Mercer Williams House Museum

The Mercer Williams House Museum is identifiable by its symmetrical red-brick façade and elaborate cast-iron balconies overlooking Monterey Square. Designed by New York architect John S. Norris, the Italianate mansion was commissioned in eighteen sixty for General Hugh W. Mercer. Construction was delayed by the Civil War, during which time Union soldiers stationed in the square reportedly used materials from the site for their own shelters. The home was eventually finished in eighteen sixty-eight for its new owner, John Wilder, meaning no member of the Mercer family ever lived there.