W. R. Parsons & Son, Architects
William R. (W. R.) Parsons (1840-1904)[1][2]
Clyde Howard (C. H. or C. Howard) Parsons (1864-1938)[3][4]
W. R. Parsons and his son C. Howard Parsons practiced together from around 1881 until the father's death in 1904, then C. Howard maintained the partnership's name until at least 1909. (After that time he continued to practice architecture in his own name.) The partnership produced significant projects, especially courthouses and schools, in approximately a dozen states including Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. This page includes their currently known Nebraska projects (all schools of the 1890s), plus a sampling of other projects to illuminate the breadth of their practice.
In 1881, a newspaper in Saint Charles, Missouri referred to "W. R. Parsons, the popular and accomplished architect," who "As a designer of commodious and attractive buildings...cannot be excelled."#35] W. R. Parsons & Son advertised in Columbia, Missouri in 1883 and 1884.[18] They relocated to Topeka, Kansas in 1886...
They were architects in Lincoln, Nebraska, listed in 1891 as "William R. and C. Howard". William R. Parsons was born July 31, 1840 and died March 22, 1904.[1] The partners were listed in the Des Moines, Iowa directory by 1892. In 1896 they had an office in Butte, Montana.[16] In 1906 W. R. Parsons & Son was listed as "of Fort Smith, Ark., and Des Moines, Ia.," and in 1907 they were listed as having an office in Duluth, Minnesota, and in 1909 in Minneapolis.[31][32][33] C. Howard Parsons was listed as an architect in the Des Moines city directory of 1910 and the Minneapolis directory of 1918.
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.
Contents
[hide]Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Lincoln, Nebraska, 1891
Educational & Professional Associations
W. R. Parsons, "architect...of Terre Haute," Indiana, 1875.[5]
W. R. Parsons, "popular and accomplished architect," joined in Saint Charles, Missouri by his son C. H., who had been attending college in Battle Creek, Michigan.[6][7]
C. H. Parsons appointed "temporary architect" for Kansas State House (then under construction), March 1886.[7]
Employed James J. Scott, formerly of Hopkins & Holland, architects in Topeka, later in Kansas City, Topeka, Kansas, 1887.[11]
W. R. Parsons & Son Company incorporates in Iowa, $5,000 capital stock, 1896.[25]
Buildings & Projects
County jail (1875), Noblesville, Indiana.[5]
Haden's Opera House (1883-1884), Ninth and Broadway, Columbia, Missouri.[19]
Wilson County Courthouse (1885-1886), Fredonia, Kansas.[20]
Proposed plans for new county courthouse (1886), not selected, Washington, Kansas.[15][d]
Elk County Courthouse (1886), Howard, Kansas.[21]
Garfield School House (1887), Garfield, Pawnee County, Kansas.[8]
Cloud County Courthouse (1887), Concordia, Kansas.[9]
Great Bend School Houses (1887), Great Bend, Kansas.[10]
Clark County Courthouse (1888), Ashland, Kansas.[12]
128 room hotel (1888-1889), Cascade, Colorado.[13][14]
Douglass County Courthouse (1889), Castle Rock, Colorado.[22]
Clinton Elementary School (1890-1891), Holdrege Street at North 28th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[2][3][4][a]
Des Moines Club house (1891), Fifth Street, Des Moines, Iowa.[23]
Pythian Castle (1893), Mancester, Iowa.[24]
Columbus School house (1898), Columbus, Nebraska.[26]
Ponca School House (1899), Ponca, Nebraska.[17]
Fremont High School (1899-1900), Fremont, Nebraska.[27]
Yankton Masonic Temple (1900-1901), Yankton, South Dakota.[28]
Public School (1903), Scotland, South Dakota.[29]
Garland County courthouse (1905), Hot Springs, Arkansas.[30]
High School and ward school (1906), South McAlester, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).[31]
School Building (1907), Virginia, Minnesota.[32]
High School (1909), Bemidji, Minnesota.[33]
Notes
a. In May 1890, six architectural practices offered proposals for "a school building in northeast Lincoln", namely Craddock & Hay, William Gray, O. H. Placey, W. R. Parsons & Son, "Mr. Shaffer") and F. M. Ellis of Omaha. Clinton Elementary School was built in 1890-1891 from the Parsons & Son plans.[2][3][4] In 1925 the school was replaced by a much larger building designed by Fiske, Meginnis & Schaumberg.
b. William R. Parsons was interred in Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa.[1]
c. Cyrus Howard Parsons was born in Illinois, August 1864 and died in St. Paul, Minnesota April 26, 1938. His wife Anna Elizabeth nee Pugh was born in 1867. They married in 1891 and she died in 1930. She was a native of Ohio. They lived in Des Moines, Iowa in 1900 with children Lorene E. (8) and Lloyd H. (6), both born in Iowa. Also in the household was brother-in-law William H. Pugh (Anna's brother), a 35 year old bricklayer.[3][4]
d. Parsons and Son of Topeka was among fifteen architectural practices that offered plans for a new Washington County courthouse in Washington, Kansas, including Nebraska architect William Gray of Lincoln. Schrage & Nichols of Kansas City was the firm selected.[15]
References
1. "Parsons, W. R." (obituary), Des Moines (Iowa) Register (March 24, 1904).
2. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "William R. Parsons," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
3. "Cyrus Howard Parsons," accessed October 12, 2023 at Find a Grave on-line database, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/199195398/cyrus-howard-parsons
4. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, s.v. "C. Howard Parsons," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
5. "County Commissioners," Nobleville (Indiana) Ledger (June 4, 1875), 4.
6. "W. R. Parsons, the popular and accomplished architect..." (Saint Charles, Missouri) Weekly Cosmos-Monitor (March 2, 1881), 4.
7. "Mr. C. H. Parson [sic] reached here yesterday from Battle creek, Mich., where he has been attending college, and will probably remain during vacation to assist his father, architect W. R. Parsons," (Saint Charles, Missouri) Weekly Cosmos-Monitor (June 22, 1881), 4.
2x. "Help School Plans--The Board of Education Gives Audience to a Dozen Architects," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (March 27, 1890), 1.
3. "The School Board--A Plan Adopted for a Building in Northeast Lincoln," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Call (May 23, 1890), 8.
4. Carl Yost, "Abstracts from the Minutes of the Lincoln Board of Education", TS, c. 1930, 44. Typescript in Lincoln Public Schools archive.
5. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Williams Parsons," [database on-line].
6. "First-Class Architects," Topeka (Kansas) Daily Capital (March 11, 1886), 8.
7. "New Board of [State House] Commissioners in Session," Topeka (Kansas) Daily Capital (March 25, 1886), 5.
8. "Notice" (soliciting bids for Garfield, Kansas school), Topeka (Kansas) Daily Capital (March 16, 1887), 5.
9. "Notice to Contractors" (soliciting bids for courthouse), Topeka (Kansas) Daily Capital (March 29, 1887), 5.
10. "Notice to COntractors" (soliciting bids for Great Bend, Kansas school), (Topeka, Kansas) Daily Commonwealth (July 10, 1887), 4.
11. "Personal...--James J. Scott...," Topeka (Kansas) Daily Press (December 24, 1887), 4.
12. "Proposals," Topeka (Kansas) Daily Capital (February 5, 1888), 3.
13. "From Cascade," Topeka (Kansas) State Journal (July 14, 1888), 1.
14. "Eastholme, other names...Easthome; Eastholm in the Rockies B&B," National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, 1998, accessed on-line October 11, 2023 at https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/98001250_text
15. "Commissioners' Proceedings...March 17, 1886," Washington (Kansas) Weekly Post (March 26, 1886), 4.
16. "W. R. Parsons & Son...Architects and Superintendents, Office...Butte, Montana," Butte (Montana) Miner (July 4, 1896), 8.
17. "Notice to Contractors" (requesting bids for school house in Ponca, Nebraska), Ponca (Nebraska) Grit (February 9, 1899), 8.
18. "W. R. Parsons & Son, Architects and Superintendents...Public Buildings a Specialty," Columbia Missouri Herald (July 26, 1883), 1.
19. "Haden's Opera House," Weekly (Columbia) Missouri Statesman (January 25, 1884), 3.
20. "Wilson County Courthouse.--[From Cherryvale Globe-Torch.]," Wilson County Citizen (Fredonia, Kansas) (November 27, 1885), 3.
21. "W. R. Parsons and C. Howard Parsons...submitted the plans for the new court house which best suited the Commissioners..." Howard (Kansas) Courant (April 23, 1886), 3.
22. "The plans for the Douglass county court house, at Castle Rock, Colorado...have been prepared by W. R. Parsons & Son, of this city [Topeka]..." Topeka (Kansas) State Journal (February 6, 1889), 2.
23. "The New Club House...plans...made by W. R. Parsons & Son, of this city..." Des Moines (Iowa) Register (September 19, 1891), 7.
24. "A Handsome Structure. First Pythian Castle in Iowa," Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette (August 25, 1893), 5 (illustrated).
25. "Articles of incorporation were yesterday filed...by W. R. Parsons & Son Company, architects," Des Moines (Iowa) Register (July 26, 1895), 7.
26. "Columbus Happenings," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (June 18, 1898), 2.
27. "New High School Building.--Fremont Board of Education Accepts Plans," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (December 7, 1899), 5.
28. "Bad Grammatical Error on Yankton's Masonic Temple," (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) Daily Argus-Leader (March 8, 1902), 2.
29. "A Fine School Building," Sioux City (Iowa) Journal (February 3, 1903), 3 (illustrated with perspective).
30. "Notice to Contractors" (requesting bids for construction of Garland County (Hot Springs, Arkansas) courthouse), Daily (Little Rock) Arkansas Gazette (February 16, 1905), 9.
31. "Territorial Topics...Within a few months South McAlester will have...fine public school buildings..." Muskogee (Oklahoma) Times-Democrat (June 28, 1906), 4.
32. "Notice for Bids. School Building, Virginia, Minn.," The Virginia (Minnesota) Enterprise (August 9, 1907), 10.
33. "Notice to Heating and Plumbing Contractors" (seeking bids for high school building), (Bemidji, Minnesota) Pioneer (May 4, 1909), 4.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40. "Sauk Centre's State Consolidated Schools," and "C. Howard Parsons, Architect," The Sauk Centre (Minnesota) Herald (November 4, 1915), 8 (illustrated with portrait of C. H. Parsons and illustrations of the high school and junior high school).
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer and D. Murphy, “W. R. Parsons & Son, Architects,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, October 16, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, June 24, 2025.
Contact the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office with questions or comments concerning this page, including any problems you may have with broken links (see, however, the Disclaimers link at the bottom of this page). Please provide the URL to this page with your inquiry.
