McKissack & McKissack documents, ca. 1939-1978
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Housed in Small Collections Box 13.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: A small quantity of documents dating ca. 1939-1978 relating to the McKissack & McKissack architectural firm of Nashville, Tenn. Materials include two histories of the organization written prior to 1950; the firm's application for National Defense Construction Projects with the Federal government during World War II, including highlighting its work at the Tuskegee Army Airfield where the 99th Pursuit Squadron (Tuskegee Airmen) would be based; an office code of conduct laying out expectations for employees, as well as the formal filing system for their architectural records in the office; two presentation booklets featuring numerous photographs of buildings constructed by the firm, especially those at Fisk University and Tennessee A&I University (now Tennessee State University or TSU); and a small commemorative booklet issued for the visit of Haitian President Paul E. Magloire to Nashville in 1955. This booklet is heavily illustrated, and features a short list of Haitian graduates from Fisk who then went on to work in government service in Haiti; images of McKissack & McKissack buildings in Nashville, especially those associated with education; portraits, homes, and information about various staff members at the firm; and content and images relating to College Hill Housing Development.

Cite as: McKissack & McKissack Documents, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials.

Metro Archives;,Transfer to Special Collections Division;,2016.,Acc. RT-101.

Fisk University Archives holds the McKissack & McKissack Architectural and Engineering Firm Collection.

McKissack & McKissack is the first and oldest black-owned architectural firm in the United States. The family has a long history dating back to Moses McKissack, an Ashanti tribesman sold into bondage in 1790 and renamed by slaveowner William McKissack of Charlotte, North Carolina. William was a builder, and trained Moses in the building trade. Moses died in 1865, and his son, Gabriel Moses McKissack moved to Pulaski, Tennessee shortly thereafter. Gabriel, too, worked as a builder, and likewise trained his son, Moses, who went on to apprentice with James Porter in Pulaski. Between 1895 and 1905, Moses supervised numerous building projects in the Pulaski and nearby areas. In 1905 he came to Nashville, and the firm dates its origin to this year, when he began building a number of homes for Vanderbilt faculty located in the West End area of Nashville. From then on, his work and reputation grew. His brother, Calvin, a 1909 graduate of Fisk, also entered the profession, and after a brief stint in Dallas, Texas, returned to Nashville where he remained. The two brothers formally entered into a business partnership in 1922 under the name of McKissack and McKissack, Architects. Among the types of buildings constructed by the firm were: faculty and private residences; educational facilities, particularly at Fisk University and Tennessee State University; churches; schools; libraries; and black-owned businesses. Although many of their projects were in Nashville, they worked elsewhere in the state of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and throughout the South. In 1942 they were awarded the contract to construct the Tuskegee Air Base in Alabama, which was the largest contract ever granted by the Federal government to a black-owned company. That same year, they received the Spaulding Medal as the outstanding Negro business firm in the United States. Their business continued to expand after the war, as they took on more projects throughout the nation. Moses McKissack died in 1952, and Calvin succeeded him until his death in 1968. The firm still is in family hands, and remains in business today (2017) although no longer located in Nashville.

In English

Materials transferred from Metro Archives to the Special Collections Division in Nov. 2016. Previous custodial history unknown.

Process;,2017;,Linda Barnickel.

No further accruals are expected.