Francis H. Fassett

Francis H. Fassett was born in Bath, Maine, 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 indentured to Isaac D. Cole, a leading carpenter and builder, to learn the trade. Serving his apprenticeship, 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 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. Fassett and his son designed the Pythian Opera House, built in 1894 at Boothbay Harbor. In 1895, Fassett redesigned the Mount Pleasant House, a hotel at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in the White Mountains. Hired by Joseph Stickney, a coal mine and railroad stock tycoon who later built nearby Mount Washington Hotel, the architect enlarged the plain building into a Queen Anne style confection of cupolas, gables and porches. 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 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 in Gorham File:10 Dana Street.jpg|Chase–Leavitt Building (1879) in Portland File:Coburn Classical Institute, Waterville, ME.jpg|Coburn Classical Institute (1884) in Waterville, Maine File:Old Library, Portland, ME.jpg|Baxter Library (1888) in Portland File:Sacred Heart Church - Portland, Maine.JPG|Sacred Heart Church in Portland ==References==