Solomon Willard (June 2, 1783, Petersham, Massachusetts – 1861) was a carver and builder in Massachusetts who is remembered primarily for designing and overseeing the Bunker Hill Monument, the first monumental obelisk erected in the United States. He designed it in 1825, and construction began in 1827. Willard discovered satisfactory granite quarries for the stone at Quincy, and the granite for the monument came from there. Willard also invented the machinery to cut and handle the slabs of stone in what became known as the Bunker Hill Quarry, which evolved into a major industry for the town. To get the cut slabs to to a wharf on the Neponset River, a distance of two and three-quarters miles, the first railway in the United States was built, over which, on the morning of October 7, 1826, the first horse-drawn cars passed, under the direction of a young engineer by the name of Gridley Bryant. 2 June is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Petersham (pronounced Peters Ham, not Peter-shum) is a town located in Worcester County, Massachusetts. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... Bunker Hill Monument. ... Quincy is a city located in Norfolk County, Massachusetts and bears the nickname The City of Presidents. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 88,025. ...

Willard's work on the Bunker Hill Monument was succinctly recorded in 1849, by Amos Lawrence, secretary of the Building Committee, who wrote in the flyleaf of the committee's records: "Solomon Willard walked three hundred miles to examine granite quarries (Hallowell, Maine, and other places), gave a thousand dollars to the Monument Association, and worked like a dog for the association for years for merely his necessary expenses (which were very small), and is now at work at Quincy" (History 1926).

Willard trained as a carpenter with his father, a farmer who did carpentry in the winters; he went to Boston in 1804, working during the day and reading books of architecture and drawing in the evenings. His handiness as a carver improved so rapidly that he was employed for carved architectural details for many important late Federal and Greek Revival buildings in Boston, the Ionic and Corinthian capitals for the steeple of Park Street Church, built in 1810 and in the same year he carved the eagle for the pediment of the new Custom House. In 1818 he made a model of the capitol at Washington for Charles Bulfinch, than engaged on the Massachusetts State House, and later did several works of this sort, among which were models of the Pantheon and the Parthenon for Edward Everett. From wood carving he turned to stone carving, and in 1820 was engaged on the Ionic capitals and other stonework of the Episcopal St Paul's Church, the first example of Greek Revival architecture in Boston [1] (http://www.stpaulboston.org/general.html). By 1821 Willard had become so successful that he gave classes in architecture and drawing in his studio near St Paul's; there Horatio Greenough was a pupil. Willard added ship figureheads to his craft, from 1823. Charles Bulfinch (1763-1844) is regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession. ... Categories: Buildings and structures stubs | Government of Massachusetts | Freedom Trail | U.S. state capitols ... Personal residence of Catherine the Great Greek Revival was a style of classical architecture which became fashionable in Europe in the 18th century, and in the United Kingdom and United States in the early 19th century. ... Horatio Greenough (September 6, 1805 - December 18, 1852) was an American sculptor. ... A figurehead is a person, usually in a political role, who may hold an important title or office yet executes little actual power. ...

In Framingham, Massachusetts, Willard's First Baptist Church of 1826 still stands, now the oldest building in the town [2] (http://www.framingham.com/history/histtime.htm). Willard also designed the Greek Revival Framingham Village Hall. The Gothic Revival Mission Church of St. John the Evangelist on Bowdoin Street, Boston, dated to 1831, is also probably his design. Framingham is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 66,910, making it the most populous town in Massachusetts, and at present, the largest town in North America. ... Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ...

He is credited with designing some of the first hot-air central heating in an American building, and in 1829 his recent pupil the brilliant young architect, Isaiah Rogers designed the innovative Tremont Hotel in Boston, the first American hotel to have indoor plumbing; it became the prototype of a modern, first-class American hotel. HVAC may also stand for High-voltage alternating current HVAC is an initialism that stands for heating, ventilation and air_conditioning. This is sometimes referred to as climate control. ... A domestic water system is a system within a building, generally a house or a business, that provides water, provides ways to use water, and provides means of removing waste water. ...

In 1865 William W. Wheildon wrote a Memoir of Solomon Willard, Architect and Superintendent of the Bunker Hill Monument published by the Massachusetts: Monument Association, which is the primary source for his biographers.

Source

• A History of the Origin and Development of the Granite Railway at Quincy Massachusetts privately printed for The Granite Railway Company, 1926. [3] (http://ci.quincy.ma.us/tcpl/legacy/railway/firstrr1.htm)]