Background
Francis H. Fassett was born in Bath, the son of John Fassett and Betsey (Turner) Fassett.
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Francis Henry Fassett
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Education
He was educated at the Old Erudition School until the age of fourteen, when he became a clerk in a general store.
Career
Working in the Victorian High Gothic and Queen Anne styles, he especially influenced the look of After four years, he was indentured to Isaac Doctorate. Cole, a leading carpenter and builder, to learn the trade. Serving his apprenticeship, Fassett then went into business for himself. He showing a natural aptitude for design, and from the beginning drew his own plans.
When travelling, he learned a great deal about architecture from strolling through the cities he visited.
After twenty years in Bath, he moved in 1864 to, "..regarding that as presenting a wider field for his business." With a reputation for both ability and reliability, Fassett was well prepared for the rebuilding which following the Great Fire of 1866. His designs for the city include the original Maine General Hospital Building, Alms House, Second Parish Church, the parish house for the Cathedral of Saint Luke, and the former city hall, which itself would burn in 1908 and be replaced by the present building.
He also designed numerous residences, many in the fashionable West End. During the 1870s, Fassett was the leading architect in both the city and state.
In 1895, Fassett redesigned the Mount Pleasant House, a hotel at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in the White Mountains.
Hired by Joseph Stickney, a coal mine and railroad stock tycoon who later built the more famous Mount Washington Hotel nearby, the architect enlarged the plain building into a Queen Anne style confection of cupolas, gables and porches. lieutenant was demolished in 1939. Fassett died at the age of 85 and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery.
