The W. A. Thomas House is one of the most distinctive Queen Anne style houses in Statesville. See Laura A. W. Phillips, Mitchell College Historic District, National Register of Historic Places nomination. It has long been credited to architect Norma N. Bonniwell, based on an account in the Statesville Record and Landmark of February 23, 1897 of her visit to Statesville “looking after the matter of drawing plans for residences” for W. A. Thomas and others. However, subsequent reports in the Statesville Carolina Mascot of April 22, the Asheville Citizen of April 20, and the Statesville Record and Landmark of May 7, 1897, indicate that Thomas actually commissioned Wills to design his residence.