An 1830s Greek Revival mansion built by banker William 'Money' Williams, now home to the James Madison Institute — exterior viewing only from North Duval Street.
100 North Duval Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewing is free from public sidewalks. Interior access requires a James Madison Institute event invitation.
Access
Limited Access
Sidewalk-level exterior viewing; private historic interior with steps.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1830 · One of Tallahassee's oldest surviving buildings · National Register of Historic Places (1975) · Greek Revival pre-statehood architecture · Relocated 1971 by Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce · Headquarters of the James Madison Institute since 2012
The Columns stands at 100 North Duval Street in downtown Tallahassee, directly across from First Presbyterian Church. According to its Wikipedia entry and the Clio historical-marker record, it was constructed c. 1830 by William 'Money' Williams, a banker who reportedly built it to function both as a residence and as banking offices. The two-story brick building, with its symmetrical front of full-height columns, is one of the oldest surviving structures in Tallahassee and an important example of pre-statehood Greek Revival architecture in Florida.
William Bailey lived in the house during the Civil War era, and his wife Rebecca is the figure most commonly associated with later ghost lore. The building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 1975. The structure was moved from its original location at the corner of Park Avenue and Adams Street to its present North Duval site in 1971 by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce to save it from demolition.
Since 2011, ownership has rested with the James Madison Institute, a Florida public-policy think tank that purchased the building and made it headquarters beginning in 2012. The institute uses the historic interior for offices and small donor and policy events, and the building is not regularly open to the general public.
The Columns sits within the Park Avenue Historic District in downtown Tallahassee and is one of the most-photographed buildings in the city. The relocation, its early-19th-century construction, and the William Williams banking legend together make it a frequent stop on Tallahassee architectural and historical walking tours, even though interior visits are limited.
Sources
According to Visit Tallahassee's official 'Spooky Tallahassee' coverage and HauntedPlaces.org's entry for the city, The Columns has a long-running tradition that a woman in period dress, often identified with Rebecca Bailey, is seen walking on the front porch or across the first floor of the mansion before stepping directly into the fireplace and disappearing. The same sources describe paranormal reports as concentrated on the ground floor of the building rather than upstairs.
The lore is primarily passed down through ghost-tour stops, tourism-board coverage, and the HauntedPlaces.org directory listing, rather than through documented occupant journals or institute reports. The James Madison Institute, the building's current owner, does not promote the ghost lore. Because interior access is restricted to invited events, modern witness reports remain limited and uncorroborated outside the published tourism record.
This venue is privately occupied (James Madison Institute offices) and not open to the public — appreciate from the public sidewalk only.
Notable Entities
Walk-by view of one of Tallahassee's oldest surviving buildings, a c. 1830 Greek Revival mansion relocated from Park and Adams to its present site at North Duval Street. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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