Harold Charles Wurdeman (1911-1985), Architect and Civil Engineer
Harold Charles Wurdeman was born May 8, 1911 to Charles Wurdeman and E. Wilhelmine Loseke, in Columbus, Nebraska. He got his degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University in 1932. Wurdeman spend much of his early career at the Loup River Public Power District, then he went into business with his father, creating the firm Wurdeman & Wurdeman. He practiced for over a decade in this capacity before moving to a new partnership. Wurdeman was a registered architect in Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota. He was also a registered Professional Land Surveyor in Nebraska.
Wurdeman married Irene Miller in 1936. They went on to have three daughters. Wurdeman was a member of the Izaak Walton League, the Lincoln Consistory of the Scottish Rite, the Rotary International, the Chamber of Commerce, the Elks Lodge No. 1195, the Sesostris Temple of the Shrine, the Harmony Chapter of the Eastern Star, and the Federated Church. He was also Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge of Masons of Nebraska and Master Mason in Lebanon Lodge No. 323.[1][3][5] PT01-177
Wurdeman died June 21, 1985, in Lincoln.[2][4]
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
Columbus, Nebraska, 1954-1976
Educational & Professional Associations
1928: Kramer High School, Columbus, Nebraska.[1]
1932: Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa.[2]
1933: instrument man and draftsman, Loup River Public Power District, Columbus, Nebraska.[2]
1933-1934: instrument man and sub-party chief, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (Nebraska C.W.A.).[2]
1934: structural design, with Emiel J. Christensen, Architect, Columbus (Columbus City Hall), Nebraska.[2]
1934-1936: instrument man and party chief, Loup river Public Power District, Columbus, Nebraska.[2]
1937: chief of field party, Transmission Engineering Department, Loup River Public Power District, Columbus, Nebraska.[2]
1937: draftsman, Loup River Public Power District (structural design of buildings), Columbus, Nebraska.[2]
1938: Registered Professional Engineer, Nebraska, E-222; February 8, 1938 (Architecture, A-318).[2]
1932-1958: architect and engineer, and partner Wurdeman & Wurdeman, Architects, Columbus, Nebraska.
1948-1958: architect and engineer, and partner Wurdeman & Reed Co., a joint firm between the Raymond Reed Co. and Wurdeman & Wurdeman, Architects.
1958-1969: architect and engineer, and partner, Reed, Wurdeman & Associates, Architects and Engineers, Columbus, Nebraska. (the two firms merge into one)
1969-1996: architect and engineer, and partner, Reed, Veach, Wurdeman & Associates, Inc., Architects and Engineers, Columbus, Nebraska.
Buildings & Projects
Rock County Hospital (1961), Bassett, Nebraska.[3]
Scotus Central Catholic High School (1966), Columbus, Nebraska.[3]
Behlen Memorial Hospital (1966), Columbus, Nebraska.[3]
Columbus Savings and Loan Association Office (1967), Columbus, Nebraska.[3]
Becton, Dickinson & Company Factory, Holdrege, Nebraska.[3]
Notes
References
1. Margaret Curry, History of Platte County, Nebraska (Murray & Gee, Culver City, California, 1950), PT01-177.
2. “From the Files: Harold Charles Wurdeman,” The Nebraska Professional (November, 1999), 3.
3. American Institute of Architects, comp., American Architects Directory Third Ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1970), 1018, accessed April 4, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/1970%20American%20Architects%20Directory.aspx
4. Social Security Death Index online; http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
5. “Harold C. Wurdeman,” Columbus Telegram (June 23, 1985), 2:2.
Page Citation
D. Murphy, “Harold Charles Wurdeman (1911-1985), Architect and Civil Engineer,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, October 2, 2018. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 5, 2025.
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