About this Site

This site was created to supplement and build upon previous scholarship on W. Ralph Emerson, including Dr. Cynthia Zaitzevsky’s 1969 exhibition and book, The Architecture of William Ralph Emerson 1833-1917, and Roger Reed’s  A Delight to All Who Know It: The Maine Summer Architecture of William R. Emerson (1990, rev. 1995).

Recent research by David W. Granston III has provided a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of Emerson as an individual, teacher, artist, writer, and architect and this website allows these stories to be told and shared.

Many individuals and institutions have provided assistance, shared information, or opened their collections to make this site possible. Thank you to each and every one:

Adams National Historical Park • A.I.A. Archives • Bar Harbor Historical Society • Billings Farm & Museum • Boston Architectural College • The Boston Athenæum • Boston Public Library, Fine Arts Department • Boston Society for Architecture • Jason Bouchard • Brick Store Museum • Cambridge Historical Commission • Canadian Centre for Architecture • Castine Historical Society • Christ Church, Quincy • John Clemson • Cohasset Historical Society • Concord Free Public Library • Connecticut State Library • Cuttyhunk Historical Society • Claire Dempsey • Dennis DeWitt • Brad Emerson • Frederic and Elizabeth Eustis • Fall River Historical Society • Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site • Greer Hardwick • Hartford History Center • Harvard Art Museums Archives • Haverhill Public Library • Thomas and Nancy High • Hill-Stead Museum • Historic New England • Historical Society of Pennsylvania • Houghton Library Archives • Bruce Jacobson • Jesup Memorial Library • Adam Keefe • Kennebunk Free Library • Kennebunkport Historical Society • Ellen Knight • Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division • Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division • Magnolia Historical Society • Maine Historical Society • Maine Historic Preservation Commission • Massachusetts General Hospital Archives • Manchester Historical Museum • Massachusetts Historical Society • Maureen Meister • Middleborough Unitarian Church • Milton Historical Society • Milton Public Library • Kirk F. Mohney • Mount Desert Island Historical Society • Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve • Myron Miller • Nahant Historical Society • New Hampshire Division of Cultural Resources • New York State Library • North Bennett Street School • Mary Offenback • Nathan Marsh Pusey Library, Harvard University • Norfolk County Registry of Probate • Old Library Management Committee, Jackson, N.H. • Osher Map Library • Peabody Essex Museum • Greg Prichard • Princeton University Library Special Collections • The Public Library of Brookline • Quincy Historical Society • Revolutionary Spaces • Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission • Roger Reed • Daniel and Robin Sears • Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. • Smith College Special Collections • Smithsonian Institution Archives • Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens • The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington • Paul S. Stevens • The Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives • Town of Milton, Massachusetts • U.S. Military Academy Archives and Special Collections • Watch Hill Conservancy • Westerly Historical Society • Weston Historical Society • Winchester Archival Center • Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library • Wood Museum of Springfield History • Worcester Historical Museum• Clifford Zink •