The O. B. Williams Company was established in 1889 by Owen B. Williams in Fairhaven, Washington, to manufacture windows, doors, and other building materials. By 1902 the company had moved to 1308 Third Ave in downtown Seattle, and in 1911 the company moved to a 40,000 square foot store and factory at 1943 First Avenue South. As of 2025, O. B. Williams Company still operates in what is now known as Seattle's SoDo neighborhood and continues to fabricate custom architectural woodwork.
This receipt for an order of 20 barn sashes is dated September 2, 1915, and was purchased by Austin Griffiths. The printed receipt includes an engraving of the warehouses, offices, store, and the factory mill in south Seattle.
In 1880, Austin E. Griffiths (1864-1952) married Ella Montgomery (1866-1944) in York, Nebraska. Shortly after, the couple moved west to Arlington, Oregon, then lived in Montesano, Washington. They settled in Seattle in 1897, where Austin, a lawyer, became a King County Superior Court Judge, Seattle City Councilmember, and the Chief of Police.
Caption information source: "History," O. B. Williams Company, http://www.obwilliams.com/history Caption information source: "Austin Griffiths, Civic Leader, Taken by Death," The Seattle Daily Times, July 3, 1952
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
