Thanks

Many people had a hand in building and preserving the W. C. Williams building over the years. The contributions of these folks and their interest in and contribution to the life of the structure is the reason we can celebrate its survival to this day. Each person had a part in the history of the building as well as the rich history of Palacios. We would like to acknowledge their contribution here.

  • Thank you to Ms. M. L. Gillett who in 1908 sold the land (Block 51, Lot 15 of the original Palacios town site) to Billy Williams in order to construct the building.
  • Thank you to W. C. “Billy” Williams’ whose foresight to construct what became the W. C. Williams Building and the contribution the structure has made to Palacios business and history.
  • Thank you all the businesses and persons who graced her halls over a 106 year history.
  • Thank you to Douglas Rosenthal, who in 1979 purchased the building from the Williams estate and made improvements.
  • Thank you to City State Bank, who in 1982 took possession of the structure and made many of the major improvements downstairs between 1983 and 1986.
  • Thank you to the Palacios Independent School District, which entered into a lease agreement with City State Bank in 1987 to provide Vocational Training. Because of this arrangement the bank contracted to have major improvements done to the upstairs between 1983 and 1986, converting the second floor into offices and restoring the floor joists and ceiling areas.
  • Thank you to Lorraine Hudson, who purchased the building in 2003 from City State Bank. Ms. Hudson made major improvements in the upstairs, installing a kitchen, living areas and a two bedroom residence. Ms. Hudson also arranged to have the West wall reinforced with steel beams and added a stucco covering to the outer wall. In previous hurricanes the structures just west of the building were destroyed.
  • Thank you to John Pierce, Pierce Real Estate, who was kind enough to show us the property and arrange for the sale. John was instrumental in working with Ms. Hudson to facilitate the purchase.
  • Thank you to Dale Metz with First Choice Inspections Group, who provided the initial pre-sale inspection of the structure and consulted on the early evaluations of the property. Dale also inspected the Duro-Last Roof for Texas State certification.
  • Thank you to Robert Goodrum and the fine people at Southeast Roofing who installed the Duro-Last Roof and who repaired the rotted and damaged roof joists.
  • Thank you to Bay City Electric, who converted the electric service from Commercial to Residential.
  • Thank you to Bill Law, Bay Area Services, who designed and installed the state of the art heating and air conditioning system in the downstairs offices, storage and guest suite areas.
  • Thank you to Kotlar Plumbing, who provided plumbing services with the conversion and restoration of the many bathrooms.
  • Thank you to Tim Loftin and Tommy Tresselt, who installed the flooring in the upstairs residence and much of the downstairs office area.
  • Thank you to Marco Martinez, M. Martinez Masonry, for the masonry repair and tuckpointing work especially his knowledge working with older brick structures.
  • Thank you to Benny Ramirez, Custom Paint Works, who painted the upstairs ceilings and stairwell.
  • Thank you to Kevin DeMoss who worked so diligently on the restoration and remodeling of the building over a 1 1/2 year period. Kevin is an attentive and creative carpenter who had great input into many of the changes that were made. His fingerprints are all over the structure in so many ways.
  • Thank you to Cindy Lopez with Campbell Huitt Insurance, who helped us research insurance for the building, not a simple task for a structure built in 1909. Cindy continues to assist us each year in maintaining coverage.
  • Thank you to all the members of the Matagorda County Historical Commission, who assisted us with the research on our application for a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) designation. We want to thank, Ona Lea Price, Chairman, David Holubec, Marker Chairman, Mary Johnston, Carol Sue Gibbs, as well as the other members of the Commission. Without David’s assistance and encouragement, we would never have been able to complete the RTHL process. In addition, Carol Sue Gibbs continues to be a wealth of information for continued research.
  • Thank you to the Texas Historical Commission and their commitment to Historic Preservation. Through the Texas Historical Marker Program, structures like the Williams Building can have their history recognized and preserved. Thank you to Mark Wolfe, Executive Director and Bob Brinkman, Coordinator of the Historical Markers Program. We would also like to thank Sarah McCleskey, Historian of the Historical Marker Program, who conducted the Historic Marker Webinar, which greatly assisted with our understanding the Marker research process.
  • Thank you to the Palacios Beacon, Nick and Mary West as well as Ryan and Brandi West, for their cooperation in allowing the Palacios Beacon archives to be scanned as Part of The Portal to Texas History created and maintained by the University of North Texas Libraries’ Digital Projects Unit. Without on-line access to the Palacios Beacon materials, we could never have completed our research on the Williams Building. Our thanks go out to Ana Krahmer, Coordinator of the UNT Digital Newspaper Program, who supervised the scanning of the archives and helped arrange the generous grant from the Tocker Foundation to make the on-line repository a reality. The Palacios Beacon archives from 1919 are currently on-line at The Portal to Texas History along with thousands of similar historical documents. Thank you also to Vikijane Mosier and Jane Kinzie of the Palacios Library who assisted with the grant and who so faithfully stored and preserved the original Beacon microfiche materials.