Williams House Inn

An 1856 antebellum house in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida — nine rooms in a clapboard, columned, deep-porched mansion that's been continuously occupied for 170 years. Four blocks from the Cumberland Island ferry. The Williams House is what people mean when they reference Old Fernandina — antebellum, walkable, family-run, and unhurried.

Amelia Island lodging splits into the Ritz-Carlton, the Omni Plantation, and small in-town inns. The Williams House is the antebellum-mansion B&B option.

The setting

The inn sits at 103 South 9th Street in Fernandina Beach, walking distance to Centre Street's downtown shops and restaurants, the historic district's antebellum mansions, and the Amelia Island Lighthouse. The Cumberland Island ferry — the boat to the wild barrier-island national seashore in Georgia, with the wild horses and Carnegie ruins — leaves four blocks east at the Fernandina Harbor Marina. Amelia Island's beaches are two miles east.

The drive in from Jacksonville is 35 minutes north on US-17 and A1A; from Savannah, two hours north; from St. Augustine, an hour and a half south.

The building

An 1856 antebellum mansion — clapboard exterior, columned porch, dormered roof, and the Greek Revival vocabulary common to the antebellum-Georgia/Florida coast. Original details survive: floors, fireplace mantels, and trim. Materials are clapboard, painted wood, and brass throughout. Public spaces include the parlor, the dining room, and the wraparound porch.

Independently owned. The continuity of the building is the property's identity.

The rooms

Nine rooms across the main house and a connected building. From around $285. Layouts include kings, queens, and a few suites with sitting rooms. Period or period-appropriate furniture, four-poster beds, and bathrooms updated in stages. Some rooms have working fireplaces; one of the suites has a balcony.

Food & drink

A full breakfast is included — three-course, served in the dining room. There's no on-site dinner. Walking distance to Centre Street's restaurants — the Crab Trap, T-Ray's Burger Station, 29 South, España Restaurant. The Salty Pelican on the Fernandina Harbor is on the water by the ferry dock.

On the property

A small B&B amenity stack:

• Full breakfast included
• Wraparound porch
• Garden
• Walking distance to Cumberland Island ferry
• Walking distance to downtown
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Travelers doing the Cumberland Island day-trip and wanting walking distance to the ferry
• Couples doing a quiet Amelia Island weekend who'd rather have antebellum than condo
• Repeat North Florida coast visitors
• Architecture and period-history-minded travelers

Who it's not for

• Beach-front seekers — the beach is two miles east
• Travelers wanting a full hotel with on-site dining, pool, and spa
• Anyone needing modern boutique aesthetic

Nearby

The Cumberland Island ferry leaves four blocks east — 45-minute crossing to the national seashore (with the wild horses, the Plum Orchard mansion, and the Dungeness ruins). Centre Street's downtown is two blocks. Amelia Island Lighthouse (the oldest in Florida, 1820) is 10 minutes by car. Amelia Island's beaches and Fort Clinch State Park are two miles east. Cumberland Island National Seashore (across the Georgia border) is the day-trip destination — book the ferry well in advance. St. Marys, GA — the smaller-mainland town across the river — is 15 minutes north by ferry route.