Amos P. Cutting Explained

Amos P. Cutting (September 13, 1839 – February 6, 1896) was an American architect in practice in Worcester, Massachusetts. He entered practice in 1868 and developed a practice specializing in the design of churches and public buildings. Shortly before his death he organized the firm of Cutting, Carleton & Cutting; it maintained his specialties and outlived him by over thirty years.

Life and career

Amos Porter Cutting was born September 13, 1839, in Lyme, New Hampshire, to Hiram Cutting and Harriet Newell Cutting, née Chapin. When he was a toddler the family moved to Newport, Vermont. He was trained as a carpenter in Newport and Springfield, Massachusetts, and settled in Worcester in 1862. There he worked for Russ & Eddy, manufacturers of millwork. He was soon joined there by his elder brother, George H. Cutting, who would become a successful general contractor in Worcester. While working as a carpenter, Cutting studied architecture in his spare time.^{[1] [2]}

In 1868 Cutting opened an architects' office in Worcester. From to he worked in partnership with John E. Holman under the name Cutting & Holman, and from 1890 to with Walter R. Forbush under the name Cutting & Forbush.^[3] In 1895 he organized a third and final partnership with Elbridge S. Carleton and Frank H. Cutting, his son, under the name Cutting, Carleton & Cutting.^{[1] [2]}

Over his nearly thirty years in professional practice, Cutting designed many churches, public buildings, office buildings and private homes. At the time of his death, the recently completed New Hampshire State Library (1895) and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library (1896) in Montpelier, Vermont, were considered his exceptional works.^[2] He unsuccessfully participated in the 1895 architectural design competition for the Worcester City Hall.^[4]

In 1887 Cutting joined the Western Association of Architects (WAA); he was one of the organization's easternmost members. In 1889 the WAA merged with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and Cutting, like all members, was made a Fellow. In 1892 he was a founding member of the former Worcester chapter.^[5]

Personal life

Cutting was married in 1868 to Lora Jennie Smith of Worcester. They had ten children, five sons and five daughters, seven of whom lived to adulthood.^{[1] [2]}

In his 50s Cutting's health declined, and he spent the winters of 1894–95 and 1895–96 in Los Angeles in search of better health. He died there February 6, 1896, at the age of 56.^{[1] [2] [6]}

Legacy

Cutting's firm continued under the name Cutting, Carleton & Cutting until Carleton's death in 1932. Frank H. Cutting continued to practice and died in 1957.^[7]

Worcester architects C. Leslie Chamberlain and Walter B. Nourse of the notable firms of Frost, Briggs & Chamberlain and Barker & Nourse worked for Cutting. J. William Patston, architect of the Quinsigamond Firehouse and other buildings, also worked for Cutting.^[8]

At least seven of Cutting's works have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, in addition to four by Cutting, Carleton & Cutting. Others contribute to listed historic districts.

Architectural works

All dates are date of completion.

A. P. Cutting, 1868–1876, 1878–1890 and 1891–1895

• 1872 – Dresser House, 72 Main St, Southbridge, Massachusetts^[9]
• 1872 – Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, Walnut St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[10]
• 1874 – Methodist Episcopal Church of Hyde Park, Central Ave and Winthrop St, Hyde Park, Boston^[11]
• 1874 – Plymouth Congregational Church, Pearl and Chestnut Sts, Worcester, Massachusetts^[12]
• 1874 – Franklin Wesson House, 8 Claremont St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[13]
• 1875 – Warren First Congregational Church-Federated Church, 25 Winthrop Ter, Warren, Massachusetts^[14]
• 1876 – First Congregational Church, 177 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire^[15]
• 1879 – Uxbridge Town Hall, 21 S Main St, Uxbridge, Massachusetts^[16]
• 1881 – Hotel Wilson, 6 N Main St, Uxbridge, Massachusetts^[16]
• 1883 – First Congregational Church, 2 Main St, Hopkinton, Massachusetts^[17]
• 1885 – Leicester Inn, 1019 N Main St, Leicester, Massachusetts^[18]
• 1885 – New Hampshire Savings Bank Building, 116 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire^[19]
• 1885 – William H. Sawyer house, 107 Lincoln St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[18]
• 1887 – J. Frank Quinn house, 900 Main St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[20]
• 1888 – Frederick G. Davis house, 78 Burncoat St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[21]
• 1888 – Southbridge Town Hall, 41 Elm St, Southbridge, Massachusetts^[22]
• 1889 – David Prouty High School (former), 195 Main St, Spencer, Massachusetts^[23]
• 1890 – George H. Cutting house, 67 Cedar St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[24]
• 1890 – Eagle Hotel remodeling, 110 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire^[19]
• 1890 – First Congregational Church, Main and School Sts, Newport, Vermont^[25]
• 1890 – Warren Public Library, 934 Main St, Warren, Massachusetts^[26]
• 1891 – Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, 69 Main St, New Britain, Connecticut^[27]
• 1891 – YMCA, 96 State St, Newburyport, Massachusetts^[28]
• 1892 – New Hampshire Centennial Home for the Aged (former), 96 Pleasant St, Concord, New Hampshire^[29]
• 1893 – Charlton City United Methodist Church (former), 16 Stafford St, Charlton, Massachusetts^[30]
• 1893 – Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts^[31]
• 1893 – Wesley United Methodist Church, 56 S Main St, Waterbury, Vermont^[32]
• 1894 – First Congregational Church, 1 Concord St, Nashua, New Hampshire^[33]
• 1894 – Northborough Free Library, 34 Main St, Northborough, Massachusetts^[34]
• 1895 – New Hampshire State Library, 20 Park St, Concord, New Hampshire^[35]
• 1896 – Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St, Montpelier, Vermont^[36]

Cutting & Holman, 1876–1878

• 1876 – Lyman School for Boys expansion, Lyman St, Westborough, Massachusetts^[37]
• 1876 – Addison Macullar house, 2 Oread St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[38]
• 1880 – Millbury Town Hall, 95 Elm St, Millbury, Massachusetts^[39]
• 1882 – George M. Kimball house, 266 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire^[40]

Cutting & Forbush, 1890–1891

• 1890 – Daniel N. Bates house, 66 Cedar St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[41]
• 1891 – Lothrop's Opera House, 17 Pleasant St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[42]

Cutting, Carleton & Cutting, 1895–1932

• 1896 – Gilman Block, 215 Main St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[43]
• 1896 – Mathewson Street United Methodist Church, 134 Mathewson St, Providence, Rhode Island^[44]
• 1898 – Fogg Library, 1 Columbian Sq, South Weymouth, Massachusetts^[45]
• 1901 – Dudley Free Public Library (former), 1 Village St, Dudley, Massachusetts^[46]
• 1903 – Oxford Free Public Library, 339 Main St, Oxford, Massachusetts^[47]
• 1904 – Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[48]
• 1907 – Oxford High School (former), 351 Main St, Oxford, Massachusetts^[49]
• 1908 – Ralph L. Morgan house, 96 William St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[50]
• 1909 – Tatnuck School, 1083 Pleasant St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[51]
• 1910 – Rochdale School, 1098 Stafford St, Leicester, Massachusetts^[52]
• 1914 – Hillswold Farm, the Edmund E. Hills estate, 575 Hartford Tpk, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts^[53]
• 1924 – Hadley Furniture Company Building, 657 Main St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[54]
• 1927 – May Street School, 265 May St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[55]
• 1929 – Lincoln Street School, 549 Lincoln St, Worcester, Massachusetts^[56]

Notes and References

1. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, vol 2, ed. Ellery Bicknell Crane (New York and Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1907): 177-181.
2. "In Memoriam: A. P. Cutting, F.A.I.A." in Proceedings of the Thirtieth Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects (Providence: E. A. Johnson & Company, printers, 1896): 150.
3. "Personal" in Architecture and Building 12, no. 15 (April 12, 1890): 179.
4. Rice, Franklin P. The Worcester of 1898. 1899.
5. "Amos P. Cutting (1841-1896)," AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, no date. Accessed October 3, 2024.
6. "Death of A. P. Cutting," Worcester Spy, February 8, 1896.
7. Gravesite, Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts
8. "Death of a Worcester architect" in Carpentry and Building (November 1904): 300.
9. "The C. A. Dresser House: a hotel in which Southbridge takes pride," Southbridge Journal, October 1896.
10. Zion's Herald, November 16, 1871, 549.
11. Memorial Sketch of Hyde Park, Mass. (Boston: L. Barta & Company, printers, 1888): 37-40.
12. Nutt, Charles. History of Worcester and its People 2 (1919)
13. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.1107 Historic Building Detail: WRR.1107
14. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wrr.150 Historic Building Detail: WRR.150
15. Walker, Joseph B. A History of the Four Meeting-houses of the First Congregational Society. 1888.
16. Wrona, B. Mae Edwards Wrona, Uxbridge (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2000)
17. "News from the churches," Congregationalist, July 12, 1882, 234.
18. American Architect and Building News (January 24, 1885): 48.
19. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77845344 Downtown Concord Historic District NRHP Registration Form
20. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.1314 Historic Building Detail: WOR.1314
21. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.175 Historic Building Detail: WOR.175
22. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=sbd.157 Historic Building Detail: SBD.157
23. Engineering and Building Record (April 13, 1889): 266.
24. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.503 Historic Building Detail: WOR.503
25. Glenn M. Andres and Curtis B. Johnson, Buildings of Vermont (Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2013): 234.
26. Library Journal (September 1890): 271.
27. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/132354665 Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church NRHP Registration Form
28. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nwb.367 Historic Building Detail: NWB.367
29. Kingwill, Jerry Kingwill, "Breathing New Life into Historic Buildings" in Professional Remodeler (October 3, 2008)
30. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=crt.179 Historic Building Detail: CRT.179
31. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=cam.345 Historic Building Detail: CAM.345
32. "Waterbury methodists," Vermont Watchman, February 1, 1893, 4.
33. The Congregational Year-Book, 1894 (1894)
34. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nbo.84 Historic Building Detail: NBO.84
35. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77845379 Concord Civic District NRHP Inventory-Nomination Form
36. Glenn M. Andres and Curtis B. Johnson, Buildings of Vermont (Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2013): 307-308.
37. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wbo.332 Historic Building Detail: WBO.332
38. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.1132 Historic Building Detail: WOR.1132
39. American Architect and Building News (May 25, 1878): viii.
40. "A Brief History of Carolyn Jenkins and the Kimball Jenkins Estate," Kimball Jenkins, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024.
41. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.522 Historic Building Detail: WOR.552
42. Engineering and Building Record (August 9, 1890): 160.
43. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.711 Historic Building Detail: WOR.711
44. William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986): 56.
45. Dedication of the Fogg Library at South Weymouth, Mass., Sept. 14, 1898 (South Weymouth: H. H. Joy, 1898)
46. American Architect and Building News (October 27, 1900): xi.
47. Souvenir of the Charles Larned Memorial and the Free Public Library (Boston: George H. Ellis, 1906)
48. American Architect and Building News (August 30, 1902): xi.
49. American Architect and Building News (August 18, 1906): xv.
50. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.682 Historic Building Detail: WOR.682
51. Engineering Record (July 25, 1908): 46b.
52. Reports of the Town Officers of the Town of Leicester for the Year Ending February 1, 1911. 1911.
53. American Contractor (April 4, 1914): 81.
54. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.2396 Historic Building Detail: WOR.2396
55. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.2283 Historic Building Detail: WOR.2283
56. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.2284 Historic Building Detail: WOR.2284