Francis D. Lee
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Francis D. Lee (1826–1885) was an American architect and inventor from Charleston, South Carolina.
Life
[edit]He graduated from the College of Charleston in 1846 and completed his master's degree in 1848. He worked closely with the community of Charleston, through his work as a member of the South Carolina Society, the Scots Rites Masonic Lodge and as a member of the Unitarian Church.[1] In 1852 he was hired as the architect to design the enlarged and remodeled Unitarian Church in Charleston, which took him 2 years to complete.[2] He worked as an architect until the outbreak of the American Civil War, where he became a Confederate Army Captain under the staffing of General Beauregard,[3] who took full advantage of his inventiveness, by encouraging him to design and construct (with assistance) a small Torpedo Boat, named The Torch. This boat was a spar boat, named so due to explosive devices placed at the end of a long pole or spar, in The Torch's case, it had 3 such spar's mounted to the bow to attack blockading warships.[4]
After the war, he returned to Charleston to set up a partnership with Edward C. Jones which became the firm Jones & Lee,[2] under this guise he went on to design many nationally recognised buildings and monuments (largely during the 1850s). In 1868 he moved to St. Louis[5] and teamed up with Thomas B. Annan, a local architect, they quickly built a reputation for themselves after winning a design competition for St. Louis Merchant's Exchange Building (it cost £2 million to build and was completed in 1875). Lee and Annan parted company in 1876.[6]
In 1884, Lee along with several other local architects founded the first incarnation of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.[6]
Selected works
[edit]| Name of Building | Location | Date Built | Further Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citadel Square Baptist Church | 328 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina | 1855 | |
| Farmers' and Exchange Bank | 141 E. Bay St., Charleston, South Carolina | 1854 | Declared NHL in 1973 |
| Kensington Plantation House | 4101 McCords Ferry Road, Eastover, South Carolina | 1851-1853 | Added to the NRHP in 1971 |
| Old Colleton County Jail | Jeffries Blvd., Walterboro, South Carolina | 1856 | Added to the NRHP in 1971 |
| Orangeburg County Jail | 44 Saint John St., Orangeburg, South Carolina | 1857-1860 | Added to the NRHP in 1973 |
| St. Luke's Episcopal Church[7] | 24 Elizabeth St., Charleston, South Carolina | 1862 | |
| St. Mark's Church | W of Pinewood on SR 51, Pinewood, South Carolina | 1855 | Added to the NRHP in 1978 |
| Unitarian Church | 6 Archdale St., Charleston, South Carolina | 1852 | Declared NHL in 1973 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Francis D. Lee – Architectural Extraordinair". The Elliott House Inn. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Charleston's Historic Religious and Community Buildings". nps.gov. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ Beard, Rick (8 October 2013). "David vs. Goliath". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2006). Blue & gray navies the Civil War afloat. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. p. 26. ISBN 9781612513591. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ Bryan, John M. (1998). Creating the South Carolina State House. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. p. 76. ISBN 1570032912. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ a b Toft, Carolyn Hewes. "Thomas B. Annan (1839-1906)". Landmarks-STL. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ "St. Luke's (Episcopal) Church". The Mercury. Charleston, South Carolina. February 15, 1862. p. 2.
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