Charles Coker Wilson

The First Presbyterian Church of Rock Hill, South Carolina, designed by Charles C. Wilson and completed in 1895. The First Baptist Church of Selma, Alabama, designed by Wilson & Edwards and completed in 1904. Neville Hall of Presbyterian College, designed by Wilson & Wendell and completed in 1907. Davis College of the University of South Carolina, designed by Wilson, Sompayrac & Urquhart and completed in 1909. Memorial Hall of Coker University, designed by Wilson & Sompayrac and completed in phases in 1913 and 1916. The First National Bank Building in Gastonia, North Carolina, designed by Wilson & Sompayrac and completed in 1917. Providence Methodist Church in Holly Hill, South Carolina, designed by Charles C. Wilson and completed in 1920. The former Greenwood High School, designed by Wilson, Berryman & Kennedy and completed in 1926. Pine Street Elementary School in Spartanburg, South Carolina, designed by Charles C. Wilson and completed in 1929. Charles C. Wilson (November 20, 1864 – January 26, 1933) was an American architect in practice in Columbia, South Carolina, from 1896 until his death in 1933.

Life and career Charles Coker Wilson was born November 20, 1864, in Hartsville, South Carolina, to Furman Edwards Wilson, a physician, and Jane Lide Wilson, née Coker. James Lide Coker, the founder of Sonoco and Coker University, was his uncle. He was educated at South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina, graduating in 1886 with an AB. He then joined the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens Railroad as first assistant engineer. While employed by the railroad he supervised the construction of the bridge over the Broad River at Columbia. This enabled him to pursue post-graduate study at his alma mater, and in 1888 he was awarded a degree in civil engineering from the reorganized University of South Carolina.

In 1899 after his retirement from that office he formed the partnership of Wilson & Edwards with William Augustus Edwards, an employee since 1893. Wilson then left the office under Edwards' management and went to Paris, where he studied in the Beaux-Arts atelier of Henry Duray, a patron popular with American students. In 1900 he returned to the United States and in 1902 dissolved his partnership. His year in Paris had a major influence on his work, which for the rest of his career exhibited the formal principles of Beaux-Arts architecture. Wilson & Sompayrac served as supervising architects for the Palmetto Building, designed by Julius Harder and completed in 1913. and expanded in 1924 as Wilson, Berryman & Kennedy to include J. Robie Kennedy. In 1925 the branch offices at Gastonia and Wilson were closed and new ones opened at Charlotte and Raleigh. These too were closed in 1927 when the partnership of Wilson, Berryman & Kennedy was dissolved. In 1929 Wilson formed his last partnership, Wilson & Tatum, with Harold Tatum, a Philadelphian in practice in Columbia since 1920. This lasted until Wilson's death, after which Tatum chose to continue his practice in Charleston. In 1905 he formally joined the AIA, and was chief mover behind the establishment of both the South and North Carolina chapters. He served as the first president of the South Carolina chapter. For his efforts he was elected a Fellow of the AIA in 1914. In 1917, when a licensure law for architects was passed by the South Carolina legislature, Wilson was appointed to the board of architecture examiners by governor Richard Irvine Manning III. He was a member of this board until his death. He was an author of the South Carolina school building code in 1923 and the state building code in 1932.

Charles C. Wilson, 1893–1895 1895 – First Presbyterian Church, 234 E Main St, Rock Hill, South Carolina

Tinsley & Wilson, 1895–1896 1896 – Central Graded School, 414 W Market St, Anderson, South Carolina

Wilson & Edwards, 1896–1902 1897 – Japonica Hall, S Main St, Society Hill, South Carolina 1897 – Thomas Memorial Baptist Church, 308 W Main St, Bennettsville, South Carolina 1900 – Ebenezer Lutheran Chapel remodeling, 1301 Richland St, Columbia, South Carolina 1900 – Masonic Temple, 1425 Main St, Columbia, South Carolina

Charles C. Wilson, 1902–1905 1902 – Bank of Georgetown Building, Front and Broad Sts, Georgetown, South Carolina 1907 – Neville Hall, Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina

Charles C. Wilson, 1906–1907 1907 – First Baptist Church, 1020 Boundary St, Newberry, South Carolina 1908 – Woodrow Memorial Presbyterian Church, 2221 Washington St, Columbia, South Carolina 1909 – Davis College, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 1910 – Davidson Hall, Coker University, Hartsville, South Carolina 1910 – Lydia Plantation, 703 W Lydia Hwy, Lydia, South Carolina

Wilson & Sompayrac, 1910–1919 1911 – Mount Zion Presbyterian Church, 4544 Manville St Charles Rd, Bishopville, South Carolina 1911 – Port Royal School, 1214 Paris Ave, Port Royal, South Carolina 1912 – Bank of Bishopville Building, 140 N Main St, Bishopville, South Carolina 1913 – Bouchier Building, 1722–1724 Main St, Columbia, South Carolina 1913 – Logan Elementary School, 815 Elmwood Ave, Columbia, South Carolina 1913 – Memorial Hall, Coker University, Hartsville, South Carolina 1913 – Palmetto Building, 1400 Main St, Columbia, South Carolina 1919 – St. Paul United Methodist Church, 102 E Butler Ave, Saluda, South Carolina 1920 – Providence Methodist Church, 4833 Old State Rd, Holly Hill, South Carolina 1921 – Farmers Commercial Bank Building, 100 W Main St, Benson, North Carolina 1923 – Siler City High School (former), 101 S Third Ave, Siler City, North Carolina 1924 – City Hospital (former), 401 N Highland St, Gastonia, North Carolina

Wilson & Berryman, 1923–1924 1923 – Braswell Memorial Library (former), 344 Falls Rd, Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Wilson, Berryman & Kennedy, 1924–1927 1925 – Carroll School of Fine Arts, Limestone University, Gaffney, South Carolina 1926 – Greenwood High School (former), 857 S Main St, Greenwood, South Carolina 1926 – Andrew Jackson Hotel, 223 E Main St, Rock Hill, South Carolina 1928 – Halifax Medical Center, 303 N Clyde Morris Blvd, Daytona Beach, Florida 1929 – St. Luke's Hospital, 330 Carolina Dr, Tryon, North Carolina

Wilson & Tatum, 1929–1933 1932 – United States Post Office, 248 Market St, Cheraw, South Carolina