Discovering Old Nick Williams Co Farm and Distillery

One of the greatest benefits of having a Harvest Hosts membership is the ability to experience hundreds of completely unique overnight campsites. Since no host is quite like another, you can imagine that there are many interesting histories and stories to be told about each individual business. A Harvest Hosts membership gains you access to each and every one of these 5900 locations. With your membership, you can easily stay at any of these options overnight. There, you can learn about their business, history, process, and more. One such unique location is Old Nick Williams Co Farm and Distillery in Lewisville, North Carolina. Here, we will highlight the distillery’s history, practices, products, and more, all in hopes of inspiring your next Harvest Hosts adventure.

The History

The story of Old Nick Williams Distillery truly began in the year 1679, when John Williams was born in Wales. According to the Williams family history, he later immigrated to the United States in the 1690s, settling in Virginia. After marrying and having eight children, John and his wife Mary moved to the province of North Carolina. Col. John Williams also served in the Revolutionary War, fighting in George Washington’s army. In 1766, John Williams’ grandson, Joseph Williams, relocated to a portion of what was then designated as Rowan County, North Carolina. There, he acquired 8,000 acres of land, where some of the Williams family still resides today. Two years later, in the year 1768, John Williams established Williams Distillery, where he began crafting whiskey for both enjoyment purposes and medicinal purposes. The quality of his product was of the utmost importance to Williams, a legacy which certainly passed onto all future operators of the distillery. After its establishment, the distillery passed through three generations of Williams men, each improving upon both the business and product. These changes included moving the distillery about a mile away from its original location and introducing a new brand of whiskey called “Old Nick,” which Joseph Williams (II) named in honor of his father, Nicholas Lanier Williams. When both Nicholas and Joseph passed on, the operation fell to Glen Williams. Glen later changed the distillery’s name to Old Nick Distillery. He then worked to enlarge the operation and even began to buy raw whiskey and finish it himself. In 1913, Glen Williams died, and his death, as well as the enactment of prohibition, sadly, forced the distillery into about 100 years of closure.