Historic Williamsburg

45. William Waters House

Williamsburg, VA

Book Now

Henry Gill was the first owner of Colonial lot 49 where the William Waters house now stands. He purchased lots 49 and 50 in 1707 for thirty shillings, erected a structure within the first six months, and began running a tavern out of his home. The property passed out of his family's ownership by 1737. Apothecaries and business partners Robert Davidson and Thomas Goodwin established a business on the site, but Davidson died in 1738. He did not have a will and was heavily in debt, so his property did not sell until 1744. William Waters bought both lots and the Davidson Shop from John Holt ten years later. Waters was a wealthy landowner. His father had died some years before and left him with two plantations and a number of slaves, so he did not have any other occupation than that of gentleman. He most likely built the Waters House around the middle of the eighteenth century. Waters died in 1767 and left the property to his wife and daughter, both named Sarah. The Waters House burned down in a great fire, known to locals as the Harris Fire, in 1842.