Stone, Carpenter & Willson

Stone, Carpenter & Willson was a Providence, Rhode Island based architectural firm in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It was named for the partners Alfred Stone (1834–1908),[1] Charles E. Carpenter (1845–1923).[2] and Edmund R. Willson (1856–1906).[3]The firm was one of the state's most prominent.

It was established in early 1883 when Willson became a partner in the Providence architectural firm of Stone & Carpenter. By this time, Stone & Carpenter had emerged as the most well-regarded firm in the city and state.

Partner Biographies

Alfred Stone was born in East Machias, Maine, in 1834. He attended the Washington Academy in that town. His family later moved to Salem, Massachusetts. After graduating high school, he began his architectural training. He worked for Towle & Foster, Shepard S. Woodcock,[4] Washburn & Brown, and Arthur Gilman. In 1859 he began working for Providence architect Alpheus C. Morse. He studied there until the outbreak of the Civil War. He went to enlist, but a knee injury prevented him from doing so. He then worked for various business interests, also traveling in the British Isles. He opened an architural office in Providence in 1864. From 1866 to 1871 William H. Emmerton, another Salem man, was Stone's partner. Emmerton was killed in the Great Revere Train Wreck of 1871. He practiced alone until 1873, when Charles E. Carpenter became partner. This association remained unchanged for a decade, when Willson was added. Stone died December 4th, 1908 in Peterborough, New Hampshire.[5]

Charles Edmund Carpenter was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on May 1st, 1845. He attended the public schools until the age of 17, when he enlisted in the Union Army. He was discharged three months later, and returned to school. He began to work under Providence civil engineer William S. Haines, learning the business. He became interested in architecture, deciding to study it instead. He entered the office of Alfred Stone in 1867, and was made a partner in 1873. He retired from the firm's affairs in 1908, after the death of Stone. He died in 1923.[6]

Edmund Russell Willson was born in 1856 in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, now part of Boston. He was the son of Edmund B. Willson, a pastor, and Martha Anne (Buttrick) Willson. In 1859 Willson removed his family to Salem, where he took charge of the North Church, now the First Church in Salem. Edmund R. Willson attended Salem High School, graduating at the young age of 15 in 1871. He then entered Harvard University. He was there four years, graduating in 1875. After his graduation, he found a position in the office of Peabody & Stearns, Boston's leading architects. He also took an additional 9-month course in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After a year he left Peabody & Stearns and moved to Sturgis & Brigham. After a year and a half there he left Boston and relocated to New York City, where he worked under Charles F. McKim in McKim, Mead & Bigelow. McKim, recognizing Willson's talent and potential, convinced him to study abroad. He departed in May of 1879, with a friend, William E. Chamberlin. Not long after his arrival in Paris, Willson gained admission to the École des Beaux-Arts, as would Chamberlin. He returned to the United States in December of 1881. In early 1882 he secured a position in the Providence firm of Stone & Carpenter. He was soon given a position of high responsibility, taking the firm's designs in a new direction. Recognizing this, Alfred Stone and Charles E. Carpenter decided to admit him as a partner in the new firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson, in which position he stayed until his death. On December 14 of 1882 Willson married Anne Lemoine (Frost) Willson, whom he had known in Salem. He died September 9th, 1906, in Petersham, Massachusetts.[7]

In 1901, a fourth partner, Walter G. Sheldon, was added.[8] Sheldon had worked at the firm for at least a decade. Despite the new partner, Sheldon's was not added to the firm's name. After Willson's death, however, the firm was renamed Stone, Carpenter & Sheldon, which it retained until its end in the 1920s. Other, later, partners included Sheldon's son, Gilbert Sheldon, and William C. Mustard. Sheldon was born in 1855, and died in 1931.[9] His son was born in 1882, dying in 1972.[10]

Architectural Works

154 Hope Street (King House, formerly Taft House (Robert W. and Alice Taft), Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Associated Architects and Draftsmen

References

  1. ↑ "American Architect's Biographies S". Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  2. ↑ "American Architect's Biographies C". Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  3. ↑ "American Architect's Biographies W". Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  4. ↑ Proceedings of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 1908-1909. Providence: Standard Printing Co., 1910.
  5. ↑ "Alfred Stone, F. A. I. A." American Institute of Architects Quarterly Bulletin April 1908: 200.
  6. ↑ History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Biographical. New York: American Historical Society, 1920.
  7. ↑ "Two Rhode Island Architects". American Architect and Building News 9 Feb. 1907: 67.
  8. ↑ "Two Rhode Island Architects". American Architect and Building News 9 Feb. 1907: 67.
  9. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=93644396
  10. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=125333894
  11. ↑ http://www.bhddh.ri.gov/about/The_State_Institutions_at_Howard.pdf
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 12.15 12.16 12.17 12.18 12.19 12.20 12.21 12.22 12.23 12.24 12.25 12.26 12.27 12.28 12.29 PPS/AIA Guide to Providence Architecture (2003)
  13. ↑ Buildings on Paper: Rhode Island Architectural Drawings 1825-1945 (1982)
  14. ↑ American Furniture in Pendleton House (1986)
  15. ↑ Butler Hospital - NRHP Nomination (1978)
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Buildings of Rhode Island (2005)
  17. ↑ American Architect & Building News (August 28, 1886)
  18. ↑ Architecture & Building (June 30, 1888)
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Illustrated History of Pawtucket, Central Falls & Vicinity (1897)
  20. ↑ Wayland Historic District - NRHP Nomination
  21. ↑ The Brickbuilder (March, 1903)
  22. ↑ http://www.woonsocket.org/fontaine.html

External links