John R. Smith (1870-1958), Architect
John R. Smith was born May 4, 1870 in Wisconsin to Richard H. and Mary Smith. The U. S. Census listed his father as a lead miner in 1870 and as a farmer in 1880. The family moved in the 1880s to Pierce County, Nebraska, where John married Florence Watson on December 31, 1899.[1] John was identified as a farmer in Willow Creek, Pierce County, Nebraska in the 1900 census. Florence and John had three children, the last a daughter born in 1905, the year her mother Florence died and was interred in Pierce County. 1905 was also the first year John R. Smith was listed in a Lincoln, Nebraska city directory as a draftsman for architect J. H. Craddock. Smith was a draftsman for a Lincoln millwork company in 1906 and 1907, then in 1908 was a draftsman for F. C. Fiske in the Lincoln office of Fiske & Dieman. He married Inez Rose Sheetz in 1908 and in 1909 began to be listed as an architect in University Place (now Lincoln), Nebraska.[9][a] While he continued to reside in University Place for many years, his office was in downtown Lincoln as early as 1911. He designed residences, several schools and other public buildings in University Place and elsewhere in Nebraska, and made a specialty of church design, publishing a brochure "Modern Church Architecture" that listed 100 churches in five Midwestern states "for which we have furnished architectural services." His son Rolland practiced with him as John R. Smith & Son from 1923-1935.[10] John Smith was a WPA administrator in Lincoln in the late 1930s, but was no longer listed in Lincoln city directories after the early 1940s. He died in Denver February 11, 1958.[19]
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
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Lincoln, Nebraska, 1905-1942
Educational & Professional Associations
1905: draftsman for J. H. Craddock, architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[10]
1906-1907: draftsman, Curtis & Bartlett Millwork Company, Lincoln, Nebraska.[10]
1908: draftsman, Fiske & Dieman, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[10]
1909-1910: architect, University Place, Nebraska.[4][10]
1911-1921: architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[10]
1922-1934: architect and partner with son Rolland H. Smith as John R. Smith & Son, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[10][17]
1936: deputy state administrator, W.P.A.[10]
Buildings & Projects
Dated Projects, 1910-1922
Two-story Hecht Department Store (1910), Havelock (now Lincoln), Nebraska.[26]
10-room school, $18,000 (1910), Osmond, Nebraska.[27]
Two-story school, $12,000 (1910), Schuyler, Nebraska.[22]
Two-story school (1910), Brunswick, Nebraska.[5]
School, $10,000 (1911), Ainsworth, Nebraska.[6]
Eugene Levi house (1911), 1727 D, Lincoln, Nebraska.[3] (LC13:D07-361)
Fairmont Methodist Church (1911-1912), Fairmont, Nebraska.[7][14]
Greybull School Building (1911), Greybull, Wyoming.[7]
Residence for J.M. Wildhaber (1911), Plymouth, Nebraska.[7]
North Bend Carnegie Library (1911-1913), 140 E. 8th, North Bend, Nebraska. (DD09-010) National Register narrative
Methodist Church (1912), North Bend, Nebraska.[15]
Theodore A. Kiesselbach House (1913), 3232 Holdrege, Lincoln, Nebraska.[16] (LC13:E11-013)
Emma & John Wachter House (1913), 1901 Pepper Avenue, Lincoln, Nebraska.[23]
C. W. Knott House (1913), 2287 Sheldon Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.[24]
First Baptist Church (1913), Broken Bow, Nebraska.[2][c]
Welsh Congregational Church (1913), Carroll, Nebraska.[2][13]
M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church (1913), Carroll, Nebraska.[28]
Lutheran Church (1913), West Point, Nebraska.[2][31]
First Methodist Episcopal Church (1913), 25th & E Streets, South Omaha, Nebraska.[29]
Addition to school (1913), Beemer, Nebraska.[30]
Competed for design of grade and high school (1913), Central City, Nebraska.[32][]
First United Presbyterian Church (1913-1914), NW corner 4th & Nebraska, Madison, Nebraska.[2][24] (MD03-021) National Register narrative
Methodist Church (1914), Windsor, Colorado.[2]
University Place City Hall (1914), North 48th & Baldwin Streets (now Lux Art Center), Lincoln, Nebraska.[25]
University Place Carnegie Library (1915), 2820 N 48th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[8]
Methodist Church (1915), Beatrice, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1915), Beaver City, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1915), Ewing, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1915), Galt, Grundy County, Missouri.[2]
Methodist Church (1915), Ponca, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1916), Louisville, Nebraska.[2]
Warren Methodist Church (1916), University Place (now Lincoln), Nebraska.[2]
Van Fleet Teachers' College (1917-1918), Nebraska Wesleyan University campus, University Place (now Lincoln), Nebraska.[20]
Methodist Church (1917), Allen, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Alma, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Belden, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Big Springs, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Carroll, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Cozad, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Crawford, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Holdrege, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1917), Sidney, Nebraska.[2]
"Third Ward" (later Riley) School (1917), State & Dudley, University Place (now Lincoln), Nebraska. (survey form) [21]
Methodist Church (1918), Alliance, Nebraska.[2]
Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church (1918), Cortland, Nebraska.[2][12]
Methodist Church (1918), Mullen, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1918), Nora, Nuckolls County, Nebraska.[2]
Lutheran Church (1918), Omaha, Nebraska.[2]
Baptist Church (1920), Casper, Wyoming.[2]
Baptist Church (1920), Douglas, Converse County, Wyoming.[2]
Methodist Church (1920), Gurley, Cheyenne County, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1920), Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1920), Neligh, Nebraska.[2]
Presbyterian Church (1920), Norfolk, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1920), Pacific Junction, Iowa.[2]
Methodist Church (1920), Stromsburg, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1920), Wynot, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1921), Mount Pleasant, Iowa.[2]
Presbyterian Church (1922), Bayard, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1922), Curtis, Nebraska.[2]
Methodist Church (1922), Wauneta, Nebraska.[2]
Projects undertaken as John R. Smith & Son, 1923-1935
John's son Rolland joined his father's practice as a draftsman by 1922, then from 1923 their office was listed as John R. Smith & Son. SEE that page for projects of the office between 1923 and 1935.
Undated Projects
Consulting architect for Baptist Church, Billings, Montana.[2]
Consulting architect for Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma.[2]
Methodist Church, Bluff City, Nebraska.[2]
Notes
a. The U. S. Census of 1910 listed John Smith, architect (age 40) and his wife Rosie (36), married two years, with children Everett L. (9), Roland H. (8), Florence (5), and step-son (to John) Durwood C. Sheets (6). The young Smiths were all born in Nebraska while Rose's son Durwood was born in Idaho.[9] Rose Smith died in 1938 at 65 years old. John and Rose were both interred at Lincoln's Wyuka Cemetery.[18]
b. Reference [2] is an undated brochure issued by "J. R. Smith & Son, Architects" with a listed address of 138 N. Twelfth St., Lincoln, Nebraska. The 1921 Lincoln Directory lists Smith's office at that address. Later his location was described as "Peterson Building," which stood at 138 N. 12th in downtown Lincoln. Among the churches listed in the brochure are several Lincoln churches of the late 1920s, suggesting the publication may have been issued around 1930.[EFZ]
c. First Baptist Church in Broken Bow, Nebraska bears the date "1913" and "MCMXIII" on its parapets.
References
1. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
2. J.R. Smith & Son, Architects, “Modern Church Architecture,” (Lincoln: N.P., n.d. [c. 1930]). (includes list of 100 churches designed by the firm)
3. Listed (1980) in the National Register of Historic Places, "Mount Emerald & Capitol Additions Historic Residential District;" SEE also City of Lincoln Building Permit 4203, issued July 20, 1911.
4. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. "Florence M. Smith" (with spouse s.v. "John Smith"), Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
5. School Board Journal (October 1909), 26.
6. School Board Journal (March 1911), 33.
7. "Lincoln, Nebraska," American Contractor 32:21 (May 27, 1911): 63.
8. Nebraska State Library Commission, card file on public library buildings.
9. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line],s.v. “John R. Smith” (with spouse s.v. "Rose I. Smith"), Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
10. Lincoln city directories.
11. Ancestry.com. Nebraska, Marriage Records, 1855-1908 [database on-line], s.v. "J. R. Smith" (1899) and "John R. Smith" (1908), Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017;
12. "Contracts Awarded. Church: Cortland, Nebr. Archt. J. R. Smith...Owner M. E. Church, Cortland," American Contractor (March 20, 1918), 63.
13. "Carroll, Nebr.--Church," The American Contractor (April 19, 1913), 33.
14. "Methodist Dedication," The Fillmore Chronicle (Fairmont, Nebraska) (May 10, 1912), 8.
15. "Local" (column 2: "J. R. Smith, the Lincoln architect who is drawing the plans for the proposed new Methodist Episcopal church..."), North Bend (Nebraska) Eagle (August 8, 1912), 5.
16. Listed on the National Register of Historic Place; SEE also City of Lincoln Building Permit #5078, issued June 11, 1913.
17. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, s.v. "Rolland H. Smith," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
18. "Rose I. Wilson Smith," Find a Grave on-line database, s.v. "Rose Smith, 1873-1938," https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74739378/rose-i-smith,
19. "Deaths...Feb 11 John R Smith, Denver, Colo, age 87 (Wy[uka])," The Daily Reporter (Lincoln, Nebraska) (February 20, 1958), 3.
20. "A Modern School--Sketch of Building Just Recently Completed," The University Place (Nebraska) News (January 18, 1918), 1, (illustrated with perspective photo, three floor plans, and portraits of J. R. Smith and NWU Chancellor I. B. Schreckengast).
21. "Third Ward School" (photo), The University Place (Nebraska) News (May 17, 1918), 1.
22. "Schuyler, Nebr.--School...$12,000," American Contractor (May 21, 1910), 27.
23. City of Lincoln Building Permit #4927, issued March 17, 1913.
24. City of Lincoln Building Permit #5157, issued July 28, 1913.
25. Special edition of University Place (Nebraska) News (January 8, 1915).
26. "Havelock, Nebr.--Department Store...$20,000," American Contractor (May 14, 1910), 58.
27. "Osmond, Nebr.--School (10 rooms), $18,000," American Contractor (June 11, 1910), 24.
28. "Carroll, Nebr.--Church: $10,000...M. E. Society," American Contractor (July 5, 1913), 46.
29. "Church...$25,000. 25th & E sts., South Omaha, Nebr.," American Contractor (April 19, 1913), 93.
30. "School Bldg. (add.): 2 sty., $5,000," American Contractor (April 19, 1913), 93.
31. "Church...$15,000. West Point, Nebr....Grace Lutheran Society," American Contractor (March 1, 1913), 94.
Page Citation
D. Murphy & E. F. Zimmer, “John R. Smith (1870-1958), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, August 23, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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