The Williams Brice House
The Williams Brice House is a history museum in an historic house. Although the museum contains three period rooms, the furnishings are not necessarily associated with the families who once lived in this building. Instead, all of the furnishings in the period rooms are from the Sumter area and are representative of what would have been found in an upper-class family home in Sumter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Original Moses House, c1848
The Williams Brice House, c1930
History of the Property and Occupants
In 1845, Andrew Jackson (A.J.) Moses (1815-77), a prosperous Jewish merchant, and his wife Octavia Harby Moses (1823-1904) purchased 42 acres of land in the heart of Sumter, then called Sumterville. While it is not known if a house was part of the purchase, by 1848 the Moses family occupied a spacious home on this site. During their years in Sumterville, A. J. and Octavia had seventeen children, fourteen of whom lived to maturity. The Moses' raised their family in this house and even after the children were grown it served as the hub of family activities. After A.J.'s death in 1877, Octavia continued to live in the Moses home until the 1880s.
Andrew Jackson Moses
Octavia Harby Moses
In 1888, Octavia leased the house and grounds to the newly established Sumter School District to be used as a public school until the city could build a permanent school building. For three school years, from September 1889 to May 1892, about 300 students attended the Sumter Graded School at this location.
In 1892, Octavia sold the Moses house to Perry Moses (1844-1916), A.J. and Octavia's fourth child, and his wife Rosalie (called "Rose"). Perry Moses met Rosalie Levy (1845-1930) in Mobile, Alabama while posted in the Mississippi-Alabama area with the Confederate forces. They were married in April 1865. Although Perry and Rosalie settled in Sumter after the war, Perry was unable to find work and his family soon moved to Louisiana. There, the Moses' raised sugar cane and cotton. They eventually saved enough money to return to Sumter (c1880) and open a sawmill and lumber business.
Rosalie and Perry Moses
In 1915, Perry and Rose deeded the house to their daughter R. Virginia Moses Phelps as part of her inheritance. Virginia's husband, Aaron Cohen Phelps, was a prosperous businessman here in Sumter. In early 1916, the Phelps' hired a contractor to again remodel the Moses home. However, the family soon found that the old house was in such poor condition that it could not be saved. Thus, they demolished the original structure and built the present house on the same site. The only thing saved from the original house were the two cast iron lions which still grace the front entrance.
The basic design of the new structure was very similar to the original house. Differences included the use of brick and the "welcoming arms" front stairway. Points of interest in the interior are the initials "ACP," representing Aaron Cohen Phelps, in the tiles of the vestibule and the woodwork throughout the house (the floors, wainscoting, doors, etc.) all of which is original to the 1916 construction.
In 1922, the Phelps' sold the property to O.L. Williams (1865-1952) and his wife Mattie Bahnson Williams (1869-1927). Mr. Williams had been involved in the lumber and furniture industries in North Carolina and first became interested in the Sumter area as a source of timber for making plywood. The Williams family moved to Sumter in 1919 when Mr. Williams established the O.L. Williams Veneer Plant.
Oliver L. Williams
Mattie Bahnson Williams
By 1929, this company had become the Williams Furniture Corporation. Its operations continued to expand and eventually included the entire process of furniture manufacturing: from cutting the trees in the forest, carrying the logs by rail to the sawmills, processing the wood for furniture production, manufacturing the paints and varnishes, and manufacturing the finished furniture. Williams Furniture Corporation became one of the largest employers in the area and had a significant impact on the local economy. In 1967, Williams Furniture merged with Georgia-Pacific.
Although O.L. and Mattie had five children, only their youngest was still living at home when they moved to Sumter. Two, Larry and Janie had died in North Carolina. The oldest, Charles Frank lived in Camden, SC. Twenty-three year old Louise was a student at Salem Institute, now Salem College, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was only home during the summer and for holidays. After her graduation, Louise remained in North Carolina to teach school. The Williams' youngest child, Martha (1904-1969), was 18 when the family purchased the house. In 1930, Martha married Thomas H. Brice (1902-1969) and the Brices lived here with Mr. Williams until his death in 1952. Martha inherited the house and she and Tom continued to live here until they both passed away in 1969.
Martha Williams Brice
Upon Martha's death, the house was inherited by her nephews, the sons of her sister Louise. In 1972, Martha's heirs gave the house to the Sumter County Historical Society for use as a museum and archives and in 1976 the museum was formally dedicated as the Williams-Brice Museum/Archives of the Sumter County Historical Society. In 1989, the museum became a separate organization and its name changed to the Sumter County Museum.
Period Rooms
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The Double Drawing Room
Square Grand Piano, c1870
This is a square grand piano, a very popular instrument in the mid to late 1800s. In the 19th century, society considered it essential for a "well-brought up" person to be able to play a musical instrument. Parents expected their daughters to learn to play or sing in order to entertain family and guests in their home, especially their "gentleman callers."
James H. Aycock special ordered this piano from the Charles Stieff Piano Co. of Baltimore, Maryland. Aycock was a prosperous landowner and merchant in the Wedgefield area of Sumter County. He had six children, three of whom, two daughters and a son, were very musical. In addition to the piano, the museum has a collection of sheet music that belonged to one of the daughters, Susan Leonora. A bound volume of some of this music is exhibited on the piano.
This piano is the "cadillac" of its type. Few were as heavily ornamented. The woodwork is rosewood veneer that is extensively hand-carved. The keys are covered with real ivory, which is no longer legally available. The strings are original, but the felt pads have been replaced. The piano no longer retains its pitch for any length of time.
Long Case or Grandfather Clock, c1795
Chippendale style with an inlay of light woods. The clock face is painted. In the area of the upper arch there appears a young man and woman in colonial dress "courting." The works have both a single bell chime and a set of chiming bells that strike the quarter hour. Works are possibly English, while the case is probably American since various styles of cases were made in America from the early 19th century.
Sofa, c1875
Rococo Revival style. Rosewood with red damask upholstery. In the Belter style, probably manufactured by the prominent New York furniture workshop of John Meeks. (Owned by the Brices)
Gentleman's armchair, c1855
Rococo Revival style. Probably made by Meeks. Arm chairs with rose damask upholstery, and carved rosewood or walnut frames. (owned by the Brices).
Gentleman's armchair, c1855
Rococo Revival style. Carved walnut. Carved rose flowers on crown rail. Upholstered in a rose diamond fabric. Padded arm rests and tufted buttoned down backs. (Owned by the Brice's.)
Victrola, c1920
French style console case with His Master's Voice trademark. Manufactured by the Victor Company.
Clara Louise Kellog Parlor Set, c1875
Renaissance Revival style. This furniture was made in commemoration of Miss Kellog who was the first American opera star to be recognized as a prima dona by Europeans. She was born in 1842 in "Sumterville," and left the area at age 14. The set consists of a sofa, a lady's chair and a gentleman's chair.
Mason and Hamlin Pump Organ, c1885
This organ is typical of a home or small church organ.
The Rococo Revival style was prevalent in the United States between 1840 and 1860. John Henry Belter was a prominent furniture maker in New York City. The Belter style of furniture construction was distinguished by thin layers of veneer glued together with the intricate design then carved in. John Meeks, who also worked in New York City, was a rival furniture maker to Belter. Most furniture was constructed out of rosewood - known as such not for its reddish color but because the freshly cut wood smelled like roses.
Drop-Leaf Pembroke Table, 1810-25
American Federal style. School of Duncan Phyfe, if not in fact of his workshop. Four fully carved animal legs and paw feet support the base. These support a platform from which rise four spiral carved columns. The skirt has crotch mahogany veneers and some inlay work.
Dining Room
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"The Four Seasons"
Pastels on canvas, mid-19th century by Charleston artist Julia Clarkson Dupre Bounetheau. Original framing, done in Charleston in the late 1840s. These pastels originally hung at Needwood Plantation in Stateburg.
Oak Sideboard, c1885
Typical of furniture made in the last years of the Victorian Era (1885-1900), elaborately carved grotesques (winged mythological creatures) support the upper shelf. Notice the leaf carving on drawer faces, the upper shelf, and the front side frame. Family tradition states that this sideboard was a gift to the E. W. Moise family in 1882.
Dining Table
Made primarily of Honduran mahogany, this table is in three sections. We have placed the two Sheraton-style banquet ends together to make a small table. The two ends have brass boots on the reeded legs. With the addition of the center drop-leaf, gate-leg section, the expanded table will seat eight.
Lighting Fixtures, 1916
The lighting fixtures in our period rooms are all original to the 1916 construction. One of the reasons the Phelps' decided to replace the original c1848 building with the present structure was so that the family could incorporate "modern" conveniences, like electricity.
China Cabinets, 1916
The Phelps' placed two built in china cabinets, one on either side of the door leading toward the butler's pantry, in the dining room. The cabinets have a mirrored back and beveled glass doors. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, the cabinets are very functional. Not only do they provide a large amount of storage space, they also reflect light throughout the room.
Walnut Sideboard, c1835
Made in the Abbeville, S.C. area in the vernacular Empire style but with the unusual feature of carved acorn cups as the capital of the front columns. The feet are particularly formed paws with finger-like toes with knuckles. Light walnut is the primary wood; natural finish case with pine and other secondary woods. Locks and knobs are original. A card found in this sideboard said a slave artisan made this piece for Kate Calhoun, a cousin of John C. Calhoun. Sideboards were introduced in America in the early 1800s as dining rooms assumed an increasingly important role in a family's lifestyle.
Vernacular is a term given to locally produced pieces to differentiate them from furniture produced in a cabinetmaker's shop.