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Benjamin Franklin Dunning

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Benjamin Franklin Dunning
Dunning, pictured around 1920
BornJune 7, 1856
DiedJune 4, 1940(1940-06-04) (aged 83)
NationalityAmerican
Notable work

Benjamin Franklin Dunning (June 7, 1856 – June 4, 1940) was an American builder who was prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries. His most notable work was Casco Castle in Maine.

Life and career

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Casco Castle, in South Freeport, Maine, one of Dunning's works

Dunning, known as "Frank" to family and friends, was born on June 7, 1856, in Lisbon, Maine,[1] to Jesse Appleton Dunning and Dorcas Anne Greene.[2]

On August 14, 1880, in Gorham, New Hampshire, he married Adrianne Staples "Addie" Reed, with whom he had seven children, including Thurlow Reed Dunning (born 1897), who was a colonel in the United States Army.[3]

He was the head mason during the construction of Casco Castle, in South Freeport, Maine. It was completed in 1903, but burned down in 1914. Only its stone tower remains.[3][4][5]

After living in Freeport, Maine, the family moved to Winchester, Massachusetts, in 1907. Some of the family later returned to Freeport.[3]

Death

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Dunning died on June 4, 1940, in Danvers, Massachusetts. He was 83. He is buried in Freeport's Woodlawn Cemetery, alongside his wife, who died three years earlier.[1]

Selected notable works

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References

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  1. ^ a b Portland Press Herald, June 6, 1940
  2. ^ Genealogy of the Dunning Family of Brunswick, the Lithgow Family and Thurlow Dunning' s Ancestors in Brunswick and Freeport, Thurlow R. Dunning, Maine State Library (1984)
  3. ^ a b c Genealogies of the Pennell, George Rogers, Simpson, Given, Spear, Stover, Pettengill, Porter and Potter Families - Thurlow R. Dunning, Maine State Library (1984)
  4. ^ Starbird, Edwin R. "South Freeport, Maine, Casco Castle". DigitalCommons@UMaine. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  5. ^ Summer by the Seaside: The Architecture of New England Coastal Resort Hotels, 1820-1950, Bryan Franklin Tolles (2008), p. 155 ISBN 9781584655763