Difference between revisions of "William S. Gray (1851-1927), Architect"

Revision as of 15:07, 6 January 2018

William S. Gray was born in August 1851 in Illinois to William and Lydia Gray. He married Edith Marie Dehaven in 1878 and they resided in Beardstown, Illinois in 1880, where the census listed him as a "Patent right Ag[en]t".[6][7][8][19] In 1884, he left Beardstown, Illinois for Lincoln, Nebraska.[9][33] He worked in Lincoln, Nebraska as an architect for at least 24 years.[6][7][8] William and Edith Maria had a daughter, Viola, who taught at Lincoln High School.[6][7][8]

This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.

Johnson County Courthouse, 1888-1889 (D. Murphy)

Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings

Lincoln, Nebraska, 1886-1895, 1905

Educational & Professional Associations

1885-1886: Gray & Placey, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1900: architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6]

1901-1903: Vice President of the Eureka Manufacturing Company, Lincoln, Nebraska.[11]

1910: architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[7]

1920: retired, Lincoln, Nebraska.[8]

Other Associations

1890: Employed Frederick A. Henninger (1865-1944), Architect as draftsman.

Buildings & Projects

Dated

Frame Lutheran church (1885), Tecumseh, Nebraska.[34]

York County Courthouse (1885-1888), York, Nebraska, demolished. (In partnership with O. H. Placey as Gray & Placey, Architects.)

"Forest Hill" (mansion of lumberman Charles C. Munson) (1886), SE corner of 26th & O Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska.[13]

Two-story brick "tenement flat" for Mrs. Osborne (1886), J Street between 10th and 11th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[17][c]

Two 8-room dwellings for C. E. Loomis (1886), corner of 11th & H, Lincoln, Nebraska.[18]

Frank Sheldon house/later known as Ellen Smith Hall of University of Nebraska (1887), NW corner 14th & R, Lincoln, Nebraska, demolished.[5][9][14]

Sheldon Block (1887), SW corner of 11th & N, Lincoln, Nebraska, demolished.[15]

Presbyterian Church (1887), York, Nebraska.[15]

E. Leming house (1887), Lincoln, Nebraska.[21]

Three-story brick block for Bently & Leming (1887), N. 9th Street between U and V, Lincoln, Nebraska.[15]

Strickland Building (1887), S. 10th between N and O.[15]

J. F. Houseman house (1887), Aurora, Nebraska.[15]

St. Mark's English Lutheran Church (1887), Lincoln, Nebraska.[20]

McBride Block (1887-1888), NE corner of 12th & P, Lincoln, Nebraska.[16][24][b]

Mrs. Mary A. Reed house (1888), Lincoln, Nebraska.[22]

Johnson County Courthouse (1888-1889), SW corner 3rd & Clay, Tecumseh, Nebraska.[3:52][4][23] (JO07-001) National Register narrative

Tabitha Orphanage (1889), 48th & Randolph, Lincoln, Nebraska.[25][d]

Cherry Street School/later called Prescott Elementary (1889), S 20th and Cherry (now Sumner), Lincoln, Nebraska.[[#References}[26]]][e]

Butler County Courthouse (1889-1890), David City, Nebraska.[27] (demolished)

Proposal for a high school (1890), Lincoln, Nebraska.[28][f]

Cass County Courthouse (1891-1892), NE corner Main & 4th, Plattsmouth, Nebraska.[1][3:58][4][29] (CC14-109) National Register narrative

Project for "$70,000 building" (1892), Marshall, Missouri.[30][g]

Proposal for court house (1892), Clinton, Iowa.[31][h]

Hamilton County Courthouse (1894-1896), 12th & M, Aurora, Nebraska.[3:64][4][12][i] (HM01-001) National Register narrative

Undated

Other Accomplishments

1893: Testified as expert witness to Nebraska Supreme Court in case involving Cell House construction at State Penitentiary [31]

1898: Invented/Patented the Wonder Grain Grader [9][11]2 1903: Invented/Patented the Perfection Cooker [9][10]

Notes

a. Nebraska State Journal of August 22, 1884 mentioned that "William Gray, an architect from Beardstown, Illinois, is in the city for a day or two, looking about for a location. He will be a Nebraska citizen of worth to the community wherein he locates."[33]

b. Contemporary photographs of this building were published in 1889 in Lincoln Picturesque and Descriptive, and are reprinted in Lincoln's Early Architecture. Lincoln Evening Call of September 19, 1888 provides a very detailed description of those involved in the construction of the building, from material suppliers through the various building trades, and a roster of the tenants and spaces throughout the building.[16][24]

c. Lincoln News of July 2, 1886 reported" "Mrs. Osborne will shortly commence on J street, between 10th and 11th, of a fine 'flat,' the first real tenement flat in the city. It will be of brick, two story with high basement, and will consist of five sections of seven rooms each. It is in accordance with plans drawn by Wm. Gray, the architect, and will have all modern improvements."[17]

d. The "Tabita Asylum" was described in early 1889 as a "creditable enterprise" under the direction of Rev. Henry Heiner of "the Evangelical St. Paul church of this city..." The article continues: "...a visit to the office of Wm Gray, the Lincoln architect, discloses...that Mr. G. quite recently completed the plans for a new orphan's home, located on Randolph street abut two miles east of the state capitol..." Also "in hand [were] the plans for a hospital to be built near the Home for the benefit of children and the infirm of all ages and nationalities without regard for religious belief."[25]

e. Lincoln Evening News of April 18, 1889 proclaimed that "Architect Wm. Gray has completed acceptable plans for the new school building to be erected near the corner of Twentieth and Cherry streets. Notwithstanding numerous statements that the building could not be erected for the money the contract was let within the appropriation and will be the handsomest structure in Lincoln."[26]

f. The Lincoln board of education held multiple sessions in 1890 to receive presentations from numerous architects on a proposed high school. Nebraska-based architects listed included Omahans Fowler & Beindorf and F. E. Ellis; Lincolnites Placey, William S. Gray, Fiske, and Craddock & Hay; and Bailey & Farmer of Kearney. Out-of-state architects cited were Seymour Davis (Topeka), Maxon & Bourgeois (Council Bluffs, Iowa, Palister & Company (New York), and R. C. Kerr & Co. of Rock Island. Plans selected for further consideration were those of Gray, Beindorf, Maxon, Davis, Placey, and Farmer. Parsons of Topeka was given extra time to submit his plans.[28]

g. Lincoln Evening Call of January 17, 1892 recounts a story of William Gray receiving a letter of invitation to design a building in Marshall, Missouri for a man Gray had assisted eight years before. Rather than replying, Gray bought a train ticket and proceeded to Marshall.[30]

h. Lincoln Evening Call of June 18, 1892 pointed out that "Wm. Gray, the architect of this city has a handsomely framed view of a proposed court house at Clinton, Iowa hung up in the Capitol hotel office. Mr. Gray is one of the leading architects in public buildings in the west, and has erected a number of court houses in this state, and Lincoln can feel proud of his citizenship."[31]

i. The builders were the Atkinson Brothers of Colorado Springs, Colorado.[12]

References

1. Benjamin W. George, "Soft Eclecticism in the U.S.A., An Example: The Cass County Courthouse, Plattsmouth, Nebraska,” TS (January, 1973).

2. Obituary, Lincoln Star (January 20, 1927).

3. Oliver B. Pollak, Nebraska Courthouses: Contention, Compromise, and Community. Images of America Series (Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2002).

4. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

5. William Wood, “Postcards from the past,” Preservation Association of Lincoln Newsletter 19:2 (Spring 2011): 1.

6. 1900 United States Census, s.v. "William Gray," Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, accessed through HeritageQuestOnline.com.

7. 1910 United States Census, s.v. "William Gray," Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, accessed through HeritageQuestOnline.com.

8. 1920 United States Census, s.v. "William Gray," Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, accessed through HeritageQuestOnline.com.

9. “William Gray, 75, Dies at Home Here,” The Lincoln Star (January 20, 1927); "More or Less Personal," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (January 23, 1927), C-4.

10. “A World Beater Perfection Cooker.” (May 13, 1918), accessed October 4, 2016, http://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t9086xf9n?urlappend=%3Bseq=1

11. “William Gray, 1852-1927,” Nebraska State Historical Society, April 7, 2010, accessed October 4, 2016, http://nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/family/william-gray.htm

12. Marion Enderle, letter to Omaha World Herald Action Editor. September 1994.

13. "Gone to be a Nabob," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News (February 13, 1886), 4.

14. "Notice to Contractors," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (March 17, 1887), 4.

15. "Improvements. Brief Mention of a Few of the Many," Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily News (April 14, 1887), 4; "Notice to Contractors," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (May 5, 1887), 7.

16. "Miscellaneous...Notice Contracting Stone Masons," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (November 8, 1887), 7; illustrated (photos) in Lincoln Picturesque and Descriptive (George B. Pratt: Neenah, Wisconsin, 1889); reprinted in Matthew Hansen, J. L. McKee, E. F. Zimmer, Lincoln's Early Architecture (Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2014), 32-34.

17. Lincoln (Nebraska) News (July 2, 1886), 4. 18. Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily News (July 27, 1886), 41

19. Ancestry.com. Illinois, County Marriage Records, 1800-1940 [database on-line]. s. v. "William Gray." Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. s. v. "William Gray." Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

20. "Notice to Contractors," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (September 28, 1887), 7.

21. "Notice to Contractors," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (March 31, 1887), 4.

22. "Contractors Are Requested to Call," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (March 11, 1888), 7.

23. "Notice to Contractors," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (May 3, 1888), 7.

24. "The New McBride Block. The Neatest and Most Substantial Brick Block in the City," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (September 19, 1888), 4.

25. "A Laudable Enterprise," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News (January 15, 1889), 4.

26. "Mere Mention" (Board of Ed. contract with Wm. Gray for new school on Cherry Street), (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (March 28, 1889), 5; "Notice to Contractors," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (April 2, 1889), 4; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News (April 18, 1889), 4.

27. Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News (May 18, 1889), 4; "Court House to Let. Notice to Building Contractors," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (June 12, 1889), 6; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News (November 6, 1889), 4.

28. "Help School Plans. The Board of Education Gives Audience to a Dozen Architects," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (March 27, 1890), 1.

29. "Still in the Lead. Plattsmouth, Neb., Feb. 25," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News, (February 26, 1891), 1.

30. "Two Remarkable Incidents," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (January 17, 1892), 4.

31. "Brevities. Paragraphs of a Local Nature, Picked at Random," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (June 18, 1892), 8.

32. "Experts Testify. Wm. Gray Gives Estimated Cost of Cell House Construction," (Lincoln, Nebraska) Evening News (May 5, 1893), 1.

33. (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (August 22, 1884), 8.

34. "Notice to Contractors," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (November 6, 1885), 7.

Page Citation

D. Murphy and E. Zimmer, “William S. Gray (1851-1927), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, January 6, 2018. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, May 23, 2025.

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