David A. Williston (1868–1962) was the first professionally trained
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
in the United States.
[ He designed many campuses for ]historically black colleges and universities
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...
, including Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.
The campus was d ...
. He also taught horticulture and landscape architecture.
Early life and education
Williston was born in 1868 in Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.
Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...
, and was the second of thirteen children.[ He graduated Howard University Normal School in 1895,] then enrolled at Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
to study agriculture under Liberty Hyde Bailey
Liberty Hyde Bailey (March 15, 1858 – December 25, 1954) was an American horticulturist and reformer of rural life. He was cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press ...
. At Cornell, he wrote his senior thesis on atmospheric drainage. Williston was the first African American to graduate Cornell University with a degree in agriculture (B.S. 1898),[ and one of the first African Americans to graduate from ]Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in any discipline.[ He later completed courses on municipal engineering at the International Correspondence School in Pennsylvania.]
Career
Williston taught at several historically black colleges
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...
, starting at the State College of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1898.
In 1902, he joined the faculty of Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.
The campus was de ...
as a professor of horticulture, where he taught intermittently for 27 years. At Tuskegee he also served as superintendent of buildings and grounds between 1910 and 1929, where he designed the campus master plan and several Tuskegee facilities. He was the landscape architect for the 99th Pursuit Squadron Training School, where the Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...
were based.
He was a lifelong friend of George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the ea ...
, who also taught at Tuskegee. Carver's home The Oaks was constructed by students as part of the Tuskegee curriculum, and Williston guided students in the landscape design of the home.
Later career
In 1930, Williston moved to Washington D.C. where he opened a landscape architecture firm, believed to be the first African-American-owned landscape architecture firm in the United States. Williston continued to teach and practice landscape architecture, and planned the campuses of dozens of historically black colleges. His clients included Fisk University, Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial, Clark University, Alcorn State University, Lane College, Philander Smith College, and Howard University, where he worked with Albert Cassell
Albert Irvin Cassell (1895–1969) was a prominent mid-twentieth-century African-American architect in Washington, D.C., whose work shaped many academic communities in the United States. He designed buildings for Howard University in Washington D ...
. He also completed landscape design for the Langston Terrace Dwellings
Langston Terrace Dwellings are historic structures located in the Langston portion of the Carver/Langston neighborhoods in the Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. The apartments were built between 1935 and 1938 and they were listed on the Nat ...
between 1935 and 1938.
Williston continued his relationship with Tuskegee; he consulted with the Institute between 1929 and 1948, and introduced a new landscape plan for the campus in 1948.
Williston continued working into his 90s, and died in 1962 at the age of 94.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williston, David
1868 births
1962 deaths
American landscape architects
African-American people
Cornell University alumni
Tuskegee University faculty
People from Fayetteville, North Carolina