ABOUT

Williams Nursery

The seeds for Williams Nursery were planted in 1920 by William “Edward” Williams and his son, Roy Williams. The property was originally 13 acres in the late 1920s roughly half of the property was deeded to the Union County Park System through the newly created Green Acres program. The store consisted of an open building with a large overhang. A brightly colored flower from the then named “Williams Floral Farm” proved to be a well-sought item. The next decade brought diversity. Roy Williams became the known local expert on plants and flowers. When the Depression hit, much of their inventory was sold to Echo Lake Country Club for pennies on the dollar. After the Depression the store was moved to where the existing store is now. Roy Williams began traveling throughout the United States for new and exciting plant varieties. Many of these rare plants were sold to the Doris Duke estates and many were planted in the quickly developing Westfield community. In the early 1950′s the store was rebuilt into a gift shop with a glass greenhouse roof. “Williams Floral Farm was the only place in the state that offered gorgeous camellia plants in bloom”. The 1950′s also brought a large cut-flower boom. Ed Williams, then a teenager, was following in his father’s footsteps,”he said his father taught him that hard work leads to success, and the entire spring season would pass without a day off.”