Joseph Pierre Foucart

Joseph Pierre Foucart (1848–1917) was a prominent architect during the opening of the Oklahoma Territory. The city of Guthrie, Oklahoma's skyline is dominated by buildings designed by him.

Joseph Foucart bust, Oklahoma Territorial Museum, Guthrie, Oklahoma

Foucart was the first architect to establish a practice in Oklahoma. He was the son of Katherine Mater and John Pierre Foucart, born on November 14, 1848 in Arlon, Belgium. He studied at the Royal Athenaeum in Arlon, Belgium, and studied civil engineering and architecture at Ghent, graduating in 1865. He worked as a civil engineer, and served in the French Army during the Franco-Prussian War. He oversaw the construction of the castle of Viere and assisted the architect for the King of Belgium. In 1880 he relocated to Paris and served as draftsman for the City Hall. His first wife was Frances Henrietta Jacques, who died in France. He later married Mary Philomene Jacquart née Coen in 1865. He immigrated to the United States in 1888 and settled within two months of the Land Rush of 1889. He left Guthrie in 1907 and moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma. He died there on April 11, 1917.

His building designs were influenced by the French architect Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. The buildings Foucart designed include the Bonfils Building, DeFord Building, Gaffney Building, Gray Brother's Building, State Capital Publishing Company Building, Victor Block and the Foucart Building. He also designed the First National Bank and Trust Company in Perry, Oklahoma, the "Castle on the plains" at the Northwestern State Normal School in Alva and the Williams Hall library at Oklahoma State University; the last two buildings are no longer extant. He also designed two brick private residences in Guthrie, Oklahoma.^[1][2][3][4]

Buildings Designed by Joseph Foucart

Name	Address	Year Built	Architectural Style
State Capital Publishing Company Building State Capital Publishing Company Building	301 West Harrison Avenue, Guthrie, Oklahoma	1902	Commercial Style
Victor Block Victor Block	202-206 W. Harrison Avenue, Guthrie, Oklahoma	1893	Richardsonian Romanesque
Foucart Building Foucart Building	115 W. Harrison Avenue, Guthrie, Oklahoma	1891	Romanesque Revival with Gothic Revival influences
Gray Brothers Building Gray Brothers Building	101-103 W. Oklahoma Avenue, Guthrie, Oklahoma	1890 & 1893	Richardsonian Romanesque
Bonfils Building Bonfils Building	107 S. Second Street, Guthrie, Oklahoma	1890	Richardsonian Romanesque
De Ford Building De Ford Building	116 S. Second Street, Guthrie, Oklahoma	1890	Richardsonian Romanesque
Gaffney Building Gaffney Building, Guthrie, Oklahoma	212-214 W. Oklahoma Avenue, Guthrie, Oklahoma	1890	Architectural style not classified
First National Bank First National Bank	Perry, Oklahoma	1902	Italian Mannerist style
Castle on the Hill Castle on the Hill, Alva, Oklahoma	Alva, Oklahoma
Williams Hall Library Williams Hall Library	Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Joseph Foucart Designed Private Residence Foucart Residence, Guthrie, Oklahoma	Intersection of Ash and Cleveland Streets, Guthrie, Oklahoma
Joseph Foucart Designed Private Residence Foucart Designed Private Residence	Intersection of Maple Street and Warner Avenue, Guthrie, Oklahoma

References

1. Ramirez, Enrique (September 1, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: First National Bank and Trust Company Building" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved December 22, 2014. and two photos
2. Susan Allen Kline (March 29, 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Guthrie Historic District" (pdf). National Park Service. Retrieved June 17, 2015. and Accompanying photos, perhaps 100 in number, from 1997, 1998, and perhaps other dates.
3. https://guthrienewspage.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/joseph-foucart-father-of-guthries-skyline-honored-during-89er-week/
4. http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FO053