George M. Harding

George Milford Harding
Born1827 (1827)
Chatham, Massachusetts
Died1910 (aged 82–83)
OccupationArchitect
PracticeSilloway & Harding; George M. Harding
Thompson Block, Portland, 1867.

George Milford Harding (1827–1910) was an American architect who practiced in nineteenth-century Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Life and career

Advertisement for Harding, 1873.

Harding was born in 1827 in Chatham, Massachusetts. At the age of 17 he began his studies at the Lowell Institute in Boston, probably working in the office of a local architect as well.

In 1851, Harding established a partnership with Thomas W. Silloway. Silloway & Harding was dissolved by April, 1853, and both established private offices. Harding soon set his sights on northern New England, and was practicing in Concord, New Hampshire by 1854. By 1856 he was in Manchester. In 1858, he moved to Portland, Maine. It would also appear that for a time in the late 1860s he was employed as State Architect, and worked on a proposal for an expansion of the State House. He remained there until 1873, when he returned to Boston, though he continued to receive commissions to design buildings in Maine.

In the 1880s he relocated his office to Hyde Park, which was annexed to Boston in 1912.

Legacy

Harding was one of several architects to rebuild important sections of downtown Portland after the fire of 1866. However, most of his work was made up of private residences and a large number of school buildings.

He was the teacher of several other architects, including Henry M. Francis of Fitchburg, Massachusetts and Charles H. Kimball, also of Portland.

A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

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Architectural works

YearBuildingAddressCityStateNotesImageReference
1854Benjamin Grover House35 Pleasant StConcordNew Hampshire
1857First Universalist Church30 High StDanversMassachusettsRemodeled in 1925 into the Masonic Temple, Little & Browne, architects.
1858James L. Merrill House310 Spring StPortlandMaine
1862Joseph Drowne Houses36-38 State StPortlandMaine
1863Morrill's Corner School808 Stevens AvePortlandMaineOriginally in Westbrook, then Deering.
1863Portland High School284 Cumberland AvePortlandMaineThe original building has been obscured by later additions.
1863Searsport Union Hall1 Union StSearsportMaine
1865William Allen Jr. House9 Deering StPortlandMaine
1865First Universalist ChurchHigh StPortlandMaineDemolished.
1865Frye Grammar School140 Ash StLewistonMaine
1865Parsonage,
Free Will Baptist Church		51 Ocean House RdCape ElizabethMaine
1866Bailey & Noyes Block56 Exchange StPortlandMaineAltered by the addition of several floors.
1866Searsport Union School23 Mount Ephraim RdSearsportMaine
1867Boyd Block178 Middle StPortlandMaineAltered by the addition of a floor.
1867First Parish Congregational Church116 Main StYarmouthMaine
1867India Street Fire Station97 India StreetPortlandMaine
1867Rackleff Building129 Middle StPortlandMaine
1867Thompson Block121 Middle StPortlandMaine
1867Woodman Building75 Pearl StPortlandMaine
1868Greely Institute303 Main StCumberlandMaine
1868Houlton AcademyMilitary StHoultonMaineLater known as Potter Hall, a dormitory. Demolished.
1868George M. Harding House6 Deering StPortlandMaineThe architect's own residence.
1869Israel Washburn House385 Spring StPortlandMaine
1871ChapelMaine Insane HospitalAugustaMaineDemolished.
1871Saco High School34 Spring StSacoMaine
1872First Universalist ChurchPequawket TrHiramMaine
1872Norlands Meeting House290 Norlands RdLivermoreMaineA remodeling.
1873Haverhill High School33 Winter StHaverhillMassachusettsDemolished.
1877Masonic Temple139 High StBelfastMaine
1878Belfast National Bank Building108 Main StBelfastMaine
1879Gilkey House Belfast58 Miller StBelfastMaineGothic Victorian House
1881Jacob E. Spring House,
Porphyry Hall		72 Summer StDanversMassachusettsNow the administration building of St. John's Preparatory School.
1886George M. Harding House58 Oak StHyde ParkMassachusettsThe architect's own residence.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Union School NRHP Nomination. 1993.
  2. 1 2 Nathaniel Bouton, The History of Concord. 1856.
  3. ↑ Transactions of the New Hampshire State Agricultural Society for the Year 1856. 1857.
  4. ↑ Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Maine. Augusta, ME: Sprague, Owen & Nash, 1869.
  5. ↑ Fitchburg Historical Society. Legendary Locals of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2014.
  6. ↑ Pancoast, John E. "About" Archived 2016-10-30 at the Wayback Machine. http://themarbleblock.org/. n.d. Web.
  7. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  8. ↑ Engineering News-Record 1925: 96. New York.
  9. ↑ Historical Collections of the Danvers Historical Society 1914: 29.
  10. 1 2 Western Promenade Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1984.
  11. ↑ Environmental Impact Statement: SR-77 Fore River Bridge Replacement, Portland to South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine. 1987.
  12. ↑ Tenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools of the State of Maine. Augusta, ME: Stevens & Sayward, Dec. 1863.
  13. ↑ Portland High School NRHP Nomination. 1984.
  14. ↑ Union Hall NRHP Nomination. 1986.
  15. 1 2 Deering Street Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1982.
  16. 1 2 Rackleff Building NRHP Nomination. 1973.
  17. ↑ ""Historic Structures Survey, Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine". 4 Nov. 1999" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  18. 1 2 Portland Waterfront NRHP Nomination. 1974.
  19. 1 2 First Parish Congregational Church NRHP Nomination. 1995.
  20. ↑ "India Street Historic District" Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. http://www.portlandmaine.gov/. n.d.
  21. ↑ Thompson Block NRHP Nomination. 1973.
  22. ↑ Woodman Building NRHP Nomination. 1972.
  23. ↑ Hall, Edward L. History of Higher Education in Maine. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1903.
  24. ↑ Reports of the Trustees and Resident Officers of the Maine Insane Hospital, December 1, 1871. 1871.
  25. ↑ Old Saco High School NRHP Nomination. 1984.
  26. ↑ "DAR awards grant for Norlands meeting house steeple Project". http://www.dailybulldog.com/. 19 Aug. 2016.
  27. ↑ Bartlett, Albert L. The Haverhill Academy and the Haverhill High School, 1827-1890: An Historical Sketch. Haverhill, MA: Chase Bros., 1890.
  28. 1 2 3 Belfast Commercial Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1980.
  29. ↑ "Gilkey House, 58 Miller St". Carriage House. Web.
  30. ↑ "Spring, Jacob E. House". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  31. ↑ "Harding, George M. House". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.