History

McKissack & McKissack was founded by Deryl McKissack in 1990. When Ms. McKissack established her company, she was the fifth generation of her family to carry on the building tradition. McKissack & McKissack is an outgrowth of the oldest minority-owned architecture/engineering firm in the United States. Its roots go back to before the Civil War, when a slave named Moses McKissack learned the building trade from his overseer. It was his grandson, Moses III, who launched the first McKissack & McKissack in Nashville, Tennessee. The year was 1905.

Company Timeline

  • 1905 1905 Moses III, along with his brother Calvin, launches the first McKissack firm in Nashville, TN. He was the grandson of Moses McKissack, a slave who learned the trade of building from his owner and began a family legacy in the industry.
  • 1942 1942 The McKissack firm is awarded a $5.7 million contract to design and build the 99th Pursuit Squadron Airbase in Tuskegee, AL, the largest federal contract at that time ever given to an African American firm.
  • 1968 1968 William DeBerry, the youngest son of Moses III, takes the helm as President of the firm. He nurtured the talents of his daughters—Andrea, Cheryl and Deryl—who all excelled in the fields of architecture and engineering.
  • 1975 1975 Upon retirement, William DeBerry’s wife, Leatrice, assumes the position of Chief Executive Officer of the McKissack firm.
  • 1990 1990 As an outgrowth of the McKissack firm founded in Nashville, TN, Deryl McKissack starts her own company—McKissack & McKissack—in Washington, DC as a sole entrepreneur working with very limited financial resources.
  • 1996 1996 McKissack & McKissack is awarded its largest contract to-date, initially overseeing fire recovery efforts at the Main U.S. Treasury Building and later providing program management services for the renovation of the entire 500,000 SF building.
  • 2002 2002 Deryl McKissack expands the organization into the Chicago region, ultimately working on large programs for the Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Housing Authority and O’Hare Modernization Program.
  • 2008 2008 McKissack & McKissack enters the west coast with its new office in the Los Angeles marketplace, with clients such as the LA Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LA World Airports and LA Unified School District.
  • 2010 2010 McKissack & McKissack celebrates its 20th anniversary since its founding in 1990.