Truman and Annie Williams commissioned the construction of this home in 1939. Mrs. Williams saw photographs in a magazine of a residence in Lake Forest, Illinois, created by Jerome Robert Cerny. The Williamses then commissioned Cerny to create a similar residence for them in Raleigh, North Carolina. The architectural drawings seem to have been recycled for Cerny's original project because elements such as a Deer Path, which is present only at the Lake Forest site, are still indicated. Charles F. Gillette was the landscape architect on the project and several of his drawings, specifically created for the Williams residence, are included in this collection.
The Williams lived together in the home until Truman's death in 1973. Annie continued to occupy the home until her death, at age 105, in 2008. The property then passed to her grand-nephew, Charles Manooch, III. The residence and gardens are a designated Raleigh Historic Landmark.
From the guide to the Jerome Robert Cerny Drawings of Truman and Annie Williams Residence, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1935-1938, (Special Collections Research Center)
