Henry W. Williams, founder of a wholesale drug company and a prominent banker, arrived in Fort Worth in 1884. Purchasing a parcel of 28 acres on the ridge overlooking the West Fork of the Trinity River in 1907, Williams and his family were first listed at this address in 1909. John Roby Penn purchased the house in 1926; he lived there until 1958. Penn was the president of Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Co. A flamboyant interpretation of the Colonial Revival two- story central portico of grouped Corinthian columns supporting a heavy entablature. A one-story porch with Tuscan columns and balustrade above encircles the front of the house and intersects the massive order. Cast-stone quoins articulate the corners, and cast-stone lintels with elaborate swag motifs adorn the second-story windows. A hip roof clad in slate is punctuated by three arch-topped dormer windows and several tall chimneys. Leaded glass and ornate cornices embellish the house. The integrity of the Williams-Penn House has been compromised in recent years by the painting of the brick. Although the house is very similar to other residential designs of the period by the firm of Sanguinet and Staats, its architect has not been documented. The Williams-Penn House was made a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1982 and may be eligible for the National Register.
