Enoch A. Curtis

Enoch A. Curtis (1836–1907) was an American architect practicing in Fredonia, New York during the nineteenth century.

Enoch A. Curtis
Enoch A. Curtis, circa 1891
Born(1836-07-19)July 19, 1836
Busti, New York
DiedOctober 4, 1907(1907-10-04) (aged 71)
Fredonia, New York
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
The Reuben Gridley Wright house in Westfield, New York, built in 1883.
The National Transit Building in Oil City, Pennsylvania, designed by Curtis & Archer and completed in 1890.
The Old City Hall in Bradford, Pennsylvania, designed by Curtis and built in 1897.

Life and career

Enoch Arnold Curtis was born July 19, 1836, in Busti, New York to Isaac Curtis, a farmer, and Susan (Hunter) Curtis. He was raised on the farm, educated in the academy at Jamestown, and trained as a carpenter. In 1862 he enlisted in the 112th New York Infantry Regiment of the Union Army and was commissioned a captain. He was heavily injured during the Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864, and was honorably discharged due to his wounds. He settled in Fredonia, and while recovering he ran a hardware business and took up the study of architecture.[1] In 1867 he opened an office as an architect.[2] Curtis practiced in Fredonia for a period of forty years. In 1888 he formed the firm of Curtis & Archer with William H. Archer, which was dissolved in 1890 when Archer moved to Buffalo. He later had a successful practice in Canada.[3] Curtis frequently drew from pattern books for his designs.[2]

In 1896 Curtis was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in St. Louis which nominated William McKinley for president, and was an active figure in the ensuing successful campaign. In 1901, following the assassination of McKinley, Curtis was appointed a member of the committee in charge of the design and construction of the McKinley Monument in Buffalo, designed by Carrère & Hastings and dedicated a month prior to his death in 1907.[4]

Curtis joined the Western Association of Architects in 1888, which merged with the American Institute of Architects in 1889, though he only remained a member of the AIA until 1891.[5]

Personal life

Though he was discharged as a major, in 1867 he was brevetted a major by Governor Reuben Fenton.[1]

Curtis was married in 1855 to Mary Jane Elizabeth Norton of Ashville, New York, and they had two daughters. Curtis died October 4, 1907, in Fredonia.[4]

Legacy

From his office in Fredonia, Curtis built extensively in western New York and Pennsylvania. At least four buildings designed by Curtis, alone and with Archer, have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Several others contribute to listed historic districts.

Architectural works

Notes
  1. A contributing property to the Fredonia Commons Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1978.
  2. A contributing property to the Emlenton Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1997.
  3. A contributing property to the Oil City South Side Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1997.
  4. A contributing property to the Titusville Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1985.
  5. Credited to Curtis & Archer.
  6. A contributing property to the Academy Hill Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1999.
  7. A contributing property to the Oil City Downtown Commercial Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1997.
  8. A contributing property to the Bradford Downtown Historic District, NRHP-listed in 2000.

References
  1. "Major Enoch A. Curtis" in Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chautauqua County, New York, ed. Butler F. Dilley (Philadelphia: John M. Gresham & Company, 1891): 133.
  2. Daniel D. Reiff, Houses from Books: Treatises, Pattern Books and Catalogs in American Architecture, 1738–1950: A History and Guide (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000): 100–105.
  3. Archer, William Henry, Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada.
  4. "Norton" in Genealogical and Family History of Western New York 1, ed. William Richard Cutter (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912): 210–213
  5. AIA records for E. A. Curtis
  6. William B. Moore and Joshua F. Sherretts, Oil Boom Architecture: Titusville, Pithole and Petroleum Center (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2008)
  7. Lu Donnelly, H. David Brumble IV and Franklin Toker, Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010)
  8. Churchman 58, no. 20 (November 17, 1888): 614–615.
  9. Engineering and Building Record 22, no. 3 (June 21, 1890): 47.
  10. Charitable Institutions of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1898)
  11. Engineering News 37, no. 13 (April 1, 1897): 117.
  12. Engineering Record 45, no. 11 (March 15, 1902): 262.
  13. Real Estate Record and Builders Guide 71, no. 1837 (May 30, 1903): 1081.
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