Moses McKissack Ⅲ

Moses McKissack III (1879–1952), was an American architect. He had his own architecture firm McKissack Company from 1905 until 1922, and was active in Tennessee and Alabama. In a partnership with his brother Calvin Lunsford McKissack, they founded the architecture firm McKissack & McKissack in 1922.

Early life and education Gabriel Moses McKissack III was born on May 8, 1879, in Pulaski, Tennessee. He had six brothers. His father Gabriel Moses McKissack II, whom he shared his name with, was a carpenter and builder; and his mother was Dolly Ann (née Maxwell).

His paternal grandfather Moses was from the Ashanti tribe (or Asante tribe, modern-day Ghana) and he was enslaved in 1790. His grandfather married Mirian (1804–1865), who was Cherokee, and together they had fourteen children. He apprenticed in construction drawings for 5 years under James Porter. Major projects designed by Moses McKissack during the 1910s included the main campus building for the Turner Normal and Industrial School for Negroes (1912) in Shelbyville, Tennessee; dormitories for Roger Williams University in Nashville; and Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee.

In 1921, after the state of Tennessee instituted a registration law for architects, the McKissack brothers became two of the first registered architects in the state. The Air Base contract was the largest federal contract ever awarded to an African American company, valued at approximately US$5.8 million, and it made national news. The brothers were each awarded the Spaulding Medal by the National Negro Business League in 1942, for outstanding business achievements. His funeral service was held at the church he was a member, Caper Memorial Christian Church. The McKissack Park neighborhood, the McKissack Park, and McKissack Middle School, all of which are in Nashville were named in his honor. House residence (1919), 340 Chesterfield, Nashville, Tennessee Comer residence (1920), 1411 Eastland Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee Bastian residence (1921), 3722 Central Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee Sexton residence (1921), 3506 Byron Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee George Hubbard House (1921), 1109 First Avenue South, Nashville. Colonial Revival, NRHP-listed