Gideon Shryock

Gideon Shryock (November 15, 1802 – June 19, 1880) was an American Greek Revival architect.

Shryock was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, the son of a housebuilder and contractor, Mathias Shryock, who had moved to Kentucky from Maryland and who would father 10 other children in Kentucky besides Gideon. One of Gideon's younger brothers, Cincinnatus Shryock, would also become an architect.

Shryock studied at Lancastrian Academy in Lexington, and was later apprenticed to architect William Strickland of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for one year, after working in family business. While in Philadelphia, Shryock acquired a copy of the American edition of Swan's British Architect, which he brought back to Lexington.

Notable designs

• Old State House at Little Rock, Arkansas (begun 1833, completed in 1842) [1] Hired by United States Senator John Pope.
• Old State Capitol (Kentucky)(1829)
• Jefferson County Courthouse in Louisville, Kentucky begun circa 1837, completed 1860 (by Albert Fink). [2]
• Old Morrison, Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky (completed 1834) [3]
• Orlando Brown House, Lexington, Kentucky

Influence

Shryock is cited as the most influential architect in Kentucky from 1827 to 1837. Among his apprentices were John McMurtry (1812-1890).

Shryock is one of the namesakes of Greathouse/Shryock Traditional Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky.

Shryock is buried in the Shryock family plot at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.

External links

• Gideon Shryock (1802-1880) research materials (University of Louisville)
• Gideon Shryock (1802-1880) from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.
• Architecture of Lexington, Kentucky -- National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary