Williamson is home to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.

Williamson is the site of a large rail yard built by the former Norfolk and Western Railroad (now Norfolk Southern Railway), which was built to service the many coal mines of the region.

The city is protected by a floodwall, completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1991 in response to devastating floods along the Tug Fork River in 1977 and again in 1984.

The wall incorporates floodgates along major access points which, when locked, form a solid barrier against floodwaters.

The local economy is largely fueled by coal mining, transportation, health care and retail businesses.

[8] He owned the land where Williamson now stands,[9] earned a fortune in real estate investments in the area, and founded the city's first bank and its first hotel.

Others claim that the city was named for Wallace's father, Benjamin F. Williamson.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.26 square miles (8.44 km2), all land.

[10] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

The Coal House interior has since been restored while preserving the historical integrity of the building.

[15] Each June, as many as 500 distance runners from around the United States and several foreign countries descend upon Williamson for the Hatfield–McCoy Marathon.