William J. Wilkins was an American

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 ...

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

and in partnership with

Joseph F. Leitner Joseph Florence Leitner (June 13, 1871 – June 2, 1930) was an American architect whose work includes several rail stations. In Columbia, South Carolina he worked for Charles Coker Wilson (beginning in 1901) for five years. Later he partnered wit ...

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. Wilkins began his architectural career as a contractor and builder. He was inspector of buildings in Florence in 1900 and was the contractor for several major buildings in the area and in the

Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, a Native American tribe that historically inhabited the region. His ...

region including: * Florence City Hall and Opera House (1900) on Evans Street * Darlington City Hall and Opera House (1904), designed by

Frank P. Milburn Frank Pierce Milburn (December 12, 1868 - September 21, 1926) was a prolific American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His practice was primarily focused on public buildings, particularly courthouses and legislative buildings, ...

* Building contractor Murchison School in

Bennettsville Bennettsville is a city located in the U.S. state of South Carolina on the Great Pee Dee River. As the county seat of Marlboro County, Bennettsville is noted for its historic homes and buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries—including ...

(1902), designed by Denver architect John J. Huddart. Wilkins had his first building commission as an architect with the Poynor School in Florence (1904–06). The school was listed in the National Register of Historic Places 19 May 1983. Wilkins designed a small rail depot in Chadbourn,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in 1904 before entering into a partnership with Leitner, practicing as Leitner & Wilkins, first in Florence and then out of the Southern Building in

. The firm's projects included the Atlantic Coast Line Depot (Florence, South Carolina) and

Goldsboro Union Station The Goldsboro Union Station is a former passenger train depot and future intermodal transit station in Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States. Originally operating from 1909 to 1968, the Eclectic two-story brick depot was preserved as one of ...

, both commissioned in 1907. Wilkins partnered with Leslie Norwood Boney, Sr. from 1919 to 1920. During this association Boney supervised construction of the New Hanover County High School. Boney named his second son William J.Boney, Leslie N., Sr. (1880-1964)
North Carolina Architects and Builders The Florence County Library was designed by the firm. Wilkins worked on several for schools including one in Cheraw (1914 and 1923), Lake City (1923), and Marion (1923); and for the Park School (1915), the "Colored" School (1916), and Florence High School (1919–1920). Frank V. Hopkins joined Wilkins in 1924, forming Wilkins and Hopkins. They worked together until Wilkins died in 1932. Their work included schools in Hartsville (1925), Florence (1927), Myrtle Beach (1927), Conway (1928), and Cheraw (1928). The Florence Masonic Temple (1932) was one of the firm's last designs.Florence Public Library
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (based on information from John E. Wells and Robert E. Dalton, The South Carolina Architects, 1885-1935: A Biographical Dictionary (Richmond: New South Architectural Press, 1992), pp. 206-08 Wilkins is credited as the architect on

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

buildings: * Marion High School, 719 N. Main St. Marion, SC (Wilkins, W.J. & Co.) * Poynor Junior High School, 301 S. Dargan St.

Florence, SC Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

(Wilkins, W.J.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, William 1932 deaths Architects from South Carolina Florence, South Carolina American architects Railway stations in North Carolina Railway stations in South Carolina Year of birth missing