The Principal Offices of the Watson-Brown Foundation are located in the first home of the late Thomas E. Watson (1856-1922). Restorations brought forth its Victorian flair which is reflected in its ornate gingerbread trim, first floor bay windows and the gentle arches that accent its numerous porches. Tom Watson returned to Thomson in 1877 after passing the state bar. He purchased this house in 1881, living there for more than 20 years until purchasing a nearby mansion he would call Hickory Hill. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives (1882), U.S. Congress (1890-1892), and the U.S. Senate (1920-1922), after which he was nominated for Vice-President on the Populist Party ticket with William Jennings Bryan in 1896.Watson wrote a two-volume history of France and a biograph of Napoleon while residing in this house. And although he was a statesman, prolific writer and premier trial lawyer of his day, he is perhaps best remembered for his office appropriations bill amendment that earned him the title “Father of Rural Free Delivery.”