803 South Washington, on the northeast corner, is a two-story brick house done in the Victorian style favorite in gas boom Marion. Now a bit worse for wear, the house’s elegance is still evident to passers-by.

The house, described in an 1891 issue of the Marion Chronicle as ‘plain design and no gingerbread… and some regard to economy The roof with its dormer windows is perhaps its prettiest feature… On the first floor, there are eight rooms.”
Upstairs were sleeping rooms, a bath, and a lavatory. The architect was Peter Labelle. Charles Fairchild was the contractor, and the home cost $3500 to build.

To one degree or another, all buildings are a reflection of the owner, especially the original owner. In the case of the house at 803, the man was Dr. Lewis Williams.

Williams’ family were Quakers from North Carolina who migrated by flatboat to Maysville, Ky., and in 1806 to Clinton County, Ohio. Thomas Williams was born in 1825. In 1838 his family came to Grant County and began farming in Washington Township.

Young Thomas showed academic promise and was spared from work on the farm to attend school in Marion. He attended Franklin College for a term, and he returned to Marion to teach school until 1854.

Thomas married Mary Howard in 1848. They had two children who died young, as was often the case in 19th century America. In 1854 he read medicine with Dr. William Lomax. He studied formally at the Miami Medical College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he received his MD. He returned to Marion and began his practice.

His wife died in 1876, and Williams later remarried.

He moved his practice to his new home at 803 S. Washington in 1891 and continued until 1903. Williams was active in the local, state, and national medical associations during his career.

One of his biographers writes that the doctor” believes that tender sympathy is necessary to him that bends over… the distressed and suffering.”

Bill Munn