William Sherley Williams
Sculpture by B.R. Pettit
"Old Bill" was born January 3, 1787 in North Carolina.
He died March 24, 1849. In that 62 year life span he
did a heap of living, most of it in the wilderness. In
the late 1700's and early 1800's the mountain men
were trappers. In the quest of fine furs, these master
trappers shoved ever westward in the raw, new
frontier, braving untamed Indians, Grisslies and worse -
the cold relentless winters in the vast unexplored
mountain wilderness. Their's was a lonely exsistence
beset by many hazards. Fortunate were those who
were able to live through a trapping season and get
to rendezvous in the spring. After the fur market
dwindled these frontiersmen became the trail- blazers
of the west. The mountain men scouted the trails,
escorted and guarded emigrant parties and surveying
expeditions across the great unknown reaches of the
unexplored west. Old Bill first visited the present site
of Williams in about 1826. He was said to have spent
the winter of 1832-33 in this area. In 1954 a group of
Williams citizens formed The Bill Williams Mountain
Men organization to perpetuate the lore, memory
and romance of the mountain men of old - in particular,
Old Bill Williams for whom a town, a mountain, and a
river were named.
( Lower plaque)
This monument was made possible by the contributions of ( list of 31 names)
Monument dedicated April 26, 1980.
Marker is on East Railroad Avenue near South 9th Street, in the median.
Courtesy hmdb.org
