101 3rd St
Hudson, WI 54016, USA

Lewis-Williams House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

Charles Lewis, a native of New York, who came west in 1848 to "grow up with the country"(C), settled in Hudson in 1850 employing his trade skills as a merchant. Lewis purchased the property, what is today 101 Third Street, in 1853 and after his marriage to Katherine Seeley in 1858, built the romantic Gothic Revival cottage overlooking the St. Croix River. After Lewis ' death in 1887, a succession of owners obtained the property, until May 1930 when Dr. Boyd T. Williams gained possession.

Dr. Williams, son of pioneer hardware dealer Thompson Elias Williams, was a native Hudsonite who received his medical degree from Cincinnati College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1901. He practiced in Ohio and Colorado before opening his first cancer treatment sanitorium in Minneapolis in 1911. After Williams acquired the Lewis House, he opened the dwelling as a cancer hospital, specializing in the treatment of external cancer. He maintained the practice until his death in 1948.
During his life, Dr. Williams made notable strides in medical and cancer research. His personal medical library, including many of his research reports, was donated to and graciously accepted by the Mayo Clinic after Williams death. Funds from his estate have been granted for any local projects, including the establishment of a neighborhood park (Williams' Park), and the establishment of a Hudson Area History Room at Hudson Public Library.


Architectural Description and Significance:
Nestled in a clearing on a bluff overlooking the scenic St. Croix River, the Boyd T. Williams House epitomizes pure Gothic Revival cottages. Built circa 1860, the L shaped residence stands one and one-half stories above a stone foundation and is sided with stucco. The dominant architectural features are multiple gables, steeply pitched, and ornamented with finials and heavy elaborate wooden bargeboard with pendants. Gothic arched windows, located in the gables, are 4/4 with drip molding. The remaining windows are rectangular 4/4, a multi-pane window on the north side, and six-pane casement windows on. the west side. The elliptical north side entrance has voussoirs and wrought iron strap hinges on the door. An open north side porch has turned posts. Gable wall dormers with: plain bargeboards are found on the south side. Additional features include a rectangular south side bay, a shelf supported by decorative acorn pendant brackets rests over a south; facade window and another shelf is situated over a north side window. Interior walls of the Williams House, like those on the exterior, are textured stucco and statute niches are found in the foyer and dining room. The setting for the dwelling is picturesque, accentuated by proportionate plantings, maturing trees, and a stone retaining wall on the west side. A small stone wall on the east side of the lot, contours the head of Third Street.

Significance:

The Boyd T. Williams House, 101 Third Street, is a Gothic Revival cottage erected about 1860. Typified by high pitched gables embellished with ornamental bargeboards and Gothic arched windows, the dwelling is Hudson's finest representative of the Gothic period. The structure's degree of integrity is intensified by its picturesque location, which overlooks the scenic St. Croix River.
The dwelling at 101 Third Street was purchased by prominent local cancer physician Dr. Boyd T. Williams in 1930 and served as an external cancer treatment facility. The building. Stands as a sole "historic representative of the locality's development of health services and the last surviving S5nnbol of Dr. Boyd T. Williams' medical contribution.

Photo by R.C LaRowe