List of H.M. Francis Properties in the Downtown Area
Links to Property Photographs

For more information, please contact Ellen DiGeronimo at 978-345-9602 or ellen.d@net1plus.com

H.M. Francis
Born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts in 1836 and educated at Lawrence Academy, Francis first learned the architectural trade as an apprentice (1859-1861) in the Framingham firm on the noted New England architect, Alexander R. Estey.  Next, Francis applied his newfound knowledge of architecture to the practical arts of carpentry in his hometown of Lunenburg.  Between 1964 and May of 1868, Francis was employed in the offices of George M. Harding of Portland, Maine, and George Meacham of Boston.  In 1868, H.M. Francis opened his architectural firm on Fitchburg’s Main Street where he practiced his trade for over forty years, renaming his company, “H.M. Francis and Sons” in 1902 when his two sons Frederick L. and Albert F. joined the firm.  By the time of his death in 1908, H.M. Francis left a design legacy in Fitchburg and New England, which included 30 school buildings, 25 churches, 15 libraries, a large number of public buildings and several hundred residences designed in the Second Empire, Stick Style, Shingle Style, Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Colonial, Gothic, and Renaissance Revival styles.  His sons continued to practice architecture in the city until 1943, bring the Francis firm’s presence on Main Street through three quarters of a century.