Frances Evelyn Henley (1876–1955) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. She was the first woman to study architecture at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

and the first woman to independently practice architecture in Rhode Island.

Early life and education

Henley was born in 1876Gravestone, St. Philip's Church Cemetery, Crompton, RI in Crompton, Rhode Island to Charles A. and Mary E. Booth Henley. She grew up in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. Henley's parents wanted her to become a school teacher. She disagreed and became the first woman to study at the

for architecture. In 1897 she graduated, with honors.

Career

Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke (1854–1931) was the president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island from 1913 to 1931 and was the daughter of RISD co-founder Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf. Biography Eliza Greene ...

helped Henley secure employment as a

drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans f ...

with

Howard K. Hilton Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probab ...

, though after a few years Henley quit her job with Hilton due to health problems. She pursued architecture as an independent consultant starting in 1904, making her the first female architect in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

to practice under her own name. She worked alongside Franklin J. Sawtelle, who shared office space with Henley. In 1912, she began working with architect

Arthur L. Almy Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

. He died in 1924, and Henley became the president of the firm and ran the organization for 30 years, under the agreement should would never marry. Henley designed mainly private residences along the Atlantic coast. She also designed the

Wheeler School Wheeler School is a private school located on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The school serves students from the preschool level through twelfth-grade. History Early history In 1889, an art school for girls was esta ...

in Providence. In 1936, she quit the Providence firm and relocated to

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The cente ...

. In Cranston, she lived with her partner, Nellie Evelyn Livermore. Livermore worked as Henley's assistant. The couple broke up over health problems in 1952.

Later life and legacy

She died in 1955 at her home in Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. Henley's papers are held in the collection of the

Rhode Island Historical Society The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island. Its offices are located in Providence, Rhode Island. History Foun ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Frances 1876 births 1955 deaths 20th-century American architects People from West Warwick, Rhode Island People from Warwick, Rhode Island Rhode Island School of Design alumni American women architects Architects from Providence, Rhode Island LGBT women LGBT people from Rhode Island 20th-century American women 20th-century American LGBT people