Elbridge Boyden

Elbridge Boyden
Elbridge Boyden, 1810-1898
Born	July 4, 1810 Somerset, Vermont
Died	March 25, 1898 Worcester, Massachusetts
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Elbridge Boyden, Boyden & Joy, Boyden & Ball, E. Boyden & Son
Buildings	Taunton State Hospital, Antioch College, Worcester Medical College, Mechanics Hall, Worcester County Courthouse (Fitchburg), Brooks House, Hospital Cottages for Children

Elbridge Boyden (1810–1898) was a prominent 19th-century American architect from Worcester, Massachusetts who designed numerous civil and public buildings throughout New England and other parts of the United States. Perhaps his best known works are the Taunton State Hospital (1851) and Mechanics Hall (1855) in Worcester.

Boyden was born in Somerset, Vermont on July 4, 1810 to Amos Boyden, a Revolutionary War Veteran, and Abigail (Wood) Boyden. The family moved to Orange, Massachusetts where young Elbridge attended public schools. As a young boy, he left school to work in a sawmill. At age sixteen he went to Athol where he was apprenticed to a carpenter, Joel Stratton. Stratton owned two books by Asher Benjamin, which is where Boyden began his architectural training. In 1830 he began to work for Jonathan Cutting, a builder from Templeton, who had built the First Church in that town. Before long he bought out Cutting's business, and worked as a builder and designer in Athol until 1844.

That year, facing bankruptcy due to business reversals, he moved to Worcester, where he first worked on an addition to the old Worcester State Lunatic Asylum. In 1847 he and Phineas Ball, a civil engineer, decided to take an office together in the old Central Exchange Building on Main Street. At this time he established himself as solely an architect. In 1848 he partnered with Lewis E. Joy, as Boyden & Joy. They split the following year and he formally associated himself with Ball. The pair operated as Boyden & Ball from 1849 to 1860, and dominated the region's architectural practice.

In about 1863 his son, George E. Boyden, joined his firm, then known as E. Boyden & Son. The younger Boyden died in 1885, but the firm's name remained until the elder Boyden's death. In 1892 Boyden was one of the founders of the Worcester Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and served as its president from then until his death. Boyden was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and served a term as vice-president of the Massachusetts Chapter. He died in Worcester on March 25, 1898. He married Louisa Davis of Royalston, Massachusetts.