BALLARD McKIM and SAWYER

Ballard McKim was founded in 1955 by Herbert McKim and Frank Ballard in Wilmington NC. Bob Sawyer joined in 1959. The firm was well-known and respected across North Carolina and became BMH Architects PC in 2008.

FRANK INGRAM BALLARD AIA (1924-1997)

Ballard was born in Wadesboro NC. After serving in the Marine Corps Engineers during WWII, he bicycled through France filling notebooks with exquisite sketches of ancient structures. He returned to the US and graduated from the NCSU School of Design in 1950 then went to work for Leslie N. Boney. In 1955, he formed Ballard & McKim. His sons Frank Jr. and Thomas both became architects.

HERBERT POPE (HERB) MCKIM FAIA (1928-2010)

McKim grew up in Robersonville NC. He graduated from Asheboro Senior High School in 1945 and joined the US Marines, serving until the end of WWII. According to Robert Sawyer's son Tom, he liked to think Charles F. McKim, of the legendary New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White as a relation, although there was no relation. He graduated in architecture from the NCSU School of Design College in 1950 and worked with Lesley N. Boney Architects. In 1955, he formed Ballard & McKim. He was Mayor of Wrightsville Beach NC. He received AIANC's F. Carter Williams Gold Medal and North Carolina's Order of the Long Leaf Pine. His son Herb Jr. became founding principal with McKim and Creed Engineers.

ROBERT WILLIAMS (BOB) SAWYER FAIA (1923-2005)

Sawyer was born in Darien WI, graduating from Darien HS in 1941. He worked as a machinist in an Allis-Chalmers plant in Racine WI then served in the Army during WWII. He graduated from the NCSU School of Design with honors in 1951 and worked 1951-1953 with A. L. Aydelott & Associates, 1953-1959 with Leslie N. Boney, then joined Ballard McKim in 1959 as a partner. He was a three-term mayor of Wrightsville Beach NC. His last major project was the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort at Wrightsville Beach. Sawyer was principally responsible for the designs of the Wilmington Hilton Riverside, Seapath Towers, Station One, Shell Island Resort at Wrightsville Beach and the Ocean Ridge on Topsail Island. His son John became an architect in Wilmington. His grandson Jack is an architect in New Orleans.

1954 - The Herbert P. and Catherine S. McKim House, 123 Pine Cone Road, Wilmington NC. Sold in 1978 to John N. and Joan A. Booth. Sold in 2001 to Frank I. Ballard Jr.

1955 - The Frank I. and Dorothy H. Ballard House, 118 Pine Cone Road, Wilmington NC. Sold in 1983 to William A. and Marian E. Bryan. Sold in 1986 to Frank S. and Jeanne M. Bua. Sold in 2006 to Scott Meyer and Amber Young. Bottom four photos by Scott Meyer.

1956 - The Robert Bertram and Ellen S. Williams Jr. House, 1114 Forest Hills Drive, Wilmington NC. Deeded in 2015 to R. Bertram Williams III. Sold in 2016 to Mark L. and Laura M. Weeks.

1956 - The James and Margaret B. Tidler House, 1102 Forest Hills Drive, Wilmington NC. Sold in 1995 to Jessie C. and Carolyn Tidler Robertson.

1956 - The Theodore Coe and Emma Barnwell Heyward House, 321 South Lumina Avenue, Wrightsville Beach NC. Deeded in 1982 to heirs.

1957 - The Joseph and Nell Trask Hooper Jr. House, 2216 Gillette Drive, Wilmington NC. Sold in 2013 to Melinda H. and Walter Lee Crouch Jr.

1957 - The Anthony E. Burgess House, 453 Wayne Drive, Wilmington NC. Deeded in 1981 to heirs. Sold in 1982 to John F. and Frances H. Teed. Sold in 2011 to Mary R. Thierry.

1957 - The Robert Register and Elizabeth Batson Dees House, 203 North McNeil Street, Burgaw NC. Deeded in 2002 to Marsha E. and Robert Register Dees Jr.

1957 - The Lawrence Ray and Julia Vinson Bowers House, 1032 Mill Pond Road, Whiteville NC. Deeded in 2004 to Julia Bowers Rich, Lawrence R. Bowers II, and E. L. Vinson Bowers. Sold in 2007 to Millpond, LLC, which now operates the property as the Mill Pond Hunting Club.

1958 - The Eugene W. and Rosa F. Merritt House, 1209 Essex Drive, Wilmington NC. Deeded in 1993 to John D. and Felicia H. Merritt.

1958 - The Champion McDowell Davis House, 8408 Bald Eagle Lane, Wilmington NC. Sold in 1976 to Janie P. Kennedy. Sold in 1989 to Catherine Healy Kassens.

1958 - The Gerald and Katherine W. Carr House, 404 North Elm Street, Rose Hill NC. Sold in 2016 to Stanley Richard and Sandra S. Long.

1958 - The James Harold and Mary J. Peedin Jr. House, 508 East Fremont Street, Burgaw NC. Sold in 2014 to Stephen A. and Emmylou K. Polinski.

1959 - The Bruce Hugh and Suzanne T. Dorman House, 6408 Shinnwood Road, Wilmington NC. Designed by Frank Ballard and Herb McKim. Sold in 1983 to Peter A. and Anne W. Nemmers. Sold in 1988 to John A. and Rose E. Meldrum. Sold in 2016 to Alison Ogonowski and Yuichi Murakami, who are doing a renovation.  Has been sold.  2023 renovation and addition by Michael Ross Kersting.

1959 - The Robert and Ray Sawyer House, 904 Schloss Street, Wrightsville Beach NC. Sold in 1999 to William Rhett Taber III.

Around 1962 - The George Michael and Bonnie Carey Koseruba House, 1305 Rockhill Road, Castle Hayne NC. Originally 25 acres which supported Bonnie's horse interests. Designed by Ballard McKim and Sawyer. Built by J. Fred Murray. Photo by Joseph Nesbitt. Sold in 1973 to Garland B. and Evelyn W. Garrett Sr. Sold in 1979 to Armand Amato Jr. Confiscated by the federal government in 1984 after Amato was charged with two counts of investing illegal proceeds in the property resulting from an investigation into the smuggling of at least 20 tons of hashish. Sold later in 1984 to William H. and Martha P. Loughlin. Sold in 2006 to Rockford Partners, LLC. Destroyed for a new subdivision, bottom photo, that as of July 2019 had not started construction.

1963 - The Wood Acres Subdivision, Pine Grove Drive and Brightwood Road, Wilmington NC. Approximately 43 houses. Above example: 246 Brightwood Road. Sold in 1964 to Ernest and Dorothy George who are still the owners as of 2021.

1965 - The Dobo Family House, 216 Beech Street, Wilmington, NC. Designed by Robert Sawyer. Heirs sold in 2013 to Jayna M. and Joel M. Crittenden, who did a remodel in 2016. Sold in 2021 to Jessarella A. and Stuart M Gans.

1968 - The Harold R. and Lillian Blakeman House, 2210 South Live Oak Parkway, Wilmington NC. Robert Sawyer was the lead architect. Deeded in 2012 to Lesley A., Hollace L., and Michael K. Blakeman. Sold in 2016 to Ross and Taylor Hamilton.

1968 - The Thomas E. Knode House, 62 Beach Road South, Wilmington NC. Knode was an NBC exec from New York. Designed by Bob Sawyer. Sold in 1975 to Barbara Landon. Deeded in 2018 to Landon heirs. Sold in 2022 to Kelly and Matthew A. Penley.

Around 1968 - Camp Leach, along the Pamlico River, Beaufort County NC. Multiple projects, including the Camp Leach Conference Center.

Around 1971 - The Hufham House, Old Point, Hampstead NC.

1983 - The Louis and Anne Jordan House, 8 Cedar Island, Wilmington NC. Designed by Frank Ballard. Renovated 1991. Sold in 1993 to Daniel and Tina Flohr. Sold in 2013 to John R. and Mary B. D. Clark III. Destroyed in 2017 for a new house by Charles Boney Jr.

1985 - The Harold and Jean Rubinstein Greene House, 2137 Gloucester Place, Wilmington NC. Deeded in 1998 to Lois Greene Sloan. Sold in 2010 to Gloucester, LLC. Sold in 2019 to Dustin Ankrom.

Year unknown - The Kingoff House, South Live Oak, Wilmington NC.

Year unknown - The L. A. Corning III House, Tarboro NC.

Year unknown - The William C. and Katherine von Glahn House, Wilmington NC.

Year unknown - The Thomas H. Wright Beach Cottage, Wrightsville Beach NC.

Year unknown - The John M. Meditz Renovation, Wilmington NC.

Year unknown - The J. W. Council Renovation, Lake Waccamaw NC.

Year unknown - Woods Acres Subdivision, Wilmington NC.

Sources include: Bruce Bowman; Jenna Ault-Holcombe; Frank Ballard Jr.; Michael Ross Kersting; Thomas Ballard; John Sawyer; Marimar McNaughton; Jennifer Daugherty.