Fremont D. Orff (1856-1914) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Life and career

Fremont D. Orff was born in 1856 in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

to Edward F. Orff and Sarah (Yates) Orff. He was educated in the public schools and probably in architecture in the office of his elder brother,

George W. Orff George W. Orff (1835-1908), was an American architect of Bangor, Maine and Minnesota.Deborah Thompson, ''Bangor, Maine, 1769-1914: An Architectural History'' (Orono: University of Maine Press, 1988) Life and career George W. Orff was born March ...

. The elder Orff left Bangor in the winter of 1878, settling in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in the spring of 1879. He was quickly followed by his brother. After two additional years as a draftsman, Fremont D. formed a partnership with his brother, known as Orff Brothers. As his elder brother gradually retired from practice, responsibilities in the firm gradually moved to Fremont D. and his designers, which included Francis W. Fitzpatrick and Edgar E. Joralemon. In 1893 the partnership was expanded to include Joralemon, and was known as Orff & Joralemon. When this partnership was dissolved in 1897, Fremont D. formed a new one with Ernest F. Guilbert, known as Orff & Guilbert. This was dissolved in 1899. Orff then continued to practice independently until 1912, when he retired due to declining health. "Fremont D. Orff,"
Construction News
' 37, no. 9 (February 28, 1914): 9.Bank Block NRHP Registration Form
(1999) After his brother's retirement, Fremont D. Orff primarily focused on public buildings, in particular courthouses and schools.

Personal life

Orff married in 1901, to Eleanor Cleaveland, daughter of Rev. Horace A. Cleveland of Minneapolis. Orff died February 16, 1914, in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

, where he had moved to recover. He was 57 years old.

Legacy

A number of his works are listed on the United States

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 ...

Architectural work

* Worth County Courthouse,

Grant City, Missouri Grant City is a city in, and the county seat of, Worth County, Missouri, United States. The population was 859 at the 2010 census. History Grant City was laid out in 1864. The community has the name of General Ulysses S. Grant, afterward 18th Pre ...

(1898, NRHP 1983) * Polk County Courthouse,

Balsam Lake, Wisconsin Balsam Lake is a village in, and the county seat of Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,009 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Balsam Lake. History The area in and around Balsam Lake was origi ...

(1899, NRHP 1982) * Wayne County Courthouse,

Wayne, Nebraska Wayne is a city in Wayne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,660 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County and the home of Wayne State College. History Wayne was founded in 1881 when the Chicago, St. Paul, Minn ...

(1899, NRHP 1979) * Park Rapids Jail,

Park Rapids, Minnesota Park Rapids is a city in the Heartland Lakes region and is the county seat of Hubbard County, Minnesota, United States. It is near Itasca State Park, the source of the Mississippi River, as well as the beginning of the Heartland State Trail. The ...

(1901, NRHP 1988) *

Big Stone County Courthouse The Big Stone County Courthouse in Ortonville, Minnesota is the center of government for Big Stone County, Minnesota. The county was established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1862, but the government was not organized until 1873, when Governor ...

Ortonville, Minnesota Ortonville is a city in Big Stone County in the U.S. state of Minnesota at the southern tip of Big Stone Lake, along the border with South Dakota. The population was 2,021 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Big Stone County. Big Sto ...

(1902, NRHP 1985) *

Renville County Courthouse and Jail The Renville County Courthouse and Jail is a historic building located at 500 East DePue Avenue in Olivia, Minnesota, United States; the seat of Renville County, Minnesota, Renville County. It was constructed in 1902. The first courthouse in Ren ...

Olivia, Minnesota Olivia is the county seat of Renville County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 2,484 at the 2010 census. History Olivia was platted in 1878, and named for a female station agent named Olive, according to local history. A post office ...

(1902, NRHP 1986) * Little Falls Carnegie Library,

Little Falls, Minnesota Little Falls is a city in Morrison County, Minnesota, United States, near the geographic center of the state. Established in 1848, Little Falls is one of the oldest European-American cities in Minnesota. It is the county seat of Morrison County. ...

(1905, NRHP 1980) * Perham Village Hall and Fire Station,

Perham, Minnesota Perham ( ) is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. The population was 3,512 at the time of the 2020 census. History Perham was platted in 1873, and named for Josiah Perham, first president of the Northern Pacific Railway. As the village gr ...

(1906, NRHP 1986) * Red Lake County Courthouse,

Red Lake Falls, Minnesota Red Lake Falls is a city in Red Lake County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,339 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Red Lake County. The city lies in the middle of Red Lake Falls Township, from which it was separated w ...

(1911, NRHP 1983)

Notes

References

1856 births 1914 deaths Architects from Bangor, Maine Architects from Minneapolis {{US-architect-stub