L. F. Goodrich Explained

Lewis Ford Goodrich
Nationality:	American
Birth Date:	8 July 1848
Birth Place:	Augusta, Georgia
Death Place:	Greensboro, Georgia

Lewis F. Goodrich (1848-1929), frequently known as L. F. Goodrich, was an American architect based in Augusta, Georgia. He designed public buildings in Georgia and South Carolina.

Life and career

Lewis Ford Goodrich was born July 8, 1848, in Augusta to William Henry Goodrich, a contractor and builder, and Susan (Clark) Goodrich.^[1] As a young man Goodrich worked variously in the grocery and furniture businesses,^{[2] [3]} but was otherwise associated with his father. After his father's death in 1877, he succeeded to the business. He opened an architect's office in Augusta in 1888.^[4] Goodrich's works included a number of county courthouses and the Athens City Hall. By 1913 his chief assistant was Cortez Clark.^[5] In December 1915 Goodrich formed the firm of Goodrich, Hoefer & Clark with Clark and former New York City architect Herman W. Hoefer.^[6] Hoefer returned north soon after the Augusta fire of 1916, which destroyed their offices, and the firm of Goodrich & Clark continued until the retirement of Goodrich in 1920. Clark then practiced in partnership with J. B. Story into the 1930s.^[7]

Personal life

Goodrich was married in 1872 to Lena Walker, who died in 1916.^[8] In later life, Goodrich lived in White Plains, Georgia. He died July 27, 1929.^[1]

Legacy

In 1892 Goodrich was among the organizers of the Southern Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.^[9] He was the chapter's first vice president, and its second president.^[10] The chapter faltered and was inactive from 1896, but is seen as a major step in the professionalization of architecture in the South.^[11]

At least seven buildings designed or renovated by Goodrich have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and another contributes to a listed historic district.

Architectural works

• Engine Company Number One, 452 Ellis St, Augusta, Georgia (1892, NRHP 1988)^[12]
• John W. Morrah house, 195 State Rd S-33-303, Mount Carmel, South Carolina (1896)^[13]
• Bamberg County Courthouse, 444 2nd St, Bamberg, South Carolina (1897, altered 1950)^[14]
• Screven County Courthouse, S Main St, Sylvania, Georgia (1897, demolished 1965)^[15]
• Burke County Courthouse remodeling, 602 N Liberty St, Waynesboro, Georgia (1899-1900, NRHP 1980)^[16]
• Washington County Courthouse remodeling, 132 W Haynes St, Sandersville, Georgia (1899, NRHP 1980)^[17]
• Taliaferro County Courthouse, 113 Monument St, Crawfordville, Georgia (1901–02, NRHP 1980)^[18]
• Athens City Hall, 301 College Ave, Athens, Georgia (1903–04)^[19]
• John Milledge School, 1835 Walker St, Augusta, Georgia (1908, demolished)^[20]
• Jenkins County Courthouse, 611 E Winthrope Ave, Millen, Georgia (1910–11, NRHP 1980)^[21]
• Emanuel County Sheriff Department, 101 N Main St, Swainsboro, Georgia (1912, NRHP 1995)^[22]
• Houghton School (former), 333 Greene St, Augusta, Georgia (1916–17)^[23]
• Emanuel County Courthouse, 101 N Main St, Swainsboro, Georgia (1919–20, burned 1938)^[24]

Notes and References

1. Gravestone, Walker Family Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia
2. "Notice" in Weekly Constitutionalist, September 8, 1869, 7.
3. Daily Constitutionalist, October 9, 1873, 2.
4. "Lewis F. Goodrich" in Augusta Daily Herald, March 6, 1888, 5.
5. The Architects Directory and Specification Index (New York: William T. Comstock Company, 1913): 48.
6. "New Architectural Firm is Announced" in Augusta Herald, December 5, 1915, 7.
7. Augusta Herald, March 28, 1920, 7.
8. "Funeral Notices" in Augusta Herald, April 15, 1916, 7.
9. Proceedings of the Twenty-fifth Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects (Chicago: Inland Architect Press, 1892)
10. "Societies" in American Architect and Building News 29, no. 892 (January 28, 1893): 61.
11. Paula Mohr, "Architecture" in The South: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures, ed. Rebecca Mark and Rob Vaughan (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2004): 20.
12. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209359 Engine Company Number One NRHP Registration Form
13. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/118998195 Mount Carmel Historic District NRHP Registration Form
14. Engineering News (June 10, 1897): 215.
15. Wilber W. Caldwell, The Courthouse and the Depot: The Architecture of Hope in an Age of Despair (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2001)
16. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93205896 Burke County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form
17. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206710 Washington County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form
18. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206614 Taliaferro County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form
19. American Architect and Building News (March 21, 1903): x.
20. Joseph M. Lee III, Augusta: A Postcard History (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 1997)
21. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206308 Jenkins County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form
22. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93205986 Emanuel County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form
23. Engineering News 75, no. 19 (May 11, 1916): 346.
24. Engineering and Contracting (September 24, 1919): 40.