George W. Stevens (October 1, 1834 – September 30, 1897) was an American civil engineer and architect practicing in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

, during the nineteenth century.

Life and career

George W. Stevens was born October 1, 1834, in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

,"Obituary," ''Engineering News'' 38, no. 15 (October 7, 1897): 127. to Phinehas Stevens (1800-1864). Phinehas Stevens was a

millwright A millwright is a craftsman or skilled tradesman who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mechanic'') ...

and built the New Mills of the

Amoskeag Manufacturing Company The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a textile industry, textile manufacturer which founded Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. From modest beginnings it grew throughout the 19th century into the largest cotton textile plant in the world ...

in 1841, among other mills in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. Stevens is first listed in the Manchester directories in 1866, as a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

. By 1879 he was also noted in the directories as an

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 ...

, though he was employed as an architect as early as the late 1860s. He lived in Manchester for about forty years, for eighteen of which he was employed as chief civil engineer for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. In 1892 Stevens left Manchester to join Lockwood, Greene & Company as superintendent of construction for their southern mills. He remained in this position for five years, living in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. Stevens died in

Cordova, Alabama Cordova is a city in Walker County, Alabama, United States. It was formerly a textile mill town. It was incorporated in 1897. At the 2010 census the population was 2,095, down from 2,423 in 2000. History Cordova was originally a settlement on ...

, on September 30, 1897.

Personal life

Stevens was married in 1864 to Anna Maria Annan (1837-1927) of Manchester. Augustus G. Stevens (1829-1901), elder brother of George W., was also an architect and engineer in Manchester, and designed the

Hoyt Shoe Factory The Hoyt Shoe Factory is a historic factory complex at 470 Silver Street and 170 Lincoln Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. It consists of two once-identical four-story brick factory buildings which face each other across Silver Street. Built in ...

in 1892.

Legacy

At least three buildings attributed to Stevens have been listed on the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, and another contributes to a listed historic district.

Works

* Manchester City Library (former),

(1869–71, demolished) * Lincoln Street School,

(1871, demolished) * Ash Street School,

(1872–74, NRHP-listed 1975) *

Old Post Office Block The Old Post Office Block is a historic commercial building at 54-72 Hanover Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. Built in 1876, it is a local landmark of Victorian Italianate commercial architecture, serving as the main post office, and as a new ...

(1876, NRHP-listed 1986) * Central Fire Station,

(1877, demolished 1971) * Dunlap Building,

(1879, NRHP-listed 2004)Dunlap Building NRHP Registration Form
(2004) * House for George W. Stevens,

(1879) * Amory Mill, Amoskeag Millyard,

(1880) * Housing for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company,

(1881, partially extant) * Bakersville School,

(1883, demolished) * Chimney, Amoskeag Millyard,

(1883, demolished 1955)Robert M. Bancroft and Francis J. Bancroft, ''Tall Chimney Construction: A Practical Treatise on the Construction of Tall Chimney Shafts'' (Manchester: John Calvert, 1885) * Peoples' Baptist Church,

(1888, demolished)

Gallery of works

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, George W. 1834 births 1897 deaths Architects from New Hampshire Engineers from New Hampshire People from Manchester, New Hampshire People from Andover, Massachusetts