Pioneer Information
Born in Laurens, South Carolina, Wofford received a degree in horticulture from Clemson University in 1924 and an M.S. from the University of Massachusetts the following year. In 1929, the Board of Park Commissioners in Huntington, West Virginia, hired him to design portions of Ritter Park including a formal rose garden. This began his extensive career designing landscapes, particularly parks, throughout the state. The West Virginia Parks Commission went on to hire Wofford to create a comprehensive master plan for Huntington parks and boulevards. The plan called for a riverfront drive and park along the Ohio River and laid out designs for Ensign, Jarrell, Switzer Terrace, Memorial, and Kiwanis Parks as well as St. Cloud Commons and Camp Mad Anthony Wayne. In 1946, Wofford worked with Cass Gilbert, Jr., to design the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston. Wofford died in October 1976 in Huntington. The Gus Wofford Scholarship in Landscape Architecture at Clemson University is named in his honor.