John A. Kay was one of the primary

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s in the building of the

South Carolina State House The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in t ...

, in Columbia, South Carolina, in the mid-19th century. Kay was born in England in 1830. In the early 1850s, he married Mary E. Hewitson, the sister of his business partner, Ralph E.B. Hewiston. By 1854, he was living in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, and was a master

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

in Richland Lodge #39. He became involved with the construction of the South Carolina State House in 1854, first as Peter H. Hammarskold's project superintendent, and later as assistant architect under George E. Walker. He also co-authored a report on the construction of the structure with engineer John R. Niernsee. In 1859, Kay designed the

Hillsborough Military Academy North Carolina Polytechnic Academy, founded as Hillsborough Military Academy and also known as North Carolina Military Academy, was a school in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Col. Charles C. Tew CSA founded Hillsborough Military Academy. He was ...

barracks building and commandant's house, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. At the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Kay enlisted in the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

military's Richland Rifles, serving as an engineer. He served as a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

during the campaign to capture Fort Sumter in April 1861. After the end of the war, he again became involved with the continued construction of the South Carolina State House, which was damaged in the shelling and subsequent burning of Columbia. In August 1869, he moved to

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

. His date and place of death are currently unknown.

References

*Bishir, Catherine W. and Michael T. Southern. ''A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina''. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2003. *Bryan, John M. ''Creating the South Carolina State House''. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1999. *Kay, John A. ''Address, Columbia, 1858''. Delivered at Masonic Hall, December 29, 1857, at the installation of officers of Richland Lodge, No. 39, A.F.M. 1830 births British emigrants to the United States People from Columbia, South Carolina People of South Carolina in the American Civil War American architects Year of death missing {{US-architect-stub