323 Fourth Street - Williamson House

Image from Google Street View 2014

The Williamson House written by Fletch Manning  in 2006

Mr. Harry Lockhart built his house in 1907. It was a duplicate of the house beside it to the south, the one he lived in, now the Mannings.

It had two main rooms separated by half arches and a staircase leading to the bedrooms on the second floor. The chimney on the west end was for the kitchen stove which heated the house. Stove pipes kept the upstairs a little warmer.

In later years a bigger kitchen was added on the west side and a wood shed to the south. The Napiers added a front porch. Garnet Williamson enlarged the building to the west in 1982 and added the carport in 1989.

Mr. and Mrs. John Napier lived on a farm north of Ted Zarn's, in the Lanark district. The Napiers bought the house from Harry Lockhart and after John’s death, Mrs. Napier and daughter Bella lived here.

In the early 1920s, Bella met Mr. Art Morris, who was a tailor apprentice with Mr. Al Archer. Following their marriage the couple lived here a short-time before moving back to the farm.

Dr. Stevenson, a veterinary, took up residence for a short time as did Mr. Dick Anderson, who was a road master with veterinary.

In 1931, Mr. and Mrs. William Abbey and family moved in here from Saskatchewan. In 1943, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Read bought the home from Bella Morris. The Reads moved back to Ontario and their daughter-in-law Gertie Read became the new owner and resident in 1961.

In 1976, Trev and Linda Williamson bought this place and sold it to brother Garnet in 1979, who with wife Cathy and sons still reside.

In 1929, Egbert and Edison Barry wired the house for electricity and later John Berry did further electric work. 

These two houses each had a barn in the back yard that housed chickens. It was not unusual then to even have a cow. And of course a needed building - the "out house" was in the corner of the back yard. These were great targets for the bigger Hallowe'en pranksters to push over. But I am told these important little buildings were not so easy to set back up on their foundations.

There have been many changes to this house. With an adept, fine carpenter as Garnet, it is now update modern home for the active Williamson family.