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.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."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.
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."Personal" in Architecture and Building 12, no. 15 (April 12, 1890): 179. 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.
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. He unsuccessfully participated in the 1895 architectural design competition for the Worcester City Hall.Rice, Franklin P. The Worcester of 1898. 1899.
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."Amos P. Cutting (1841-1896)," AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, no date. Accessed October 3, 2024.
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.
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."Death of A. P. Cutting," Worcester Spy, February 8, 1896.
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.Gravesite, Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts
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."Death of a Worcester architect" in Carpentry and Building (November 1904): 300.
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"The C. A. Dresser House: a hotel in which Southbridge takes pride," Southbridge Journal, October 1896. 1872 – Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, Walnut St, Worcester, MassachusettsZion's Herald, November 16, 1871, 549. 1874 – Methodist Episcopal Church of Hyde Park, Central Ave and Winthrop St, Hyde Park, BostonMemorial Sketch of Hyde Park, Mass. (Boston: L. Barta & Company, printers, 1888): 37-40. 1874 – Plymouth Congregational Church, Pearl and Chestnut Sts, Worcester, MassachusettsNutt, Charles. History of Worcester and its People 2 (1919) 1874 – Franklin Wesson House, 8 Claremont St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WRR.1107, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1875 – Warren First Congregational Church-Federated Church, 25 Winthrop Ter, Warren, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WRR.150, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1876 – First Congregational Church, 177 N Main St, Concord, New HampshireWalker, Joseph B. A History of the Four Meeting-houses of the First Congregational Society. 1888. 1879 – Uxbridge Town Hall, 21 S Main St, Uxbridge, MassachusettsWrona, B. Mae Edwards Wrona, Uxbridge (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2000) 1881 – Hotel Wilson, 6 N Main St, Uxbridge, Massachusetts 1883 – First Congregational Church, 2 Main St, Hopkinton, Massachusetts"News from the churches," Congregationalist, July 12, 1882, 234. 1885 – Leicester Inn, 1019 N Main St, Leicester, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (January 24, 1885): 48. 1885 – New Hampshire Savings Bank Building, 116 N Main St, Concord, New HampshireDowntown Concord Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2000) 1885 – William H. Sawyer house, 107 Lincoln St, Worcester, Massachusetts 1887 – J. Frank Quinn house, 900 Main St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WOR.1314, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1888 – Frederick G. Davis house, 78 Burncoat St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WOR.175, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1888 – Southbridge Town Hall, 41 Elm St, Southbridge, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: SBD.157, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1889 – David Prouty High School (former), 195 Main St, Spencer, MassachusettsEngineering and Building Record (April 13, 1889): 266. 1890 – George H. Cutting house, 67 Cedar St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WOR.503, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1890 – Eagle Hotel remodeling, 110 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire 1890 – First Congregational Church, Main and School Sts, Newport, VermontGlenn M. Andres and Curtis B. Johnson, Buildings of Vermont (Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2013): 234. 1890 – Warren Public Library, 934 Main St, Warren, MassachusettsLibrary Journal (September 1890): 271. 1891 – Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, 69 Main St, New Britain, ConnecticutTrinity Methodist Episcopal Church NRHP Registration Form (2007) 1891 – YMCA, 96 State St, Newburyport, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: NWB.367, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1892 – New Hampshire Centennial Home for the Aged (former), 96 Pleasant St, Concord, New HampshireKingwill, Jerry Kingwill, "Breathing New Life into Historic Buildings" in Professional Remodeler (October 3, 2008) 1893 – Charlton City United Methodist Church (former), 16 Stafford St, Charlton, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: CRT.179, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1893 – Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: CAM.345, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1893 – Wesley United Methodist Church, 56 S Main St, Waterbury, Vermont"Waterbury methodists," Vermont Watchman, February 1, 1893, 4. 1894 – First Congregational Church, 1 Concord St, Nashua, New HampshireThe Congregational Year-Book, 1894 (1894) 1894 – Northborough Free Library, 34 Main St, Northborough, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: NBO.84, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1895 – New Hampshire State Library, 20 Park St, Concord, New HampshireConcord Civic District NRHP Inventory-Nomination Form (1983) 1896 – Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St, Montpelier, VermontGlenn M. Andres and Curtis B. Johnson, Buildings of Vermont (Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2013): 307-308.
Cutting & Holman, 1876–1878 1876 – Lyman School for Boys expansion, Lyman St, Westborough, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WBO.332, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1876 – Addison Macullar house, 2 Oread St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WOR.1132, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1880 – Millbury Town Hall, 95 Elm St, Millbury, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (May 25, 1878): viii. 1882 – George M. Kimball house, 266 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire"A Brief History of Carolyn Jenkins and the Kimball Jenkins Estate," Kimball Jenkins, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024.
Cutting & Forbush, 1890–1891 1890 – Daniel N. Bates house, 66 Cedar St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WOR.552, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 4, 2024. 1891 – Lothrop's Opera House, 17 Pleasant St, Worcester, MassachusettsEngineering and Building Record (August 9, 1890): 160.
Cutting, Carleton & Cutting, 1895–1932 1896 – Gilman Block, 215 Main St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WOR.711, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 5, 2024. 1896 – Mathewson Street United Methodist Church, 134 Mathewson St, Providence, Rhode IslandWilliam McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986): 56. 1898 – Fogg Library, 1 Columbian Sq, South Weymouth, MassachusettsDedication of the Fogg Library at South Weymouth, Mass., Sept. 14, 1898 (South Weymouth: H. H. Joy, 1898) 1901 – Dudley Free Public Library (former), 1 Village St, Dudley, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (October 27, 1900): xi. 1903 – Oxford Free Public Library, 339 Main St, Oxford, MassachusettsSouvenir of the Charles Larned Memorial and the Free Public Library (Boston: George H. Ellis, 1906) 1904 – Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St, Worcester, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (August 30, 1902): xi. 1907 – Oxford High School (former), 351 Main St, Oxford, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (August 18, 1906): xv. 1908 – Ralph L. Morgan house, 96 William St, Worcester, MassachusettsHistoric Building Detail: WOR.682, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed October 5, 2024. 1909 – Tatnuck School, 1083 Pleasant St, Worcester, MassachusettsEngineering Record (July 25, 1908): 46b. 1910 – Rochdale School, 1098 Stafford St, Leicester, MassachusettsReports of the Town Officers of the Town of Leicester for the Year Ending February 1, 1911. 1911. 1914 – Hillswold Farm, the Edmund E. Hills estate, 575 Hartford Tpk, Shrewsbury, MassachusettsAmerican Contractor (April 4, 1914): 81.