The Franklin County Courthouse is a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

located in

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Franklin County. The 1885 courthouse represents a sophisticated design by

George M. Coombs George M. Coombs (November 27, 1851 – March 27, 1909) was an American architect in practice in Lewiston, Maine from 1874 to 1909. Life and career George Millard Coombs was born November 27, 1851, in Brunswick, Maine to John Matthews Coomb ...

, with an addition in 1917 by Coombs' son, Harry Coombs. The building, the county's first purpose-built courthouse, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1983.

Architecture

The courthouse is set in a small park just on the northern edge of Farmington's central business district, bounded by Main, Anson, Cony, and Church Streets. It is a -story red-brick structure, roughly rectangular in shape, with high-style Victorian Italianate features. It has a hip roof which is crowned by a small square tower with a louvered ventilator, clock, and metal dome with weathervane. Each of three facades has a central pavilion which projects slightly and is topped by a gable section. The corners of the pavilions and the building have brick quoining on the first level, with pilasters at the building corners and between the bays on the elongated second level. Farmington was designated the seat of Franklin County in 1838. The county court first met in a converted

meeting house A meeting house (meetinghouse, meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a * church, which is a body of people who believe in Chr ...

, which also housed town offices. This courthouse was built in 1885 on the site of this first building, to a design by the prolific and noted Lewiston architect

. Coombs designed a number of buildings in Farmington, particularly in the wake of a major fire that swept through the town in the 1880s. The annex to the courthouse was designed by his son

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

and completed in 1917.

Significance

The magnificent Victorian Italianate-Queen Anne block portrays the work of one of Maine's leading architects George M. Coombs of Lewiston when he was at the height of his powers. It mirrors elegance in design and still evades Victorian pretension and complexity. The courthouse is undoubtedly the most excellent work in Franklin County. Born in

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...

, M. Coombs (1852-1909) moved to Lewiston in 1871 to join the office of William H. Stevens as an apprentice. William H. Stevens was an architect and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. Within a short time Coombs became a member of the firm; afterwards, the firm was renamed as Stevens and Coombs. After the death of Stevens, Coombs succeeded as senior partner. Subsequently Mr. Coombs, taking two former students as partners, started the firm of Coombs, Gibbs and Wilkinson. Mr. Coombs is noted on the National Register for numerous magnificent structures which he designed including the Holman Day, Cushman and William P. Frye Houses, the Kora Shrine Temple, the

Dominican Block The Dominican Block is an historic multifunction building at 141-145 Lincoln Street in Lewiston, Maine. The Queen Anne style block was built in 1882 to a design by the noted local architect George M. Coombs, and was for many years one of the pr ...

, the

Roak Block The Roak Block is an historic commercial-industrial building at 144-170 Main Street in Auburn, Maine. Built in 1871-72 as a combined commercial and industrial space, this Second Empire style block was at that time the largest commercial building ...

, The

Lewiston Public Library The Lewiston Public Library is a historic public Carnegie library at Park and Pine Street in Lewiston, Maine. History In 1902 Andrew Carnegie donated $60,000 for a new granite building with the understanding that the city would fund staff, book ...

, and the Oak Street School. He is gone but he is known as the architect of the original Poland Spring House. Interestingly, the courthouse annex which was built in 1917, was designed by his son, Harry S. Coombs.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Farmington, Maine Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Maine County courthouses in Maine Clock towers in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Maine Historic district contributing properties in Maine

Architecture

Significance

See also

References