Alfred Wheaton
He was born around 1807, his date of death is unknown. The year is unknown when Alfred married his wife Olive Wheaton.

During the Jim Crow era, Boykin and his crew of Black builders and brick masons established a reputation for beautiful work, building countless homes across Sanford, in both Black and white neighborhoods. In addition, Boykin's crews built fences, laid sidewalks, moved houses, and built churches, schools, and commercial buildings that still stand today.

PIONEERING BLACK ARCHITECTS IN NORTH CAROLINA
Today there are many black architects in North Carolina but before 1970, there were few. It was tough enough for white women in a white-male-dominated profession, but for minorities it was nearly impossible.

Halifax County’s experience with the construction of its Rosenwald schools was the polar opposite of Edgecombe’s. To erect Halifax’s schools, the county’s Board of Education engaged a skilled African American builder, Cary Pittman (1880-1951), who due to his work ethic, community associations, and beliefs raised high-quality buildings.

Free Person, Builder

Danita Brown was the first Black woman certified to practice architecture in North Carolina. She received her license in 1990.

David Williston--(1868-1962) was the first professionally trained African American landscape architect in the United States. He designed many campuses for historically black colleges and universities, including Tuskegee University

Photograph of a Black family living in Craven Co. NC. Possibly in New Bern. Year unknown. Names not known yet.

Edwin Harris, Architect, is from Oxford, NC. "Edwin designs spaces with a belief that remarkable architecture has the faculty to enhance the lives of those who occupy it...

Gaston Alonzo Edwards was born on April 12, 1875, in Chatham County, North Carolina. Edwards was the first Black architect licensed in North Carolina. Edwards died in Durham (Durham County) on October 5, 1943.

Born in Randolph County, North Carolina, George Henry Black was a well-known and respected brickmaker who supplied handmade bricks for “Old Main,” the original North Carolina Baptist Hospital built in 1923.

Joe Welcome (ca. 1774-1859) was a multi-skilled enslaved Black man who was hired out to make his slaver, Josiah Collins, money. He was skilled as a bricklayer, stonemason, and plasterer.

John W. Winters, Sr. (1920-2004) became Raleigh’s first African American city councilman and one of the first African Americans elected to the state Senate since Reconstruction.

Julian Francis Abele (April 30, 1881 – April 23, 1950)
He was a prominent African-American architect, and chief designer in the offices of Horace Trumbauer.

The Milliken cabin was built after the Civil War by a former slave named Bob, who had been purchased from the Fayetteville slave market.

Elizabeth City, North Carolina: Mr. Elisha Overton, (1852 to 1911), carpenter and brick mason.

The George Matthewson House, Tarboro, Edgecombe County

Raleigh, North Carolina: Over 130 enslaved African American men built and maintained the North Carolina State Capitol between 1833 and 1865.

Raleigh, North Carolina: Over 130 enslaved African American men built and maintained the NC State Capitol.

Oliver Nestus Freeman (1882-1955) Wilson, North Carolina

Robert Robinson Taylor (June 8, 1868 – December 13, 1942) was an American architect and educator. Taylor was the first African American student enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the first accredited African American architect when he graduated in 1892. He was an early and influential member of the Tuskegee Institute faculty.

Teri is a fervent advocate for exceptional architectural design within each community she has served. For over 20 years, she has thoughtfully and efficiently guided award-winning projects from pre-design through construction administration.

The biography of one of the youngest enslaved individuals to labor on the construction of the North Carolina State Capitol.

Photo: 20 people gathered at the Pigeon Multicultural Development Center last week to discuss an African-American history grant--

Enslaved Black people built the Capitol building in Raleigh, North Carolina
Some women who hired out enslaved people to the Raleigh, North Carolina Capitol project fit into this description. Martha Brickell – who enslaved Junius Brickle – probably enslaved around 8-10 people for most of her life. Martha was born in Wake County in 1778, the daughter of Colonel Joel Lane, who in 1792, sold 1000 acres to the state of North Carolina as a site for the city of Raleigh.

William W. Smith is considered the first Black architect in the city of Charlotte.

Architect Willie Edward Jenkins (1923-1988) was born in Wake County to Willie and Emmaline Jenkins; his father died when he was small; and his mother worked as a seamstress.