Buckingham Slate: The Williams Brothers
Gwen Arvon (2011), photo by Joanne Yeck
During the 1870s, the Williams brothers of Caernarvonshire, Wales, brought their considerable expertise and strong work ethic to the Buckingham slate quarries. John Williams lived in Richmond, handling marketing and sales; Evan Williams ran operations on Hunt’s Creek. The Williams brothers’ success was concurrent with the coming of the railroad, taking Buckingham slate to destinations far beyond the county limits. The family displayed their affluence with a private rail car, which they referred to as “the accommodation.”
Other Welshman followed, bringing names like Davis, Davies, Lloyd, Jeffery, Jones, Pierce, and Thomas to Buckingham and the quarries. The growing settlement was eventually called Arvon (later Arvonia), its name rooted in Caernarvon. The Arvon Presbyterian Church was established, where Welsh hymns were sung and where the Arvonia Memorial Cemetery contains many graves with epitaphs written in Welsh.
As slate products diversified from roofing material to other uses, the Williams brothers built “sample houses” designed to demonstrate the material’s versatility. Bryn Arvon (Evan Williams) and Gwen Arvon (John Williams) were Queen Anne-style marvels. They sported slate mantels, staircases, baseboards, and even the kitchen sinks were made of slate!
Today, Gwen Arvon, still owned by a Williams descendant, has been beautifully restored.
slate river ramblings . . . . 
If you’d like the gravestones translated (free of charge!) just send them on to me!
Thank you, Iwan. I will look through my photos and, if I find some stone in Welsh, I will send them to you. Joanne
I’ll look forward to seeing them!