The Mercer Williams House Museum is the mansion featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It is located in the southern part of Savannah's Historic District near Forsyth Park. The house is accessible from Interstate 16. The CAT shuttle, a free bus from Savannah's public transit system, goes through the district and stops near the house. It is within walking distance of most of the attractions in downtown Savannah.
The Mercer Williams House was designed by John S. Norris, a prominent architect from New York. Norris designed many of Savannah's important mid-19th-century buildings, including the Savannah Custom House, the Andrew Low House and the Green-Meldrim House. The Mercer Williams House, one of his last commissions in the city, was designed in 1860, but, because of the Civil War, was not completed until 1869. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the house is "a two-story brick Italianate-style dwelling with a classical entrance porch, decoratively sawn brackets along the eaves, and paired windows within segmental arches topped by heavy sculptural hoods.'' The house was built for Civil War General Hugh Mercer, the great-grandfather of legendary Savannah composer Johnny Mercer.
In 1969, the house was bought by Savannah antiques dealer and house restorer Jim Williams. The house had stood vacant for more than ten years and was in poor condition. Williams, who restored more than 50 houses during his career in Savannah, took two years to bring the house into its showplace condition. He ran his antique restoration shop out of the carriage house in the back. In 1981, Danny Hanford, Williams' assistant, was murdered in the main house. Williams was accused of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. That conviction, however, was thrown out. Finally, Williams was found not guilty after his fourth trial. Sadly, six months later, Williams died of pneumonia. John Berendt, a New York journalist who was present in Savannah from Williams' second trial on, documented the proceedings and the local eccentrics surrounding them in his famous book.
Today, the house is owned by Jim Williams' sister, Dorothy Kingery, who has opened the house up as a museum. In the house are Williams' fine art and furniture collections. The building itself is quite beautiful, a fine example of its period of architecture, but its main draw is its relation to "the book,'' as the locals call it. The carriage house is now a gift shop that sells Midnight memorabilia and other Savannah items. The house is said to be haunted. Sometimes partygoers are heard on the anniversary of the night when Williams gave his most lavish annual party, only Mrs. Kingery no longer gives parties in the house. Two other people have died grisly deaths in the house, too, during its history, and it is always a stop on various Savannah "ghost tours.''
Reviewers of the Mercer Williams House on a popular travel website gave the house mixed marks. Fans of "the book'' were glad to be able to see where it all happened, although apparently guides have been instructed to talk as little about that as possible. One visitor said, "If you've read the book, seen the movie and love architecture and art history, you'll enjoy the tour.'' Another fan said, "It is sad to see that the house is in need of repair and cleaning.'' Several guests complained that the tour only shows four rooms and that those rooms are dirty and in bad shape. Indeed, one hopes that this most interesting of houses will continue to be cleaned and renovated and remade into the showplace that Jim Williams once called home.
