# Shepard S. Woodcock

Shepard S. Woodcock (1824–1910) was an American architect practicing in Boston, Massachusetts during the second half of the nineteenth century.

## Early life and training

Shepard S. Woodcock was born on October 6, 1824, in Sidney, Maine. At the age of seventeen he went to Stow, Massachusetts to serve as an apprentice to a carpenter. After his apprenticeship ended, he moved to Boston, where he carried on the carpentry trade for more than ten years. During this period he studied architecture on his own time.

## Professional career

In 1854, Woodcock retired from the carpenter's trade and opened an architect's office in Boston. In 1857 he was joined by George F. Meacham, and they had formed a partnership by 1858. The firm of Woodcock & Meacham was dissolved in 1864, when Meacham opened his own office. Woodcock practiced independently for the remainder of his career. By 1888 his reputation was such that he was called as an expert witness in an inquiry into the construction of the High Service Pumping Station at Chestnut Hill. At this time he estimated that he had designed at least 140 churches. Indeed, the bulk of his identifiable projects are churches for Protestant denominations, though he was also responsible for town halls, libraries, schools, office and mercantile buildings, banks, private residences and monuments.
Woodcock was admitted to the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association in 1857, and was an active member of the organization until his death. He was elected to fellowship in the Boston Society of Architects in 1867, which became affiliated with the American Institute of Architects in 1870. He resigned from the organization in 1877.

## Personal life

Woodcock was first married to Adeline Ryder, who died in 1850 at the age of 21. In the following year he married Julia Ann Swett, born in 1828 in Wales, Maine. They had at least seven children together, and she died in 1885. At his death he was survived by three daughters.
During the early phase of his career, Woodcock was a resident of Chelsea, Massachusetts. In the early 1860s he relocated to Somerville, where he remained until his death.
In addition to his professional affiliations, Woodcock was also a member of several Masonic and social organizations.

## Legacy

In addition to Meacham, other notable architects who worked in Woodcock's office include Alfred Stone (1855), John C. Cochrane (1862-1863) and Alberto F. Haynes (1871-1877 and 1883–1884).
At least eight of his works are individually listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others contribute to listed historic districts.

## Architectural works

| Year | Project | Address | City | State | Notes |
| 1854 | Houses | 20-22 Union Park St | Boston | Massachusetts | |
| 1855 | New Jerusalem Church | 19 Centre Ave | Abington | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1856 | Mercantile building for Parker Fowle & Sons | 350 Washington St | Boston | Massachusetts | Destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872. |
| 1857 | House for Clark Swallow | 132 Whitman St | East Bridgewater | Massachusetts | |
| 1857 | Rockingham Bank Building | 15 Pleasant St | Portsmouth | New Hampshire | |
| 1858 | Remodeling of the South Church of Portsmouth | 292 State St | Portsmouth | New Hampshire | NRHP-listed. |
| 1859 | Williams School | 180 Walnut St | Chelsea | Massachusetts | Designed while in partnership with George F. Meacham. Destroyed in the Great Chelsea fire of 1908. |
| 1860 | Tremont Street Methodist Church (former) | 720 Tremont St | Boston | Massachusetts | Designed while in partnership with George F. Meacham. Hammatt Billings was consulting architect, and to him the exterior design is attributed. |
| 1864 | Ladd and Whitney Monument | Monument Square | Lowell | Massachusetts | Designed while in partnership with George F. Meacham. |
| 1864 | Perry House | 11 Touro St | Newport | Rhode Island | Designed while in partnership with George F. Meacham. Demolished. |
| 1864 | Bank of Cape Ann Building | 154 Main St | Gloucester | Massachusetts | Designed while in partnership with George F. Meacham. Later the Cape Ann National Bank. Demolished. |
| 1865 | E Street Church | 309 E St | Boston | Massachusetts | Later known as Dahlgren Hall after the congregation dissolved. The building has been largely demolished, but the lower level remains as part of the building now on the site. |
| 1865 | State Street Baptist Church | 171 State St | Springfield | Massachusetts | Demolished in 1927. |
| 1866 | First Baptist Church of Cambridge | 5 Magazine St | Cambridge | Massachusetts | Burned in 1881. |
| 1866 | Lincoln School | 40 College Ave | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1866 | Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company Building | 1341 Main St | Springfield | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1866 | Remodeling of the North Avenue Congregational Church (former) | 1801 Massachusetts Ave | Cambridge | Massachusetts | After the church was relocated, Woodcock was responsible for the addition of transepts. NRHP-listed. |
| 1866 | Soldiers' Monument | Natick Common | Natick | Massachusetts | |
| 1866 | Unitarian Church of Winchendon | 126 Central St | Winchendon | Massachusetts | |
| 1866 | Warren Avenue Baptist Church | 173 W Canton St | Boston | Massachusetts | The church was the base of Thomas W. Piper, a serial killer. Woodcock was called as a witness during Piper's trial in 1876. Demolished in 1968. |
| 1867 | First Orthodox Congregational Church of Somerville | 21 Franklin St | Somerville | Massachusetts | Woodcock was a member of this church for much of his adult life. Demolished. |
| 1867 | Lodge Mausoleum, Mount Auburn Cemetery | 580 Mount Auburn St | Cambridge | Massachusetts | Built by Anna Cabot Lodge as the resting place of her family, including her son Henry Cabot Lodge. |
| 1867 | Prescott School | 75 Myrtle St | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1867 | Unitarian Church of Ellsworth | 216 Main St | Ellsworth | Maine | Demolished. |
| 1868 | Brookfield Town Hall | 6 Central St | Brookfield | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1868 | Carter School | 10 Forsyth St | Chelsea | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1868 | First Baptist Church of Scituate | 656 Country Way | Scituate | Massachusetts | NRHP-listed. |
| 1868 | Grace Methodist Church | 34 Court St | Keene | New Hampshire | NRHP-listed. |
| 1869 | First Baptist Church of Lebanon | 11 School St | Lebanon | New Hampshire | Burned in 2016. |
| 1869 | Wesleyan Methodist Church of St. Stephen | 70 King St | St. Stephen | New Brunswick | Later the Kirk McColl United Church. Burned. |
| 1870 | Central Fire Station | Highland Ave and Walnut St | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1870 | First Church in Malden | 184 Pleasant St | Malden | Massachusetts | Demolished |
| 1870 | Marlborough Town Hall | 140 Main St | Marlborough | Massachusetts | Burned in 1902. |
| 1870 | Methodist Church of Westford | 10 Church St | Graniteville | Massachusetts | NRHP-listed as part of the Graniteville Historic District. |
| 1871 | Edgerly School | 33 Cross St | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1872 | Christ Episcopal Church (former) | 10 Henry St | Port Henry | New York | |
| 1872 | First Congregational Church of Litchfield | 21 Torrington Rd | Litchfield | Connecticut | Demolished in 1929. |
| 1872 | Grace Episcopal Church | 104 N Washington St | North Attleborough | Massachusetts | Burned in 1929. |
| 1872 | Holbrook Town Hall | 50 N Franklin St | Holbrook | Massachusetts | Burned in 1878. |
| 1872 | Houses for Adoniram Burrell | 47-53 M St | Boston | Massachusetts | |
| 1872 | Hudson Town Hall | 78 Main St | Hudson | Massachusetts | |
| 1872 | Remodeling of the Kirk Street Congregational Church | Kirk and French Sts | Lowell | Massachusetts | Replacement of the facade and interior renovation. Demolished. |
| 1872 | Trinity Episcopal Church | 47 East St | Wrentham | Massachusetts | |
| 1873 | First Baptist Church of Keene | Court and Vernon Sts | Keene | New Hampshire | Demolished. |
| 1873 | Masonic Building | 117 Merrimack St | Haverhill | Massachusetts | |
| 1873 | North Bennington Congregational Church | 8 Bank St | North Bennington | Vermont | |
| 1874 | Clark's Block | 1-23 Main St | Natick | Massachusetts | |
| 1874 | Bell School | Vinal Ave and Summer St | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1874 | Eliot Church | 273 Summer St | Lowell | Massachusetts | |
| 1874 | Masonic Block | 24 Main St | Natick | Massachusetts | |
| 1875 | First Congregational Church of Natick | 2 E Central St | Natick | Massachusetts | |
| 1875 | Howard Seminary | 70 Howard St | West Bridgewater | Massachusetts | Burned in 1949. |
| 1876 | House for Frederick Ayer | 357 Pawtucket St | Lowell | Massachusetts | Later the Franco-American School. |
| 1876 | Keene High School (former) | Winter and Middle Sts | Keene | New Hampshire | Demolished. |
| 1877 | Franklin School | 363 Broad St | Weymouth | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1879 | Livery stable for Alfred Papineau | 180 Green St | Jamaica Plain | Massachusetts | |
| 1879 | The Tabernacle | 80 Trinity Park | Oak Bluffs | Massachusetts | |
| 1880 | Mercantile building for A. P. Morse and H. B. Taylor | 215-237 Franklin St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1881 | Hunt School | 45 Broad St | Weymouth | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1881 | Shedd Free Library | 47 N Main St | Washington | New Hampshire | |
| 1883 | Sanborn Seminary (former) | 178 Main St | Kingston | New Hampshire | NRHP-listed. |
| 1885 | Hebronville School (former) | Knight Ave and Webber St | Attleboro | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1885 | South Attleboro School (former) | 437 Newport Ave | Attleboro | Massachusetts | |
| 1885 | St. Philip Episcopal Church | 65 Union St | Easthampton | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1887 | House for Dominick A. Hart | 45 Hunt St | Weymouth | Massachusetts | |
| 1887 | Washington School (former) | 8 School St | Weymouth | Massachusetts | NRHP-listed. |
| 1888 | House for George F. Eames | 57 Mount Vernon St | West Roxbury | Massachusetts | |
| 1888 | House for James P. Fairchild | 41 Maple St | Stoneham | Massachusetts | Identical to the house for Henry A. Hill. |
| 1888 | House for Henry A. Hill | 3 Cedar Ave | Stoneham | Massachusetts | Identical to the house for James P. Fairchild. |
| 1888 | Rice Public Library | 8 Wentworth St | Kittery | Maine | NRHP-listed. |
| 1888 | School Street School (former) | 100 Webster St | Whitman | Massachusetts | Later known as the Hunt School. Burned in 1983. |
| 1889 | Addition to building for the Reversible Collar Company | 12-14 Arrow St | Cambridge | Massachusetts | Addition of the wing along Arrow Street. NRHP-listed. |
| 1889 | Central Baptist Church | 3 Nickerson Ave | Middleborough | Massachusetts | Demolished in 1963. |
| 1889 | Jefferson School (former) | 200 Middle St | Weymouth | Massachusetts | NRHP-listed. Also a contributing property to the Central Square Historic District. |
| 1890 | Memorial Hall | 1027 Washington St | Abington | Massachusetts | |
| 1890 | Tufts Library (former) | 60 Washington St | Weymouth | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1891 | Horace Mann High School (former) | 150 Emmons St | Franklin | Massachusetts | Demolished in 2016. |
| 1892 | House for Julius W. Tilson | 187 Summer St | Malden | Massachusetts | |
| 1892 | House for Walter H. Wright | 54 Vinal Ave | Somerville | Massachusetts | NRHP-listed. |
| 1893 | House for Frank H. Chamberlain | 25 Pleasant St | Hudson | Massachusetts | |
| 1895 | House for William H. Wentworth | 121 Raymond St | Cambridge | Massachusetts | |
| 1896 | House for Henry E. Wright | 31 Pearl St | Somerville | Massachusetts | |