James Arthur Williams

James Arthur Williams (December 11, 1930 – January 14, 1990) was an American antiques dealer and a historic preservationist based in Savannah, Georgia. He played an active role in the preservation of the Savannah Historic District for over 35 years.

Williams is the main character in the book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', published four years after his death in 1990. After four trials for an alleged murder that occurred in his house in 1981, he was acquitted in 1989.

Life

James Arthur Williams was born in Gordon, Georgia, to Arthur Costlar and Blanche Brooks Williams. He later moved to Savannah, where he became a noted antiques dealer and historic preservationist. He was active in the preservation of the Savannah Historic District.

In 1955, at the age of 24, Williams bought and restored his first three buildings: the single-level houses located at 541, 543 and 545 East Congress Street. Over the following 35 years, he restored more than fifty homes in Savannah, as well as in the low country of Georgia and South Carolina. Notable Savannah houses he restored include the Odingsell House, the Merault House, the Hampton Lillibridge House, James Habersham's Pink House and the Armstrong House.

In 1969, Williams purchased Mercer House, which was originally built for General Hugh Mercer, great-grandfather of famed American songwriter Johnny Mercer. At the time of the purchase, the house had been vacant for almost a decade since its former occupants, the Shriners organization, had used the building for their Alee Temple. Over two years, Williams restored the house. After the restoration, it became his residence; he ran his antiques restoration business from the carriage house located behind the mansion.

In 1979, during the filming on Monterey Square of ''The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd'', starring Dennis Weaver, Williams hung a flag of Nazi Germany outside of a window at Mercer House in an attempt to disrupt the shoot, after the film company declined to make a donation to the local humane society, as Williams had requested. The Congregation Mickve Israel, located across the square, complained to the city.

File:541-545_East_Congress_Street.jpg, Two of three buildings at 541–545 East Congress Street that Williams restored in 1955, his first project in Savannah
File:The Olde Pink House, Savannah, GA, US.jpg, Williams also restored the Olde Pink House ...
File:Armstrong House.jpg, ... and Armstrong House, formerly the law offices of his attorney Sonny Seiler
File:126_East_Gaston_Street.jpg, He was restoring 126 East Gaston Street at the time of his death

Arrest and trials

Williams was arrested on May 2, 1981, for the alleged murder of 21-year-old Danny Hansford, with whom he had been having a homosexual relationship, at Mercer House."Williams Charged: Antiques Dealer Posts $25,000 Bond
- ''Savannah Morning News'', May 2, 1981 At his arraignment his bond was set at $25,000, which he posted. After the subsequent four trials, a record in the state of Georgia, Williams was finally acquitted by a jury in Augusta in May 1989, eight years after his arrest.

Death

On January 14, 1990, eight months after his acquittal, Williams died unexpectedly in his home, at age 59, from pneumonia and heart failure. He was discovered by Doug Seyle, one of Williams' employees, who let himself in after receiving no response at the front door. Reportedly, Williams collapsed in his study, near where Hansford also fell. Other sources state he died in the foyer. Williams is buried next to his mother, who survived him by seven years, in Ramah Church Cemetery, Gordon, Georgia. Williams' father, who died six years before him, is buried in Danville, Georgia.

At the time of his death, Williams was restoring the mansion at 126 East Gaston Street, known today as Savannah College of Art and Design's Granite Hall

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