William R. Mason (1848-1921) -- Stone Mason
William R. Mason (1848-1921) was one of Richmond's most successful stone masons at the turn of the last century. He may have also been one of the city's most creative stone craftsman. The rich and varied ornamentation seen in his work, executed in the 1890s on many Richmond buildings built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, illustrates that creativity. His work also demonstrates his knowledge of the craft and its traditions.
Born in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1848, Mason came to the United States in the 1870s. He appears to have arrived in Richmond ca. 1877 when his membership in a Masonic Lodge in Richmond has been recorded. In 1890 he began a partnership with Richmond stone mason Robert Sim, also a native of Scotland. The firm of Mason and Sim lasted for five years when Sim died in 1895. According to The City of the James (1893), the firm "took contracts chiefly in Virginia and Pennsylvania" and that they have "on average forty hands employed, and doing a business of $50,000 a year." Mason and Sim had stone yards at Canal Street and another on Seventh Street, in addition to a granite quarry on Fredericksburg Road. By 1900, Mason had a stone yard at Marshall and Lombardy Streets. At the time of his death, Mason had one son living in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which could account for his connection to that state. Mason died January 7, 1921.
Described as a "structural and monumental contractor" in 1900, Mason's commissions included stone work for numerous residences in the city and "artistic monuments" (grave stones) found in city cemeteries. A list of his known work, including images, are found below. Additional items will be added to this site as research on this topic continues.
[Information on William R. Mason came from The City on the James (1893); Richmond: The Pride of Virginia (1900); his obituary in the Richmond News Leader, January 10, 1921; obituary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 8, 1921 and January 9, 1921; Richmond city directories, and an email message dated November 18, 2002 from the library staff at the Allen E. Roberts Masonic Library and Museum of Virginia, Inc.]
Inventory of work of William R. Mason
Just click on each image for a larger view.
The attribution for the William J. Anderson House, 1000 West Franklin Street, comes first from architectural historian Drew St. J. Carneal, author of Richmond's Fan District (1996). While Mr. Carneal has yet to determine the architect of the building, he recalled in the Fall of 2002 to a Special Collections and Archives staff member that he has documentation that the stone work for the building came from a firm that had a stone quarry at Lombardy and Marshall Streets -- which Mason did by 1900, two years after 1000 West Franklin Street was built. Attribution also comes from the distinct similarities between the William J. Anderson House and that of the Brown-Allison-Moore House which we learn from both Richmond on the James (1893) and Richmond: The Pride of Virginia (1900) that Mason was the stone contractor. From those same publications we learn that Brown was the stone mason or stone contractor for the following buildings:
C.F. Sutton House404 West Franklin Street, built ca. 1898. The black and white view below shows the original two fanlight windows -- which are very similar to what the William J. Anderson House and the Brown-Allison-Moore once had. |
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The date of construction for the building is taken from Robert P. Winthrop's Architecture in Downtown Richmond (1982). Further research may provide a more accurate date but Winthrop's description of the house is worth noting: "A very fine house dating from the turn of the century, the brownstone and brick facade is distinguished by sculpted panels and stained glass window transoms. The bay window was one of the most popular residential features in Richmond at this time, and this house's bay is unusually large and spacious. 1996 image of 404 West Franklin Street. Note the stained glass windows -- similar to those at 1000 West Franklin Street. Image from Special Collections and Archives. |
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Closeup image of 404 West Franklin Street, 1996. Note the pattern of the brownstone, different than 1000 West Franklin Street but similar to 909 West Grace Street (see entry below). Image from Special Collections and Archives. The C.F. Sutton House at 404 West Franklin Street is illustrated in the 1996 edition of A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester. It is one of seventeen buildings to be used as examples of the variety of the Richardsonian Romanesque style in the United States. Two other Richmond Richardsonian buildings are also illustrated in the guide, the Strause-Blanton House (which is listed below) at 826-828 West Franklin Street, and the Jones-Williams House, 800 West Franklin Street, built 1890-1891, designed by Richmond architect M.J. Dimmock. |
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James Patton House, 501 West Franklin Street. Demolished. A.E. Donnan House, 503 West Franklin Street. Demolished. J.J. Montague House, 811 West Franklin Street, built ca. 1880 in the Second Empire style, most likely remolded in the Richardson Romanesque style ca. 1890; demolished in the 1950s. Brown-Allison-Moore House, 819 West Franklin Street, built ca. 1892, demolished ca. 1955. | |
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Strause-Blanton House, 826-828 West Franklin Street, built 1892, designed by Richmond architect Charles H. Read, Jr. |
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Putney-Kearny House, 921 West Franklin Street, built 1894, designed by Richmond architect Albert Huntt. The building has a brownstone facade but with a slight twist. The dark brownstone used on the facade of this building is brick shaped and was laid in alternating smooth and rock-faced bands. Small floral roundels are carved in relief on the stone arches of the porch. |
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"[R]ow of five attractive dwellings at Harrison and Franklin Street" -- This is the description found in Richmond: The Pride of Virginia for buildings that Mason served as stone mason. The description is very likely the row of five houses, 924 through 932, built in the 1890s on the 900 block of West Franklin Street. Of the five, 932 West Franklin Street, located on the corner of Harrison and West Franklin Streets, is the finest executed of the lot. It sits directly across the street from the William J. Anderson House. |
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Row of brownstone houses located on the north west side of the 900 block of West Franklin Street. Image by Linda George, VCU Creative Services. |
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William J. Anderson House, 1000 West Franklin Street, built ca. 1898. | |
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Louis Behle House, 1010 West Franklin Street, built 1899, designed by Richmond architect D. Wiley Anderson. In Richmond's Fan District (1996), its author, Drew St. J. Carneal, describes the building as such: Granite was used to clad this three-story house built in 1899 for Henriett Behle. While its tower-column-and-gable format was not unusual, the building is distinguished by its splendid stonework incorporating a double-arched entry, stone balcony with heavy iron rails, and imaginative window treatment. 1010 West Franklin Street. Image from 2002 by Jolene Milot. |
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Samuel Sycle House, 909 West Grace Street. Richmond: The Pride of Virginia lists a house for a Samuel Sycle for which Mason was the stone contractor. By 1900 there were two individuals by that name in Richmond directories. Samuel Sycle Sr. lived at 201 West Grace while Samuel Sycle Jr. lived at 909 West Grace Street, a house similar in style to 404 West Franklin Street. The brownstone and brick of the house has been painted over. |
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Richmond on the James (1893) and Richmond: The Pride of Virginia (1900) list four other buildings for which Mason was the stone contractor: Grace-Street Baptist Church, Union Station Methodist Church, the Richmond Brewery, and the store property of Pemberton, Cordes and Mosbly. Richmond: The Pride of Virginia also notes that he was the designer for the "artistic monuments erected in memory" of W. T. Bowles, Henry Grinnell, M.S. Hawkins and D.T. Williams. The monument for Mr. Williams, which is in Hollywood Cemetery, is shown below. |
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| Monument for William R. Mason and Isabella J. Mason, Hollywood Cemetery. Image from 2002 by Jolene Milot |
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Close-up image of monument for William R. Mason and Isabella J. Mason, Hollywood Cemetery. Image from 2002 by Jolene Milot. |
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An "M" in stone near the grave of William R. Mason. Image from 2002 by Jolene Milot. |
 | Marker for grave of William R. Mason. Image from 2002 by Jolene Milot. |