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Frederick Lincoln Savage

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Frederick Lincoln Savage (November 14, 1861 – February 26, 1924) was an American architect, known as Mount Desert Island's most prolific native architect. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he designed over 300 cottages on the island and across Northeastern Maine,[1] including Reverie Cove and the John Innes Kane Cottage in Bar Harbor,[2][3] and (with Milton W. Stratton) Raventhorp in Southwest Harbor, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[4] He also designed the NRHP-listed West Gouldsboro Village Library in Gouldsboro, Maine.[5]

Frederick Lincoln Savage
Frederick Lincoln Savage, c. 1898
Born(1861-11-14)November 14, 1861
Northeast Harbor, Maine, U.S.
DiedFebruary 26, 1924(1924-02-26) (aged 62)
Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsReverie Cove
Raventhorp
Asticou Inn
John Innes Kane Cottage

Career

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Savage studied under prominent Boston architect Robert Swain Peabody, who had designed a house in Northeast Harbor for his brother-in-law Charles Eliot, and worked at Peabody's firm Peabody & Stearns as an office boy and apprentice from 1884–1886.[6] It is partly due to this tutelage that Mount Desert Island has a wealth of shingle-style architecture.[7]

Upon the conclusion of his apprenticeship, Savage returned to Northeast Harbor in 1887, and was quickly noted as being an accomplished and dependable building contractor, as well as someone with an eye for architecture. In 1890, he was hired by James Gardiner, son-in-law of Bishop Doane, to design six cottages for the Harborside area of Northeast Harbor he had purchased three years earlier. Four of the cottages were named Sweet Briar, Grey Pine, Isis and Aerie. An inn, named Harbourside, was also constructed.[7]

In 1893, he opened an office in Bar Harbor. Three years later, he had merged practices with that of Milton Stratton, another Bar Harbor architect.[7] When that partnership ended, Savage built a small Tudor-style office near the intersection of Cottage and Main Streets. After marrying Alice Preble, he moved permanently from Northeast Harbor to Bar Harbor. It was his year-round presence on Mount Desert Island that led to major firms engaging with Savage to oversee their projects.[7] Savage purchased the Bear Mountain granite quarry, using its material on the first floor of his Atlantean cottage and in the John Innes Kane Cottage.[8]

Selected works

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Reverie Cove
 
Asticou Inn
 
George Dorr's rock and spring canopy, designed by Savage
 
The Atlantean in Bar Harbor, Maine, pictured in 2021, 120 years after its construction
 
Savage's gravestone at Ledgelawn Cemetery in Bar Harbor
  • The Ledge, Northeast Harbor, Maine (1891)[9]
  • Roserne, Northeast Harbor, Maine (1891 or before)[9]
  • Reverie Cove, Bar Harbor, Maine (1892)[10]
  • Raventhorp, Southwest Harbor, Maine (1895 or before)[11]
  • Scull Cottage, Mount Desert, Maine (1899)[9]
  • Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, Maine (1901 reconstruction)[7]
  • Callendar House, Bar Harbor, Maine (1901 or before)[10]
  • Devilstone, Bar Harbor, Maine (1901 wing)[10]
  • Fraley Cottage, Mount Desert, Maine (1901)[9]
  • John Innes Kane Cottage (also known as Atlantique or The Breakwater), Bar Harbor, Maine (1903 or before)[10]
  • Buena Vista, Bar Harbor, Maine (1904 alterations)[10]
  • Aldersea, Bar Harbor, Maine (1904 additions)[10]
  • Sunset Shore, Mount Desert, Maine (1904 or before)[9]
  • Amberside, Bar Harbor, Maine (1906)[10]
  • West Gouldsboro Village Library, Gouldsboro, Maine (1907 or before)[12]
  • Canopy, Sieur de Monts spring (1909)[13]
  • Highseas, Bar Harbor, Maine (1911)[10]
  • Gray Rock, Northeast Harbor, Maine (1912 or before)[9]
  • Indian Head Cottage, Northeast Harbor, Maine[9]

Personal life

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Family

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Savage was the second of the four sons of Augustus Chase ("A.C.") Savage (1832–1911) and Emily Manchester (1834–1914), the founders of the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Fred was the architect of the current, 1901-built inn, the original having burned down in 1899.[7]

Savage's paternal great-grandfather, John, came to America from Glasgow and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, around 1770.[7] He and his wife, Sarah, moved to Mount Desert Island in 1798 and built a cabin near Harbor Brook in Northeast Harbor. Their children rooted themselves in the Asticou section of the village.[7]

When he was 18, his occupation was reported as being a fisherman in the local census. He was also helping his father in building hotels and cottages for the village's expanding community of summer residents, and worked briefly as the village's postmaster.[7]

His first wife was 15-year-old[7] Flora Lee Salisbury (1872–1960). The couple had three children: Frederick Manchester Savage (1891–1892), Floralee Savage (1894–1916) and Francis Chase Savage (1896–1917).[14]

He married a second time, to his secretary Alice Ray Preble (1879–1961), in 1901. It is believed the two had a relationship while Savage was still married to his first wife.[7]

Education

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Savage attended school in Northeast Harbor with his siblings, who made up a total of about 40 students.[7]

Homes

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Around 1887, when he was about 26 years old, Savage owned Hilltop Cottage in Northeast Harbor and lived there with his first wife, Flora.[7]

Another of Savage's personal homes, which also doubled as a model home for prospective business purposes, the Atlantean, on the shore-side stretch of Bar Harbor's Atlantic Avenue, is one of the best examples of Savage's work in the Tudor style. It was built in 1903,[8] and Savage lived there with his second wife, Alice. It was later renamed the Wayside Inn, but as of 2021 it is called the Atlantean again.[7]

Death

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Savage died on February 26, 1924, at the age of 62, after suffering from what his doctor called "acute indigestion."[7] His wife, Alice, survived him by 37 years, and they are both interred at Ledgelawn Cemetery in Bar Harbor.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Architectural Drawings & Early Sketches of Fred L. Savage : Drawings from the Gerrish Collections". Mount Desert Island Historical Society. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  2. ^ "NRHP nomination for Reverie Cove". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  3. ^ "NRHP nomination for John Innes Kane Cottage". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  4. ^ "NRHP nomination for Raventhorp". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  5. ^ "NRHP nomination for West Gouldsboro Village Library". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  6. ^ Bryan, John M. (2005). "Savage's Architectural Training". In Bednarek, Nicola (ed.). Maine Cottages: Fred L. Savage and the Architecture of Mount Desert. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 42. ISBN 1-56898-317-4.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Fred Savage, The Cottage Builder Archived 2021-11-09 at the Wayback Machine – Jaylene B. Roths
  8. ^ a b "Tycoon For A Night" – Portland Monthly, July/August 2014
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Mount Desert Cottages[permanent dead link] - MDIHistory.com
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Bar Harbor Cottages Archived 2021-06-22 at the Wayback Machine - MDIHistory.com
  11. ^ "NRHP nomination for Raventhorp". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  12. ^ "NRHP nomination for West Gouldsboro Village Library". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  13. ^ "George Bucknam Dorr and Cultural Landscapes of Acadia National Park" - NPS.gov
  14. ^ Mount Desert Island Families — Savage Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine - MDIHistory.org
  15. ^ Mount Desert Islander, July 18, 2013

Further reading

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  • Bryan, John M. (2005). Maine Cottages: Fred L. Savage and the Architecture of Mount Desert. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568986494. OCLC 938653098.
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