- John Appleton Wilson
Infobox Architect
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name = John Appleton Wilson
nationality = American
birth_date = 7 October 1851
birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland
death_date = 17 April 1927
death_place = Baltimore, Maryland
practice_name = J.A. & W.T. Wilson
significant_buildings = Eastside of Belvidere Terrace, McKim House
significant_projects = Maryland State House Senate Chamber restoration, Ft. McHenry restoration
significant_design = 2nd Maryland Infantry C.S.A.(1st Maryland Battallion C.S.A.) Monument at Culp's Hill, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
awards =John Appleton Wilson (
October 7 1851 inBaltimore ,Maryland –April 17 1927 in Baltimore) was an Americanarchitect .Personal Life
Wilson was born in
Baltimore ,Maryland , the oldest son of Rev. Franklin Wilson, a well-knownBaptist minister, and Virginia Appleton Wilson. He attended private schools andColumbian College inWashington, D.C. , and later studiedarchitecture at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). After leaving M.I.T. he continued his education in the office of Baldwin & Price in Baltimore. OnOctober 16 ,1877 he married Mary Wade of Virginia. The couple resided at 1013 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, and had a summer home at Monterey in Franklin County,Pennsylvania . The couple had one daughter, Virginia Appleton Wilson.Wilson was an active member of historical and professional societies. He was a member and
secretary of theMaryland Historical Society ,vice-president of the Sons of the Revolution, and historian for the Society of theWar of 1812 . He held many offices of the Maryland Society of Colonial Wars includingtreasurer , member of the council, chair of the membership committee, and deputy governor general from Maryland for the national society. Wilson also served on the Baltimore Municipal Art Commission and was an early member of the Baltimore chapter of theAmerican Institute of Architects , joining in 1879. He was a member of the University Club and a director of the Colonial Trust Company. The Wilsons were also involved inphilanthropic work, with John serving on the board of governors of the Maryland School for Boys and as atrustee of the Baltimore Orphan Asylum, and Mary managing the asylum from 1911 to 1918.Wilson died at his home in Baltimore on
April 17 ,1927 following a brief illness. His estate was valued at $110,715 and was divided between his wife and daughter, who were given joint ownership of the Wilson homes in Baltimore and in Pennsylvania.Professional Life
Wilson and his cousin, William Thomas Wilson, formed a partnership and named their new firm J.A. & W.T. Wilson,
Architects . This architectural firm designed Baltimore homes from the end of the nineteenth century until William's death in 1907. Some of the more notable estates were built for Catherine L McKim. He designed McKim's home first and then 14 more upon her property at Belvidere Terrace, all designed in the Queen Anne style. Wilson worked on the restoration ofFort McHenry , restoration of the Mount Clare estate and park, and the marking of the grave of Sir Robert Eden, Maryland's last colonialgovernor . Additionally, he designed the monument to the 2nd Maryland Battalion C.S.A.(1st Maryland C.S.A. originally), onCulp's Hill ,Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as well as churches and community and industrial buildings in Maryland,North Carolina , andVirginia .On
February 2 ,1894 , theMaryland State Senate requested that Wilson team up with the well known Annapolis artist Frank B. Mayer to conduct a study of the feasibility of restoring theMaryland State House old Senate Chamber. The State wanted to restore it to the condition it had been in whenGeorge Washington resigned his commission ascommander-in-chief of theContinental Army in 1783. After six weeks of working without pay,Mayer and Wilson issued their report onMarch 19 ,1894 , that listed items to be repaired, replaced, or reproduced and estimated the total cost to be $6,150. They concluded their report with a recommendation that the work be started immediately, however, much to their dismay the work was not begun until GovernorEdwin Warfield acted on the issue in 1904 and 1905. Wilson, commenting on his act of charity, said, "It was a labor of love unto the end."References
*Radoff, Morris L., "The State House At Annapolis", The Hall of Records Commission - Department of General Services, State of Maryland, Annapolis 1972
*"The Maryland State House: A Memorial to John Appleton Wilson", The Society Of Colonial Wars In The State Of Maryland, Press of John S. Bridges and Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 1931
*"The Architecture of Baltimore: An Illustrated History", Edited by Mary Ellen Hayward and Frank R. Shivers, Jr.,The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 2004
*"The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography : Being The History Of The United States" Volume XXV, James T. White and Company,New York , 1936
* [http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/013800/013819/html/msa13819.html J. Appleton Wilson , MSA SC 3520-13819 ] at www.msa.md.govPersondata
NAME= Wilson, John Appleton
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SHORT DESCRIPTION= Architect
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