Threatened with demolition at its original downtown location just east of the county courthouse, this building was moved in 1987 to this site beside Longwood Park. Built as the store and residence of Williams, the building passed to his daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Joshua Brown, upon his death. By the late twentieth century the building had suffered several owners and fallen into disrepair. The brick house's two-story front porch and second-story double-hung windows were preserved when it was renovated as a museum, but the interior and a rear wing were modified to provide exhibition, curatorial, and storage space for the building's current use.