Named for President Joseph R. Williams and built in 1869 as a residence hall, the structure promised room for students previously denied admission due to lack of residence facilities. Eighty students, including three boarding clubs, called the hall home, and the entire student body was served in the basement dining hall.

On January 1, 1919, fire consumed the 50 year-old structure. Fortunately the hall was empty as Army trainees had just departed and regular students had not yet returned to campus. In 1937 a new Williams Hall was built.