to the acre. He has discontinued the raising of hogs but keeps cows and chickens sufficient for home consumption.

Good Gardener

But it is as a gardener that I wish to write concerning him, for he is a superlative one. He tells an anecdote to the effect that he did not know one flower from another until after he was married, and now that each year, if possible, he loves them more and more.

His plantings have grown really to enormous proportions, all for love of them. He attributes all this to the influence of his wife, who is a garden enthusiast also.

Looking through the columned openings of the lower floor the other morning, I counted no less than 30 containers of cut flowers—and this in November. Roses of many varieties, among them the White American Beauty, marigolds of several hues and sizes, zinnias in abundance and of various shades, ageratum, cosmos, chrysanthemums; this is not unusual, merely quite every day. This wealth of flowers, together with the open fire and the several pieces of old mahogany furniture scattered around gave a glowing feeling of rarely encountered charm.

Leading up to the home grounds is a driveway of about one quarter of a mile, lined on both sides by a profusion of shrubs and flowers. I recognized crepe myrtles—several hundreds of them—spirea, forsythia, Japan quince, cosmos, iris, roses—the cosmos was the only plant in bloom.

Backyard is Beautiful

The rear lawn of “Williams Manor” is but a continuation of the front lawn. On these lawns have been planted more than 50,000 bulbs of 40 varieties—narcissus, jonquils, daffodils, and when these bulbs are in bloom, hundreds of people drive out to see them. One thousand rose bushes of 25 varieties of shrubs also lend their beauty to the carpet of green, and several large trees give dignity to the whole. One of these trees is a large symmetrical holly, teeming with red berries. Mr. Williams tells me that every year it is brilliant with berries, never an off-year, and that the leaves are without the usual thorns.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams are as enthusiastic concerning their vegetables as they are concerning their flowers, and in their vegetable garden, being picked daily regardless of the late season, are butter beans, okra, corn, turnip salad, onions, snaps, carrots, cabbage, parsley, peppers, cornfield peas, potatoes, tomatoes, salsify, and beets!

Pecan trees afford much of the shade on the rear lawn and furnish several hundred pounds of delicious nuts every fall. In the orchard one sees pear, peach, and apple trees. Grapes are here, too, bunch, scuppernong, and James. From the Concord grapes wine is made, and for more than 50 years Mr. Williams has been furnishing the Baptist Church of Franklinton with communion wine.

A great deal of the charm of this country home centers around its lovely mistress, formerly Miss Josephine Tucker, one of nine lovely sisters, who radiates her love of the beautiful and her enjoyment of the peace and bounty so readily felt at “Williams Manor.”