John Davis House, c. 1804 (68 William Street)

Paint:
Fres~Coat Satin Gloss Exterior

Colors:
Body - Hickory Nut / Hist.
Trim - Hickory Nut / Hist.
Door - Georgian Yellow / Hist.
Windows - Colony White #44

A one room deep, two story gable-roofed house with a central chimney. The property was sold to John Davis, a free African-American, as a lot in 1804. The next transfer was of a house and lot, which leads to the belief that Davis had this small simple house built in 1804, possibly into 1805. It is also apparent from transfer descriptions that Davis' lot included land that 66 William Street now occupies. The division of the property took place after the Davis ownership.

This neighborhood was home to many African-Americans in the late 18th, early 19th century, particularly the areas including Levin (now gone), Thomas and William Streets.

The Davis House is very simple in detail, much of which remained with the house through the NRF purchase in 1975. It has three bays across the front and the chimney has four fireplaces, one in each room. The stairway runs to the second floor from the rear of the chimney rather than the more normal front entry and stairway against the chimney lay out. Space is very tight in this house and there was just not room enough for an entry and stairway in the same area.

When one views this house today, it must be remembered Memorial Boulevard West and it four lanes of blacktop along with the commercial development took form in the late 1960s and early seventies. Prior to this time Levin and William Streets ran from Bellevue Avenue to Spring Street with many 18th and early 19th century buildings crowded into this tight-knit neighborhood.

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