The people behind the places

George Franklin Barber

Architect · 1854–1915

George Franklin Barber marketed house plans through illustrated mail-order catalogues from Knoxville. Builders and clients adapted these designs into richly ornamented Victorian houses; a catalogue design attribution does not imply Barber personally supervised construction.

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Browse the works documented in this collection. Map links follow the atlas’s 1850–1900 period.

3 of 3 works

1895Standing

Alvin Bushnell Bell House

Ida Grove, IA

A frame Queen Anne house with a high hipped roof, cross gables and an elaborate ornamental exterior.

Recorded role: Catalogue design by Barber; built locally by Thomas and William Bassett.
Reported style: Queen Anne

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Dates & sources

Reported dates: 1895

Completed in 1895. A recorded completion year alone does not establish construction duration.

Location: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.

Alvin Bushnell Bell House Wikipedia · Building identity, architectural attribution, historical phase, style and published location

c. 1895Standing

Bailey House

Fernandina Beach, FL

A Victorian timber house with corner turreted bays, broad porches and fish-scale shingles on its gables.

Recorded role: House design by the George Franklin Barber firm.
Reported style: Late Victorian

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Dates & sources

Reported dates: c. 1895

Built circa 1895; the approximate date follows the building’s published history.

Location: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.

Bailey House (Fernandina Beach, Florida) Wikipedia · Building identity, architectural attribution, historical phase, style and published location

c. 1896Standing

John Calvin Owings House

Laurens, SC

A richly ornamented frame house combining shingled surfaces, turrets, projecting bays and a distinctive decorated upper porch.

Recorded role: George F. Barber & Co. house design.
Reported style: Queen Anne

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Dates & sources

Reported dates: c. 1896

The state historic register dates the house to circa 1896, following a design commissioned around 1895.

Location: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.

John Calvin Owings House Wikipedia · Building identity, architectural attribution, historical phase, style and published location
John Calvin Owings House South Carolina Department of Archives and History · Barber firm design and circa 1896 construction

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Profile sources

George Franklin Barber — biography and works Wikipedia · Biographical context, architectural practice and links to identified works