Francis Henry Fassett (June 25, 1823 – November 1, 1908) 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 ...

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 ...

who built as many as 400 homes and buildings throughout the state. Working in the

Victorian High Gothic High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Prom ...

and Queen Anne styles, he especially influenced the look of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Beginnings in Bath

Francis H. Fassett was born in

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...

, the son of John Fassett and Betsey (Turner) Fassett. He was educated at the Old Erudition School until the age of fourteen, when he became a clerk in a general store. After four years, he was

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...

d to Isaac D. Cole, a leading

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

and builder, to learn the trade. Serving his

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

ship, Fassett then went into business for himself. He showed a natural aptitude for design, and from the beginning drew his own plans. When traveling, he learned a great deal about

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

from strolling through the cities he visited. After twenty years in Bath, he moved in 1864 to Portland, "...regarding that as presenting a wider field for his business."

Portland

With a reputation for both ability and reliability, Fassett was well prepared for the rebuilding which following the Great Portland Fire of 1866. His designs for the city include the original Maine General Hospital Building, Alms House, Second Parish Church, the parish house for the Cathedral of St. Luke, and the former city hall, which burned in 1908 and was replaced by the present building. He also designed numerous residences, many in the fashionable West End. During the 1870s, Fassett was the leading architect in both the city and state. He married twice; first to Mima Ann Welch, who bore him four children, and then to Harriet Hudson. His son, Edward F. Fassett, became an architect and joined the firm. But his most notable apprentice was

John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...

, who was made partner and opened Fassett's

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

office in 1880, before opening his own Portland office in 1884. Fassett and his son designed the

Pythian Opera House The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, also known historically as the Boothbay Harbor Opera House, Knights of Pythias Hall, The Opera House, and as the Pythian Opera House, is a historic meeting hall and multifunction building at 86 Townsend Aven ...

, built in 1894 at

Boothbay Harbor Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Bayville, Sprucewold, and West Boothbay Harbor. During summer months, the entire Boothbay Harbor regio ...

. In 1895, Fassett redesigned the Mount Pleasant House, a hotel at

Bretton Woods Bretton Woods can refer to: *Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, a village in the United States **Bretton Woods Mountain Resort, a ski resort located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire *The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, also known as the "United Nations Mo ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in the White Mountains. Hired by

Joseph Stickney Joseph Stickney (1840–1903) was a wealthy coal broker in Pennsylvania. He was a native of Concord, New Hampshire, and made a fortune before the age of 30 investing in the coal business. Stickney was born on May 31, 1840 in Concord, New Hampshire ...

, a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

who later built nearby

Mount Washington Hotel The Mount Washington Hotel is a hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, near Mount Washington. It was designed by Charles Alling Gifford. In 1944, it hosted the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary ...

, the architect enlarged the plain building into a Queen Anne style confection of

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s and

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

es. It was demolished in 1939.

Death

Fassett died at the age of 85 and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery.

Designs

File:Courthouse & Monument, Bath, ME.jpg, Sagadahoc County Courthouse (1869) in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

File:Old High School, Gardiner, ME.jpg, Gardiner High School (1870) in Gardiner File:Gorham Normal School, Gorham, ME.jpg, Gorham Normal School (1878), now Corthell Hall, at

University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universitie ...

in Gorham File:Coburn Classical Institute, Waterville, ME.jpg,

Coburn Classical Institute The Coburn Classical Institute was a college preparatory school in Waterville, Maine, which operated from 1828–1970. Waterville Academy In its early years, Waterville College (now Colby College) had maintained a Latin school in the college bui ...

(1884) in

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the populatio ...

File:Old Library, Portland, ME.jpg, Baxter Library (1888) in

File:Sacred Heart Church - Portland, Maine.JPG, Sacred Heart Church in Portland

References

External links

Maine Memory Network -- Francis H. Fassett

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Statue (base designed by Fassett)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassett, Francis H. 1823 births 1908 deaths People from Bath, Maine Architects from Portland, Maine 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects