History of "The Columns"

The house was constructed along what is now Park Avenue with a banking wing to the east along Adams Street. He had originally opened the Bank of Florida in 1830 at what is now the corner of Adams and College Streets.

When constructed the house had four columns and 14 fireplaces. The main house had a central hall with two rooms on each side and the banking wing was attached to the east end. The architectural style would probably be considered Greek Revival.

In 1833 Williams moved his family to Athens, Georgia and sold the building to the Central Bank of Florida which had been organized by Benjamin Chaires. Whether Chaires lived in the building is not really known. His country mansion Verdura was only 8 to 12 miles east of town. He may have used the house on occasion and reports indicate it was used for women and children during Indian raids.

In 1838 the Union Bank absorbed the Central Bank. And, in 1841 a separate building for the Union Bank was built behind the Columns on Adams Street.

OFFICE BUILDING
It is reported that in 1840-1842 the lawyers William and Thomas Duval and then Peachy Gratten and Carrington Cabell occupied the banking wing basement. Cashier John Parkhill may have occupied a portion of the house.

BOARDING HOUSE
In 1847 the Columns was sold at a sheriffs sale to cover a 1836 loan that a John Bellamy had made to the Central Bank and that had not been repaid when the Union Bank took over. The buyers were William Bailey and Isaac Mitchell who leased the building to a Mrs. Demilly for use as a boarding house.

HOME AND DOCTOR'S OFFICE
In the 1850s (1853 or 1855) Mitchell sold his interest in the house to Bailey who in 1862 moved his family into the home. William Bailey died in 1867 and in 1869 a sale was facilitated by Robert Gamble for Doctor Alexander Hawkins to purchase the house. Hawkins wife Martha is referred to as either a daughter or a niece of William Bailey. Doctor Hawkins used the Banking Room as his Doctor's office.

Also in 1867 the Union Bank building was rented to the National Freedmen's Saving and Trust Company and then sold to them in 1869.

In 1897 the home was purchase by Thomas Roberts as a present for his wife Sarah Roberts. It was reportedly Sarah who gave the building the name of THE COLUMNS. Thomas died in 1901 and Sara married Henry Felkel in 1905 while continuing to reside in the home. She is credited with "updating" the home including removing the vault from the banking wing, which had extended to the east of the building, but leaving the vault's brick foundation, and altering the small west porch.

OFFICE BUILDING
In 1925 the building was sold by the real estate broker N.D. Suttles and Company, with real estate brokers J.A. Mclntosh and Grosvenor Dawe either participating in the purchase or occupying the building.

RESTAURANT AND RENTALS
Charles L Snyder and Ray Dew purchased the building in 1926. and leased the ground floor of the banking wing to Ada Clark and her daughter Ethel Stewart for use as the Dutch Kitchen Restaurant. During the use of the building by the Dutch Kitchen, the restaurant expanded over the foundation of the old vault and almost to the Union bank building

The Dutch Kitchen Restaurant was such a success that in 1931 Dixie M. Hollings real estate handled the purchase of the building for Dutch Kitchen's owners Ada Clark and Ethel Stewart. With the restaurant in the banking wing basement the remainder of the house was rental space. A chiropractic office rented the banking room and later Ms. Clark lived there. In the 1930s Mrs. Stewart had a 2nd floor apartment in the building.

For over thirty years it was not only a prosperous business but also a local institution so well known that there was little need for advertising. Part of its appeal was derived from its staff of waitresses, drawn largely from the Florida State College for Women (FSCW). It also served as a popular rendezvous for the younger set and a favorite eating place for the public in general.

CHURCH AUXILIARY SPACE
The restaurant remained open until 1956 and in 1960 the building was sold to the Board of Trustees of the First Baptist Church ofTallahassee. The church used the building for Sunday school classrooms and other training needs.

LIBRARY
In 1961 and 1962 they allowed the building to be used as the Public Library. In 1970 the church decided that the old house needed to be replaced with a building and parking that would more efficiently meet their needs.

SAVING THE HISTORIC BUILDING
It was determined that the building could be moved and after much deliberation, debate, and discussion it was given to the Chamber of Commerce. In the summer of 1971 the building was moved but without its basement. Reportedly for a cost of: $51,800 moving. $20.000 site. and $100.000 estimated to rehabilitate. The building was moved but with little rehabilitation as the Chamber struggled to maintain the historic building. In the 1990s the Chamber obtained State grant funding to finally rehabilitate the building. At this time the rear porch was restored and the banking room divided into two rooms. On January 20, 2011 the James Madison Institute purchased the building. Ivan Johnson's Architectural Firm was engaged and the building became what you see today.

QUICK FACTS
- Home is built in the Greek revival style and is the oldest public structure in the city, built in 1830 when Tallahassee was the capital of territorial Florida.

- The home features a Dominican mahogany handrail on the staircase, five and a half inch wide pine plank floors, plaster lathe walls, 14 fireplaces linked to two bifurcated chimneys, and spacious porches on both the first and second floors.

- When "The Columns" was still known to have ties with the banking industry, it used to be said that William "money" Williams hid a nickel (nickels used to be worth something!) in every brick used in the building. It was common practice for Tallahassee children to scratch away the soft clay bricks, but after years of nothing being found the story became a tall tale.

- A second staircase used to exist in the small storage space in the library. It was said that Money Williams constructed this staircase out of fear of his daughter eloping. The stairs ran straight through his bedroom, therefore he could always know when his daughter wished to go downstairs.