Stephen Carpenter Earle (January 4, 1839 – December 12, 1913)[1] was an architect who designed a number of buildings in Massachusetts and Connecticut that were built in the late 19th century, with many in Worcester, Massachusetts. He trained in the office of Calvert Vaux in New York City. He worked for a time in partnership with James E. Fuller, under the firm "Earle & Fuller". In 1891, he formed a partnership with Vermont architect Clellan W. Fisher under the name "Earle & Fisher".[2]

Stephen Carpenter Earle
Born(1839-01-04)January 4, 1839
DiedDecember 12, 1913(1913-12-12) (aged 74)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
Parent(s)Hannah Carpenter
Amos S. Earle
BuildingsSlater Memorial Museum
Jonas Clark Hall
Old Chapel
Whitcomb Mansion
Union Congregational Church
Pilgrim Congregational Church
Carroll Building
ProjectsGrinnell College
Signature

Earle's most noted work is the Richardsonian Romanesque Slater Memorial Museum on the campus of the Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Connecticut, where he had a generous budget and a sympathetic patron.[3] In 2015, the Hartford Courant called the Slater Museum the "crown jewel among Norwich's cultural treasures" and "a masterpiece of Romanesque revival design."[4]

In December 1913, Earle died at Memorial Hospital in Worcester after becoming ill with pneumonia.[5] He is buried in the Quaker Cemetery, Leicester, Massachusetts.[6]

Selected works

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He designed university buildings, commercial buildings, churches, and more. Among his university clients were Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Grinnell College.

Worcester, Massachusetts

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Other Massachusetts

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Connecticut

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Rhode Island

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Iowa

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Nova Scotia, Canada

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  • Trinity Anglican Church, Digby, Nova Scotia built in 1878. It was declared a National Historic Site in 1990. It replaced the original church built by Loyalist settlers on the site in 1788.[15]
  • Christ Church (Anglican), Windsor, Nova Scotia, constructed in 1882. Designed by Earle, it was built by a local contractor, Joseph Taylor. The building is a fine example of the carpenter gothic style architecture that influenced many church buildings from the mid-nineteenth century onwards in the Maritimes.[16]
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References

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  1. ^ UMass people:Stephen C Earle
  2. ^ "An Architect Co-Partnership". The Burlington Free Press and Times. June 30, 1891. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Norwich Free Academy: Slater Memorial Museum: History.
  4. ^ "Daycation". Hartford Courant. September 6, 2015. p. F5 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Old Worcester Architect Dead". Fitchburg Daily Sentinel. December 13, 1913. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Bankers at services". Boston Globe. December 15, 1913. p. 14.
  7. ^ "Boynton Hall". Buildings & Facilities Locations. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Martinez, Ciera. "Stephen C. Earle's Romanesque Revival Architecture". College of the Holy Cross. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c d "Buildings of Stephen C. Earle". Historic Buildings of Massachusetts. January 5, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  11. ^ John J. McCoy, "Diocese of Springfield" in History of the Catholic Church in the New England States, vol. 2 (Boston: Hurd & Everts Company, 1899): 772-775.
  12. ^ Marshall, Philip C. "Hope Street Survey Descriptions". Philip C. Marshall. Retrieved September 6, 2015. Stephen C. Earle ... designed this elaborate, polychromed, 2-story Richardsonian Romesque public building.
  13. ^ Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission (1990). Historic and architectural resources of Bristol, Rhode Island. Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission. p. 22. OCLC 936128320.
  14. ^ "Visit Grinnell". The Des Moines Register. December 21, 2006. p. 14GR – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Trinity Anglican Church National Historic Site of Canada". Parks Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "Welcome". Christ Church. March 8, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2021.

Further reading

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  • Diaries of Ruth Earle Southwick 1921–1925, ISBN 9781512128819. Ruth was the fourth of Stephen C. Earle's five children and his only daughter.
  • Stephen C. Earle, Architect: Shaping Worcester's Image, available through the Worcester Historical Museum
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