Architectural historian, educator, preservationist, civic activist, often referred to as the "Dean of Historic Preservation" in New Orleans, Samuel Wilson Jr. in conjunction with architect Richard Koch worked to rehabilitate some of Louisiana's most notable historic buildings, including The Cabildo, Shadows-on-the-Teche, and the Pontalba Buildings.  The author of more than 175 scholarly articles and books, the Louisiana Architects Association awarded him the Medal of Honor in 1987, as well as an honorary PhD from Tulane University, where he taught for more than thirty years.

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Born in 1911,in New Orleans, to parents Stella Poupeney and Samuel Wilson Sr., Sam entered Tulane University's School of Architecture in 1927, at the age of sixteen, after graduating from Warren Easton High School.  While attending college, Wilson worked part-time for the architectural firm of Moise Goldstein, to which he was employed full time after his graduation in 1931. Some early projects while there; were Dillard University, Feibleman's Department Store, and the American Bank Building.

Wilson left Goldstein's office to work for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1934.  HABS was a New Deal program that provided jobs for architects and draftsmen during the Great Depression.  The district officer for the program in Louisiana was Richard Koch, who had served on a jury for one of Wilson's Tulane student projects.  After some time spent documenting important buildings for HABS, Wilson became an employee at Koch's firm in 1935, there he would work on Works Progress Administration(WPA) projects in New Orleans's City Park, including the golf house, pigeonnieres, shelters, bridges, gardens, and the stadium.

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In 1938 the American Institute of Architects awarded Wilson the Edward Langley Scholarship, which allowed him to spend six months in Europe, researching and studying the origins of Louisiana architecture. In France, he conducted pioneering research in the architectural records of the Archives Nationales, Ministère des Colonies, and Bibliotheque Nationales, documenting French colonial buildings in the United States.

Wilson published one of his first articles, “Early Aids to Navigation at the Mouth of the Mississippi River,” in the 1944 United States Naval Institute, "Proceedings", while he served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve from 1942 to 1945.  His research and writing for HABS, on the historic Louisiana State Bank, led to a life-long interest in its architect, Benjamin Henry Bonval Latrobe. Latrobe is generally regarded as the founder of professional architecture in the United States. Wilson became acquainted with the Latrobe family in Baltimore and edited "Impressions Respecting New Orleans" written by Latrobe.  In 1951, he began courting Latrobe’s great-great granddaughter, Ellen Elizabeth Latrobe. The two were married in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary—a Baltimore cathedral designed by Latrobe.

Wilson returned to Koch’s office in 1945, and also became an adjunct professor at Tulane University where he taught a course titled “Historic Louisiana Architecture” for thirty eight years. In 1949, Wilson helped organize and found the Louisiana Landmarks Society, and served as its first president from 1950 to 1956. He also helped establish other preservation groups such as Friends of The Cabildo, Save Our Cemeteries, the Preservation Resource Center, and the Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission.

Wilson was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1955. That same year, he became Richard Koch’s partner, and continued with him until Koch’s death in 1971. Wilson’s two architectural firms (Richard Koch and Samuel Wilson, Jr., and its successor, Koch and Wilson Architects) were responsible for the rehabilitation of many of the most notable historic structures in Louisiana and Mississippi. Their projects include The Cabildo, Ursuline Convent, Shadows-on-the-Teche, San Francisco Plantation, St. Patrick Church, Gallier House, Hermann-Grima House, Rene Beauregard House, Trinity Church, The Pontalba Buildings, St. Mary’s Assumption Church, The French Market, House on Ellicott Hill and King’s Tavern in Natchez, and hundreds of other commissions in the French Quarter and Garden District in New Orleans. Wilson also published essays detailing the architectural history of some of these buildings.

Wilson’s preservation efforts were acknowledged with numerous awards from such organizations as the American Institute of Architects, Classical America, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, Vieux Carré Commission, Louisiana Preservation Alliance, Foundation for Historical Louisiana, and American Association of State and Local History. He also received the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres from the Minister of Culture of France.

In 1993, Wilson died in his Garden District home at the age of eighty-two; he was preparing to oppose the demolition of the Rivergate Convention Center at a New Orleans city council meeting. He was the subject of a 1989 doctoral dissertation by Abbye Gorin, who published Conversations with Samuel Wilson, Jr. in 1991. His work continues to inspire architects and preservationists throughout the state.

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