GENERAL
Type / PurposePrivate Residence
103 Park Street, Moncton, New Brunswick
The Thomas Williams House is an 19th century two-storey Second Empire residence at 103 Park Street in Moncton. It features an elaborate front façade with a central tower, a veranda, and a two-storey bay window with gable dormers.
The Thomas Williams House is an elaborate Second Empire residence that was erected by contractor and builder Paul Lea and master carpenter Sam Melanson in 1883. It was originally owned by Thomas Williams, then Treasurer and Chief Accountant of the ICR. Williams played a role in a variety of industrial efforts. After retiring from the ICR in 1906, Williams bounced between several positions as Chairman of the Board of City Assessors, Secretary for the Moncton Board of Trade, the New Brunswick Board of Trade and the New Brunswick Gas & Oilfields Company. Outside of work, Williams was actively involved with St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, and the local YMCA.
The Thomas Williams House would remain in the Williams family for close to a century and would briefly be used as a boarding house for soldiers during World War II. After the family's last descendent, Dorothy Conrod, passed away in 1981, the building was subsequently acquired by the City of Moncton. The residence was reopened as a museum on its centennial anniversary, featuring numerous artifacts relating to the Victorian era and the history of the Williams family.
Community Planning Act Local Register (1996/09/22)
ARCHITECTURE
Date of Construction1882 - 1883
Exterior:
- Box-like Second Empire two-storey massing
- Central square tower with paneled paired doors with transom window
- Two-storey bay window with bay gable dormers
- Mansard roof
- Sash windows withe decorative sills and brackets
- Open veranda on side of central tower
- Twin gabled dormers over veranda
- Doric capitals and columns on veranda
- Eaves with decorative brackets
- Clapboard siding
Interior:
- Twelve-foot ceilings on the main floor
- Retained original black marble fireplaces
- Gilded pressed brass valances
- Black and white floor tiles
- Sliding pocket doors
- Mahogany secretary with vintage square nails and shelves
- Green velvet settee
- Dining room table that once belonged to J. Bruce Ismay, the designer of the Titanic
- Four-poster beds
Paul Lea, Sam Melanson
OWNERSHIP HISTORY
Notable Historic OccupantsThomas Williams:
Original owner of the residence. The Treasurer and Chief Accountant of the ICR until 1906, Williams later bounced between several positions as Chairman of the Board of City Assessors, Secretary for the Moncton Board of Trade, the New Brunswick Board of Trade, and the New Brunswick Gas & Oilfields Company. Outside of work, he was actively involved with St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, and the local YMCA.
Dorothy Conrod (???? - 1981):
The last living descendant of the Williams family. After her death, the building was subsequently acquired by the City of Moncton and turned into a museum.
SOURCES AND DOCUMENTS
Photos
Photograph by the Moncton Museum, taken from the Canada's Historic Places website
Sources Contributors
Gabrielle Byrne
