http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Council/Commissions/downloadfile.php?id=8223

Columbia Online Map Project: http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Maps/Historical_Places
Inventory Form Prepared by Deb Sheals for the Columbia Historic Preservation Commission
Property Name Chaney, Donald S. and Mary A., House
Year of HPC Notable Designation: N/A
Address 923 S. Providence Road Year Built: 1954
Description and History
The newest house on the block, this dwelling was designed by notable Columbia architect Hurst John
in 1953. Mr. John’s original pencil drawings for the construction project are on file at the State
Historical Society of Missouri.
Hurst John’s involvement with a Grasslands project was fitting; he was a former apprentice of
architect Harry Satterlee Bill, who designed several houses built in the neighborhood in the 1920s.
Hurst John (1911-1979) attended the University of Missouri form 1930-1932, and later spent three
years as a draftsman and apprentice for Harry S. Bill, who was a professor of Architecture and the
University. After serving in the Army as an architect during WWII, he returned to Columbia and
established Hurst John and Associates. He practiced architecture in Columbia until his death in 1979,
designing hundreds of buildings throughout Missouri. He had a a prolific career; records from his
practice on file at the State Historical Society of Missouri document more than 700 different clients.
The house was designed specifically for Donald S. and Mary A. Chaney, who moved in around 1954.
Donald Chaney was a book salesman for South-Western Publishing Company. The couple divorced
or Mary Chaney passed away a few years later, and in 1958, Donald Chaney married Mrs. Rosemary
Sullivan Baker. Rosemary Chaney was president of the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA)
in 1958, and also served as the Social Director for Missouri State College in Springfield. The two may
have met on MSTA business; the Teachers’ Association was active in the seclection and promotion of
school books, and the MSTA headquarters building is located a few blocks away, on S. Sixth Street.
(The MSTA building was named a Most Notable Property in 2002.)
Early Owners/Occupants, and Valuation, if known. From Tax Records and Directories:
1927-1932 J. S. Rollins et. al. $220; 1937-1945 Juliet B. Rollins; 1950; T. J. and Mark K. Lewis $200;
1955 D. S. and Mary A. Chaney $7,200; 1958 Donald S. and Rosemary Chaney.
Notes
Text by: Deb Sheals
Other designations:
Providence Road Project
District name, if applicable:
Sources: Hurst John Papers, Collection 3850, State Historical Society of
Missouri; Boone County Real Estate Tax Records; Columbia City
Directories, on file at the State Historical Society of Missouri.