William Augustus Edwards (December 8, 1866 – March 30, 1939) was an American architect. Based first in Columbia, South Carolina, and second in Atlanta, he was renowned for the educational buildings, courthouses and other public and private buildings that he designed in Florida, Georgia and his native South Carolina in the early 20th century. As Architect to the Florida Board of Control he designed his best known works, the Collegiate Gothic campuses of the University of Florida and Florida State University. Edwards' firm, founded by him in 1902, survived under his successors' leadership until 1971.
Early life and education William Augustus Edwards was born December 8, 1866, in Darlington, South Carolina, the son of Augustus F. Edwards, a lawyer and Confederate veteran, and Elizabeth Sarah Edwards, née Hart. After graduating from St. David's School in Society Hill, Edwards attended Richmond College, now the University of Richmond for one year and then entered the University of South Carolina where he received a degree in mechanical engineering in 1889."W. A. Edwards" in History of South Carolina 3, ed. Yates Snowden (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1920): 79-80."William Augustus Edwards" in History of Georgia 3 (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1926): 597-598.
Career history His activities between 1889 and 1893 to not appear to have been recorded. In the latter year he moved to Roanoke, Virginia, where he joined architect Charles C. Wilson, another Darlington County native, as a drafter. Wilson moved to Lynchburg in 1895 and to Columbia, South Carolina, in 1896, apparently accompanied by Edwards. In 1899 they formed a partnership, Wilson & Edwards, architects. Their most visible work was the First Baptist Church (1904) in Selma, Alabama, though construction delays meant it was not completed until two years after they dissolved their partnership in 1902.Our History, First Baptist Church. Accessed December 29, 2023.
In January 1902 Edwards formed the new partnership of Edwards & Walter with Frank C. Walter."Trade notes" in Manufacturers' Record 41, no. 2 (January 30, 1902): 33. In 1908 the partners moved to Atlanta, a city then rapidly expanding. There the firm was briefly known as Edwards, Walter & Parnham with C. D. Parnham."The personal side" in Southern Architect and Building News 21, no. 16 (November 24, 1908): 30. Edwards & Walter dissolved their partnership in 1910 and for five years Edwards practiced without a partner, the only time in his career where he would do so.
In 1915 he formed his last and longest-lasting partnership, Edwards & Sayward, with William J. Sayward, a Vermont native and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1919, after World War I they were joined by Joseph F. Leitner, previously architect to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad; like the previous association with Parham the partnership of Edwards, Sayward & Leitner only lasted a few months."New architectural firm" in Manufacturers Record 75, no. 8 (February 20, 1919): 114o. Edwards & Sayward continued until Edwards' death in 1939.
Edwards was best known as an architect of institutional buildings, a reputation substantially built on his twenty-year relationship with the Florida Board of Control, which governed Florida's public institutions of higher learning. Shortly after its establishment the board organized a limited competition to pick an architect for the University of Florida. Only two architects were invited to submit plans: Edwards & Walter and Henry John Klutho of Jacksonville. Edwards & Walter submitted a Collegiate Gothic plan modeled on the English Oxbridge universities while Klutho proposed a Beaux-Arts plan. Edwards & Walter were selected University Architects in part because the board believed that their English image would compare favorably with other, older universities. The University of Florida opened the next year with its first two Edwards buildings: Buckman Hall (1906) and Thomas Hall (1906). Edwards was responsible for all future development for the next two decades, creating a cohesive Collegiate Gothic campus. His work at the university culminated in the University Auditorium (1924) and the Smathers Library (1926), monumental buildings intended as the first phases of larger administration and library buildings.Tate, Susan, Preservation and Compatible Growth of a Twentieth Century Campus: The University of Florida, p. 63
Edwards' role in Florida was initially that of University Architect, but his mandate soon expanded to include a new campus for Florida State University and buildings for Florida A&M University and the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind as Architect to the Board of Control. In 1925 an architectural department was established at the university under the leadership of Rudolph Weaver, who became the new architect to the board."The University of Florida, Gainesville" in Southern Architect and Building News 54, no. 2 (February 1928): 49-54.
Marriage and family In 1898 Edwards was married to India Pearl Brown. They had three children, including two sons and one daughter. He was a Unitarian and a member of the American Institute of Architects. Edwards died March 30, 1939, in Atlanta at the age of 72."W. A. Edwards dies at home," The State, March 31, 1939.
One of his sons, H. Griffith Edwards, was also an architect. He graduated from Georgia Tech and worked for Edwards & Sayward and Henry J. Toombs until 1940, when he established an independent practice. In 1946 he also joined the Georgia Tech faculty. In 1956 he formed the partnership of Edwards & Portman with John C. Portman Jr., one of his students. He retired in 1968."Edwards, Harrison Griffith" in Who's Who in America (Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1972): 900.
Educational buildings
Among the academic institutions for which Edwards designed buildings were:
Alabama Tallapoosa Hall, Southern Preparatory Academy, Camp HillBecca Nelson, "The Architecture of Tallapoosa Hall," Southern Preparatory Academy, no date. Accessed June 25, 2025.
Florida From 1905 to 1925, Edwards was architect for the Florida Board of Control and designed many buildings in the Collegiate Gothic style for the three existing state institutions of higher learning as well as other public schools.
University of Florida
As the main architect for Florida's newly reorganized system of higher education, Edwards designed numerous buildings for the University of Florida's new Gainesville campus, which first welcomed students in 1906. Most of his surviving works at the school had already been individually recognized by the National Register of Historic Places when the University of Florida Campus Historic District was established in the heart of the original campus in 1989.
Works include: Buckman Hall (Edwards & Walter, 1906) NRHP-listed. Thomas Hall (1906, Edwards & Walter) NRHP-listed. Flint Hall (Edwards & Walter, 1910) NRHP-listed. Newell Hall (Edwards & Walter, 1910) NRHP-listed. Benton Hall (Edwards, 1911) Demolished in 1966. Griffin-Floyd Hall (Edwards, 1912) NRHP-listed. Johnson Hall (Edwards, 1912) Destroyed by fire in 1987. Anderson Hall (Edwards, 1913) NRHP-listed. Peabody Hall (Edwards, 1913) NRHP-listed. Bryan Hall (Edwards, 1914) NRHP-listed. Ustler Hall (Edwards, 1915) NRHP-listed. University Auditorium (Edwards & Sayward, 1924) NRHP-listed. Smathers Library (Edwards & Sayward, 1926) NRHP-listed. Rolfs Hall (Edwards & Walter, 1927) NRHP-listed.
Florida State University Buildings designed by Edwards for Florida State University include: Bryan Hall (Edwards & Walter, 1907) Westcott Building (Edwards & Walter, 1910) Reynolds Hall (Edwards, 1913) Suwannee Room (Edwards, 1913) Originally the freestanding Suwannee Dining Hall, now a wing of the William Johnston Building. Broward Hall (Edwards & Sayward, 1917) Eppes Hall (Edwards & Sayward, 1918) Murphree Hall (Edwards & Sayward, 1922) Dodd Hall (Edwards & Sayward, 1923)
Florida A&M University Buildings designed by Edwards for Florida A&M University include: Carnegie Library (Edwards & Walter, 1908) University Commons (Edwards & Sayward, 1924)
Other Caroline Brevard Grammar School, Tallahassee (Edwards & Sayward, 1925) NRHP-listed. Old Lincoln High School, Tallahassee (Edwards & Sayward, 1929)Tallahassee Democrat, April 16, 1929 Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, St. Augustine
Georgia West Hall, Valdosta State University, Valdosta (Edwards & Sayward, 1917) Campbell Hall, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur (Edwards & Sayward, 1927)Southern Architect and Building News 55, no. 8 (August 1929) Buttrick Hall, Agnes Scott College, Decatur (Edwards & Sayward, 1930)Robert M. Craig, "Agnes Scott College," SAH Archipedia, no date. Accessed June 25, 2025. McCain Library, Agnes Scott College, Decatur (Edwards & Sayward, 1936)
South Carolina Judson Alumni Hall, Furman University, Greenville (Wilson & Edwards, 1900)"Historic Stained Glass from Judson Alumni Hall," Furman University Special Collections and Archives, no date. Accessed July 8, 2025. Demolished. Walhalla Graded School, Walhalla (Edwards & Walter, 1902) NRHP-listed. Winnie Davis Hall, Limestone University, Gaffney (Edwards & Walter, 1904) NRHP-listed. McMaster School, Columbia (Edwards & Walter, 1911) NRHP-listed. Withers Building, Winthrop University, Rock Hill (Edwards, 1913) NRHP-listed. Currell College, University of South Carolina, Columbia (Edwards & Sayward, 1919)
Public buildings Edwards designed many county courthouses and other public buildings, as follows:
Florida Hernando County Courthouse, Brooksville (Edwards, 1913)John Deacon, "Hernando County," American Courthouses, 2009 and 2018. Accessed July 8, 2025. Sumter County Courthouse, Bushnell (Edwards, 1914)John Deacon, "Sumter County," American Courthouses, 2009 and 2018. Accessed July 8, 2025.
Georgia Tift County Courthouse, Tifton (Edwards, 1913)John Deacon, "Tift County," American Courthouses, 2009 and 2018. Accessed July 8, 2025. Neoclassical in style, NRHP-listed individually and as part of Tifton Commercial Historic District City Hall and Firehouse, Bainbridge (Edwards, 1914) NRHP-listed. United States Post Office and Courthouse, Columbus (Edwards & Sayward, 1933) NRHP-listed. former Fannin County Courthouse, Blue Ridge (Edwards & Sayward, 1937)John Deacon, "Fannin County," American Courthouses, 2013 and 2023. Accessed July 8, 2025. Replaced 2004 by a new courthouse next door. The old one is NRHP-listed and is now the Georgia Mountain Center for the Arts.
South Carolina Darlington County Courthouse, Darlington (Edwards & Walter, 1903)John Deacon, "Darlington County," American Courthouses, 2008, 2020 and 2024. Accessed July 8, 2025. Demolished. South Carolina State Armory, Columbia (Edwards & Walter, 1905) NRHP-listed. Kershaw County Courthouse, Camden (Edwards & Walter, 1906)John Deacon, "Kershaw County," American Courthouses, 2008, 2014 and 2024. Accessed July 8, 2025. Demolished. Sumter County Courthouse, Sumter (Edwards & Walter 1907)John Deacon, "Sumter County," American Courthouses, 2008, 2014 and 2024. Accessed July 8, 2025. NRHP-listed. Abbeville County Courthouse, Abbeville (Edwards & Walter, 1908)John Deacon, "Abbeville County," American Courthouses, 2008. Accessed July 8, 2025. NRHP-listed. Lee County Courthouse, Bishopville (Edwards & Walter, 1909)John Deacon, "Lee County," American Courthouses, 2008, 2020 and 2024. Accessed July 8, 2025. NRHP-listed. Dillon County Courthouse, Dillon (Edwards, 1911)John Deacon, "Dillon County," American Courthouses, 2008 and 2024. Accessed July 8, 2025. NRHP-listed. Calhoun County Courthouse, St. Matthews (Edwards, 1913)John Deacon, "Calhoun County," American Courthouses, 2008. Accessed July 8, 2025. NRHP-listed. York County Courthouse, York (Edwards, 1914)John Deacon, "York County," American Courthouses, 2008 and 2014. Accessed July 8, 2025. NRHP-listed.