Background
William Nichols, Sr. was born in 1780 in Bath, England, United Kingdom. He was brought up in a family of builders.
William Nichols, Sr. was born in 1780 in Bath, England, United Kingdom. He was brought up in a family of builders.
In 1818 Nichols was employed as state architect of North Carolina. This made him responsible for new state buildings and for repairs and improvements to existing ones. His most important commission during this time, however, was a complete remodeling of the old North Carolina State House, which he completed in 1822. Incorporating Palladian and early Greek Revival elements, it included a new central rotunda surmounted by a dome. The Senate chamber and House of Commons both included galleries supported by Ionic columns. Widely admired at the time, it drew the praise of fellow architect Ithiel Town.
Nichols relocated to Alabama in 1827, after receiving a commission from the legislature there to become the new state architect and build a state capitol building in the new capital of Tuscaloosa.
While working on the Alabama statehouse, Nichols also designed the original campus for the newly established University of Alabama. Influenced by Thomas Jefferson's plan at the University of Virginia.
In 1833, with a letter of recommendation from his friend, Alabama Governor John Gayle, Nichols applied for the post of state architect for Mississippi.
He married Mary Rew in 1805.