Caleb Ormsbee (1752–1807) was an American master builder and architect of Providence, Rhode Island. Two of his buildings have been designated United States National Historic Landmarks.
Life and career Ormsbee was born October 15, 1752, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts to Daniel and Keziah (Cummings) Ormsbee. His training is unknown, but he may have served his apprenticeship with Jonathan Hammond, a carpenter who was associated with Joseph Brown in designing and building the First Baptist Church in America in 1774.Norman M. Isham, The Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in Providence: A History of the Fabric (Providence: Charitable Baptist Society, 1925)
Ormsbee was self-trained in design. He is known to have owned a copy of A Book of Architecture, published by James Gibbs in 1728, which he is believed to have purchased from the estate of Joseph Brown. He also looked to contemporary American architecture, and based his design for the 1795 building of the First Congregational Church on the Hollis Street Church in Boston, designed by Charles Bulfinch and built in 1788.
John Holden Greene was an apprentice of Ormsbee beginning in 1794, and remained in his employ until his death in 1807.
Personal life In 1774 Ormsbee married Molly Walker, also a Rehoboth native.James N. Arnold, Vital Record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896 (Providence: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1897)
Ormsbee died December 31, 1807, in Providence.Gravestone
Works Double house for Caleb Ormsbee, Providence, Rhode Island (1788)William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986) House for John I. Clark, Providence, Rhode Island (1789, burned 1849)"College Hill: Nightingale Brown House," brown.edu, Providence Architecture, n. d. Accessed July 6, 2021. House for Joseph Nightingale, Providence, Rhode Island (1791–92, NHL and NRHP 1989)Nightingale–Brown House NRHP Registration Form (1989) First Congregational Church, Providence, Rhode Island (1795, burned 1814)John Hutchins Cady, The Civic and Architectural Development of Providence, 1636-1950 (Providence: The Book Shop, 1957) House for Thomas P. Ives, Providence, Rhode Island (1803–06, NHP and NRHP 1970)Thomas P. Ives House NRHP Registration Form (1970)
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External links Caleb Ormsbee 1752 - 1807