Franklin W. Smith
Encyclopedia
Franklin Webster Smith was an idealistic reformer who made his fortune as a Boston hardware merchant. He was an early abolitionist, defendant in a civilian court-martial in 1864, author, and architectural enthusiast who proposed transforming Washington, D.C.
into a "capital of beauty and cultural knowledge".
, and his great-grandfather was president of Harvard University
.
Mary O. Smith was his mother, and he was the younger brother of Mary O. (Loud) and Benjamin O. Smith, who became his partner in Smith Brothers & Company, a hardware business in Boston.
Smith was a moral and religious man and served as Sunday-school superintendent at his Baptist church, Tremont Temple
, which he also helped renovate after a fire.
in London, where he marveled at the examples of architecture and culture from around the world. Upon his return home, he was asked to raise funds for a new organization, the Young Men's Christian Association. With the memory of his trip still fresh, he planned a world bazaar, which was staged at the Tremont Temple. Facades of famous buildings around the world were constructed and staffed by well-known local residents who dressed in authentic costumes and sold items imported for the event. The function was spectacularly successful, and the YMCA
of Boston was the first chapter of the organization in the United States. Smith was elected their first president in 1855.
to organize the Republican Party
in Massachusetts. He supported the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, and attended the inauguration on March 4, 1861, with his wife on their honeymoon.
Laura Bevan was born in Baltimore, Maryland and was several years younger than he. They had two children who lived to adulthood: George Stuart, born in 1863; and Lillian, born in 1865.
He wrote to the chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee in 1863 and testified before a Senate committee, resulting in the passage of a law simplifying honest bidding and making manipulation difficult. Smith identified the names of clerks who accepted bribes and created an Analysis of Certain Contracts for the United States Secretary of the Navy
. The report showed how specific contractors were able to consistently bid low.
Retail Honest Other
Price Bidder Bidder
item A 100 110 75 The Other Bidder learns that very few or none of item A
item B 50 60 90 will be purchased, so he prices that article artificially
total 160 170 165 his total bid is below that of the Honest Bidder.
The Naval Bureau Chiefs were angered that a civilian contractor questioned their integrity and embarrassed them by appearing before Congress and documenting the charges. Instead of eliminating the dishonesty in their subordinates, they targeted the Smith Brothers. Every transaction with the company was examined, and justification was demanded for every error or imperfect item supplied by the company. Despite the scrutiny, Smith was always able to provide a convincing explantion.
Senate committee
In January, 1864, a Senate committee chaired by John Parker Hale formed to investigate naval contract fraud. The Navy brass despised Hale since he helped convince Congress to ban flogging
in 1850 and grog
rations in 1862. Hearings lasted almost four months, with the Smith brothers providing key testimony. The committee’s report was not released until June 29, but it was obvious from testimony that it would confirm Smith's accusations and dismiss the Navy's allegations against the Smith brothers.
Arrest
On June 17, 1864, two weeks after the conclusion of the Hale hearings and two weeks before the report was to be made public, both the Smith brothers were arrested. The timing was not an accident; having the principal witnesses in jail would tend to discredit the Senate report when it was released. Early in the morning, a detail of marines grabbed Franklin and dragged him to a waiting boat, where he was transported across the harbor to Georges Island and Fort Warren
. They had no warrant, only a telegraphed order from Gideon Welles
, Secretary of the Navy. The marines broke down the door of Smith Brothers & Company, seizing records and correspondence, then did the same at his residence. Company clerks were arrested when they arrived for work the next morning; they were questioned and released. The business was forced to close because the company's books and papers had been taken. When family members went to post bail, they were told that bail had not been set. Next, no one claimed authority to accept bail for a military charge. When bail was finally set, it was an unbelievable half a million dollars. However, Smith was so highly regarded by his fellow biusinessmen that nearly $1 million was pledged in less than two days. Even then, Smith was denied counsel and visitors.
The Massachusetts Congressional delegation, including Charles Sumner
, Henry Wilson
, Henry L. Dawes
, George S. Boutwell
, William B. Washburn
, Thomas D. Eliot
, John Denison Baldwin
and John B. Alley
went to the office of Navy Secretary Welles and offered to personally guarantee Smith’s court appearance, but to no avail. Smith was finally released on July 1, two weeks after his arrest and two days after the Hale report was submitted to Congress. At the time, he still had not be charged with the specifics of a crime, just "fraud upon the United States" and "wilful neglect of duty as a contractor" with the Navy. However, his bond was lowered to $20,000.
Court martial
Smith expected to be tried in United States federal courts
. Instead, he was ordered to report to a military general court-martial
in Philadelphia, 266 miles (428.1 km) distant.
During the Civil War, such a surprising number of dishonest contractors had taken advantage of the Army and Navy's need for war material that a legal provision was enacted by Congress on July 17, 1862 which stated that any civilian who supplied material under contract to the military became a member of the military and was subject to court-martial.
Once again, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation talked to Welles, but got nowhere. They appealed to President Abraham Lincoln
, who read the tribute to Smith's reputation that Senator Sumner had written and the other congressmen had endorsed, then scanned the testimonial to Smith’s business integrity, signed by ninety prominent Boston merchants. Lincoln offered to have the case dismissed. Senator Sumner replied,
Lincoln agreed and pledged, "If I find that men have been pursuing the Smiths, I will lay my long hand upon them, no matter who they are." He then ordered that the court-martial be conducted in Boston and asked Navy Secretary Welles to send him the trial record at the conclusion for his review. Welles was told to delay execution of the sentence until the president gave his approval.
Trial
The trial began September 15, 1864 and lasted four months, with the Navy questioning less than a dozen transactions among 12,554 items totalling $1.2 million in government purchases from the Smith Brothers. Only one article—a delivery of Revely Tin metal was supplied instead of the Banca variety—shorted the Navy by $100–200. Predictably, the trial ended in judgment against the defendants, who were sentenced to two years in prison and fined $25,000. The judgment and sentence were approved by the Secretary of the Navy; all that remained was a presidential sanction.
Presidential action
Charles Sumner again met with President Lincoln on the Smiths' behalf. The president asked Sumner to review the lengthy report from the Navy Secretary which identified the key elements in the court-martial, then render an opinion. Senator Sumner studied the document overnight and wrote an opinion which summarized the treatment of Franklin Smith:
After reflection, the president wrote his decision to Welles, the court-martial board and the Navy:
Lincoln never got the opportunity to "lay my long hand upon them" who pursued the Smiths. A few short weeks after the president vacated the sentence, he was killed by an assassin's bullet.
Aftermath
After he was freed by Lincoln, Smith spent some time restoring his business. When the city mourned the death of the president, Smith was asked to lead the gathering at Tremont Temple. He then decided to go abroad and left for Europe.
There were three issues at the center of these events:
The first was control of the military. The secretary of the Navy is a civilian, but he was manipulated by his assistant secretary, a career officer, into persecuting an innocent man, thereby allowing the military to follow its own agenda. Lincoln's actions shifted the power back to civilian control.
Second was the attempt by Congress to suspend the constitutional rights of individual citizens in defiance of the Bill of Rights
. The basic constitutional rights of habeas corpus
, a jury
of peers
, and a Grand jury
hearing before being charged, were not accorded those facing military court-martial. The 1862 Military contractor court-martial act, that was the basis for Smith's trial, was declared unconstitutional by a federal circuit court in Kentucky during 1866. The court was considering a case similar to that of Franklin Smith.
Finally, the president upheld the rights of an individual against the nearly unlimited resources and power of a federal government agency, which Lincoln called, "a fight between a department and a citizen, and the citizen has no fair show". Lincoln was protecting an honest man from retribution by those in power.
of 1873–79 resulted in the unemployment of thousands of former industrial workers. Smith authored four articles which were published in the Boston Advertiser in 1877, and the Boston Board of Aid to Land Ownership was formed that year "to divert workers from surplus in manufacturing to Tillage of the Earth--the basis of all industries, and the primary source of all wealth". The board selected a committee to investigate possible locations for a settlement. After learning that the Cincinnati Southern Railroad
was constructing a rail line to the area, they chose the Cumberland Plateau
in Tennessee.
Smith, who was president of the board, travelled to Tennessee in 1878 and selected a site, engaged a surveyor to plot the town, and an architect to design a hotel there. The location, which Smith named Plateau City, was the most beautiful he found. It overlooked river gorges, contained broad hills and had sweeping mountain vistas, but it was seven long miles from the railroad. By this time, the depression was ending, and unemployment was falling. A few Bostonians were reconsidering their investment in the venture, so Smith found additional investors through Thomas Hughes
, the English
social reformer. Hughes wanted to establish a utopia
n settlement for younger sons of English gentry
which was classless, because class conventions in England prevented those born into high society from becoming tradesmen or farmers. In 1879, the London Board of Aid to Land Ownership became the primary investors in the Tennessee project and renamed the colony Rugby
. Smith thought that the key to growth was to become a resort, where guests would buy land and settle there. Hughes disagreed and refused to spend time or money on tourist endeavors. When Smith realized that his ideas was being ignored, he divested himself of the project in 1880 and took another trip abroad.
Travel
As a prosperous man, Smith enjoyed traveling throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, studying architecture and the history of past civilizations. During his lifetime, he took more than a dozen trips across the Atlantic, and purchased numerous works of art and artifacts.
Smith's in-laws were Quakers
, but they were financially able to construct and travel to a winter home near St. Augustine, Florida
after the Civil War
. Following a trip to Florida to visit his wife's family, Smith decided to build his own winter residence there, but wanted his house to stand out, both in design and composition. On his next tour abroad in 1882, Smith traveled through southern Spain and found his inspiration when he toured the 12th-century Moorish
Alhambra
Palace in Granada, Spain. The remainder of the excursion was spent searching Spain, Egypt and Morocco for decorations and furniture. On Lake Geneva
in Switzerland, Smith observed the construction of a Château
which used sand from the lake bottom to make concrete; thus solving his question of building material.
Residence
In December 1883, Smith engaged a Boston mason to come to Florida to help build a special structure. They experimented making concrete blocks that used crushed coquina
along with Portland cement. Satisfied with the results, they began to construct the Villa Zorayda
cast in courses ten inches (254 mm) tall. After 48 hours, the concrete had hardened enough to pour the next course. The process was repeated until the desired height was reached, and the resulting structure was nearly monolithic
. The material grew harder with age; after one month, it was as hard as building stone. The outside of the Villa Zorayda appears as three separate sections. To maintain structural integrity, there are railroad rails within the walls that extend the entire width of the erection. The Zorayda was not a copy of the Alhambra, it was an amalgamation of Moorish style.
Revolution
Moorish Revival architecture became the style of choice in St. Augustine. Across the country, building construction utilizing poured concrete became all the rage and replaced more costly brick in many applications.
In 1883, Henry Morrison Flagler
and his new, young wife traveled to St. Augustine for their honeymoon and were impressed with Villa Zorayda. Flagler offered to buy it for his bride, but Smith would not sell. However, he planted the seed of St. Augustine's and Florida's future in Flagler's mind.
Flagler returned to St. Augustine in 1885 and made Smith an offer. If Smith could raise $50,000, Flagler would invest $150,000 and they would build a hotel together. Perhaps fortunately for Smith, he couldn't come up with the funds, so Flagler began construction of the 540-room Ponce de León Hotel
by himself, but spent several times his original estimate. Smith helped train the masons on the mixing and pouring techniques he used on Zorayda.
Hotel
Henry Flagler sold Smith the land on which Smith built the Casa Monica Hotel
in 1887. The Casa Monica is an impressive five-story structure, 400 feet (121.9 m) wide with towers on each end rising 100 feet (30.5 m), topped with tiled roofs. There are architectural features including turret
s, balconies, parapet
s, ornate railings, cornice
s, arches, and battlement
s on the exterior, all composed of poured concrete and coquina. The flagpole in the center of the building serves a dual purpose: it is also a lightning rod. The hotel contained 138 guest rooms, including 14 suites. Several suites are located in the towers, with up to 3 bedrooms, and occupy 2 to 4 floors.
The hotel opened on January 1, 1888 but Smith had financial troubles and was forced to sell it to Flagler after the winter season ended for $325,000. Smith built a shopping arcade across from the hotels where the hotel guests could spend money.
. He wanted to create something educational to add culture to the town instead of gambling and horse racing for which it was known. Beginning in 1888, Smith built a full-scale reconstruction of a compilation of villas described in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s
novel, The Last Days of Pompeii
. The structure was 75 feet (22.9 m) wide and 200 feet (61 m) deep, for a total of 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²). It was completed in 1889 and named Pompeia, or House of Pansa and furnished in the style of that era, 79 A.D. Smith commissioned artists and historians to copy the architecture, statues and paintings that would present a picture of the lifestyle of a Roman nobleman nearly two thousand years ago. Many of the artifacts and sculptures he purchased in Europe were displayed in the Pompeia.
The structure became a popular attraction for visitors, drawing over 60,000 people in the first four years. Smith wanted all schools in the region to visit Pompeia each year. His plan for the Acropolis and National Galleries was refined during his time there.
In the Spring of 1890, noted architect James Renwick, Jr.
was in Florida working on the bell tower design for the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
. One evening, he and his wife listened to Smith deliver a speech to garner support for his Design and Prospectus for a National Gallery of History of Art at Washington. Renwick endorsed the idea and offered to provide drawings, plans and illustrations for the project. Smith gratefully accepted and the firm of 'Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell' spent six months completing their contribution.
In 1891, Smith paid to print his Design and Prospectus... and distributed it widely at major cities in the northeast. Smith delivered a series of lectures, beginning at the Boston Art Club
, then the Maryland Institute College of Art
at Baltimore, Philadelphia's Drexel Institute, and finally New York University
on December 17, 1892.
However, the Panic of 1893
and depression
that followed forced Smith to delay his plan until the world's economies began to recover in 1898.
Smith took every opportunity to talk about his grand scheme wherever he was, and he travelled constantly. He was a charming, enthusiastic speaker, and he made his lectures interesting. He was able to persuade many influential people to endorse his vision, and gained widespread support. Smith insisted that all he needed was $10 million and 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land.
He lobbied both the House and the Senate, and made certain every member had a copy of his Design and Prospectus. He kept a file of 225 newspaper articles from 51 cities in 25 states that endorsed his plan. Another file held letters of support from politicians, educators, businessmen, scholars, museums and architects.
Prototype
Smith designed a museum in Washington D.C. and Samuel Walter Woodward, founder of the Woodward & Lothrop
department store chain, financed the construction at 1312 New York Avenue. It was built as an example of the historical and cultural displays that Smith advocated in his "Design and Prospectus". The Halls of the Ancients opened on February 4, 1899, with the entrance based on Great Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
. Besides Egypt, the museum contained Greek and Roman sections that included furnishings and works of art that were historically accurate reproductions.
The New York Times called it "A novel, artistic and educational institution".
Petition
Smith found a like-minded man in Massachusetts Senator George Frisbie Hoar
, who presented Smith's petition to Congress on February 12, 1900. It was identified as Senate document number 209 by the 56th Congress, First Session, and 5,000 copies were printed. Unfortunately for Smith, the United States was engaged in the Philippine–American War, and Senator Hoar was one of President William McKinley
's strongest critics. The majority of politicians were so preoccupied with the war that they paid scant attention to an issue of culture. When Hoar died in 1904, Smith's plan died with him.
With no lawmaker to shepherd the legislation, it never made it out of committee.
at Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
The Halls of the Ancients eventually was demolished and the site became a parking garage. During Prohibition
, Villa Zorayda was a speakeasy
with casino gambling, but today it is a museum. Pompeia was partially destroyed by a fire in 1926, became a Shriners Hall, and today is occupied by an advertising agency. The Casa Monica Hotel was purchased in 1997, renovated to its original grandeur, and re-opened in 1999.
In 2000, Franklin Smith was designated a Great Floridian
by the Florida Department of State for his contributions in the development of Florida. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
into a "capital of beauty and cultural knowledge".
Early life
Franklin Smith was born into a prominent Beacon Hill family in Boston, Massachusetts on October 9, 1826. His father, Benjamin, was the Tax Collector for the Port of BostonPort of Boston
The Port of Boston, , is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston...
, and his great-grandfather was president of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Mary O. Smith was his mother, and he was the younger brother of Mary O. (Loud) and Benjamin O. Smith, who became his partner in Smith Brothers & Company, a hardware business in Boston.
Smith was a moral and religious man and served as Sunday-school superintendent at his Baptist church, Tremont Temple
Tremont Temple
The Tremont Temple on 88 Tremont Street is a Baptist church in Boston, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, USA. The existing structure opened in May 1896 and was designed by architect Clarence Blackall.-History:...
, which he also helped renovate after a fire.
YMCA
When Smith was young, his family's wealth permitted him to travel abroad. At age 25, he attended The Great ExhibitionThe Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
in London, where he marveled at the examples of architecture and culture from around the world. Upon his return home, he was asked to raise funds for a new organization, the Young Men's Christian Association. With the memory of his trip still fresh, he planned a world bazaar, which was staged at the Tremont Temple. Facades of famous buildings around the world were constructed and staffed by well-known local residents who dressed in authentic costumes and sold items imported for the event. The function was spectacularly successful, and the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
of Boston was the first chapter of the organization in the United States. Smith was elected their first president in 1855.
Politics
Smith joined other abolitionists including Anson BurlingameAnson Burlingame
Anson Burlingame wasan American lawyer, legislator, and diplomat, born in New Berlin, Chenango County, New York. In 1823 his parents took him to Ohio, and about ten years afterwards to Michigan...
to organize the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in Massachusetts. He supported the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, and attended the inauguration on March 4, 1861, with his wife on their honeymoon.
Laura Bevan was born in Baltimore, Maryland and was several years younger than he. They had two children who lived to adulthood: George Stuart, born in 1863; and Lillian, born in 1865.
Reformer
Smith Brothers did considerable trade with the military. Whenever Franklin observed dishonesty, he felt compelled to report it to authorities, then wrote an account of each offense, had it printed, and distributed the pamphlets throughout the city.He wrote to the chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee in 1863 and testified before a Senate committee, resulting in the passage of a law simplifying honest bidding and making manipulation difficult. Smith identified the names of clerks who accepted bribes and created an Analysis of Certain Contracts for the United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
. The report showed how specific contractors were able to consistently bid low.
Retail Honest Other
Price Bidder Bidder
item A 100 110 75 The Other Bidder learns that very few or none of item A
item B 50 60 90 will be purchased, so he prices that article artificially
low and can price item B ridiculously high as long as
total 160 170 165 his total bid is below that of the Honest Bidder.
The Naval Bureau Chiefs were angered that a civilian contractor questioned their integrity and embarrassed them by appearing before Congress and documenting the charges. Instead of eliminating the dishonesty in their subordinates, they targeted the Smith Brothers. Every transaction with the company was examined, and justification was demanded for every error or imperfect item supplied by the company. Despite the scrutiny, Smith was always able to provide a convincing explantion.
Senate committee
In January, 1864, a Senate committee chaired by John Parker Hale formed to investigate naval contract fraud. The Navy brass despised Hale since he helped convince Congress to ban flogging
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
in 1850 and grog
Grog
The word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or "small beer" and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the Royal Navy on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or...
rations in 1862. Hearings lasted almost four months, with the Smith brothers providing key testimony. The committee’s report was not released until June 29, but it was obvious from testimony that it would confirm Smith's accusations and dismiss the Navy's allegations against the Smith brothers.
Arrest
On June 17, 1864, two weeks after the conclusion of the Hale hearings and two weeks before the report was to be made public, both the Smith brothers were arrested. The timing was not an accident; having the principal witnesses in jail would tend to discredit the Senate report when it was released. Early in the morning, a detail of marines grabbed Franklin and dragged him to a waiting boat, where he was transported across the harbor to Georges Island and Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
. They had no warrant, only a telegraphed order from Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
, Secretary of the Navy. The marines broke down the door of Smith Brothers & Company, seizing records and correspondence, then did the same at his residence. Company clerks were arrested when they arrived for work the next morning; they were questioned and released. The business was forced to close because the company's books and papers had been taken. When family members went to post bail, they were told that bail had not been set. Next, no one claimed authority to accept bail for a military charge. When bail was finally set, it was an unbelievable half a million dollars. However, Smith was so highly regarded by his fellow biusinessmen that nearly $1 million was pledged in less than two days. Even then, Smith was denied counsel and visitors.
The Massachusetts Congressional delegation, including Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
, Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...
, Henry L. Dawes
Henry L. Dawes
Henry Laurens Dawes was a Republican United States Senator and United States Representative, notable for the Dawes Act.-Biography:...
, George S. Boutwell
George S. Boutwell
George Sewall Boutwell was an American statesman who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S...
, William B. Washburn
William B. Washburn
William Barrett Washburn was an American politician from Massachusetts who served in the United States House of Representatives and as the 28th Governor of Massachusetts.-Early life:...
, Thomas D. Eliot
Thomas D. Eliot
Thomas Dawes Eliot, was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. He was born in Boston on March 20, 1808. Eliot was named after his grandfather Justice Thomas Dawes of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court....
, John Denison Baldwin
John Denison Baldwin
John Denison Baldwin was an American politician, Congregationalist minister, newspaper editor, and popular anthropological writer. He was a member of the Connecticut State House of Representatives and later a member of the U.S...
and John B. Alley
John B. Alley
John Bassett Alley was a businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Alley attended the common schools and Phillips Academy Andover....
went to the office of Navy Secretary Welles and offered to personally guarantee Smith’s court appearance, but to no avail. Smith was finally released on July 1, two weeks after his arrest and two days after the Hale report was submitted to Congress. At the time, he still had not be charged with the specifics of a crime, just "fraud upon the United States" and "wilful neglect of duty as a contractor" with the Navy. However, his bond was lowered to $20,000.
Court martial
Smith expected to be tried in United States federal courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
. Instead, he was ordered to report to a military general court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
in Philadelphia, 266 miles (428.1 km) distant.
During the Civil War, such a surprising number of dishonest contractors had taken advantage of the Army and Navy's need for war material that a legal provision was enacted by Congress on July 17, 1862 which stated that any civilian who supplied material under contract to the military became a member of the military and was subject to court-martial.
Once again, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation talked to Welles, but got nowhere. They appealed to President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, who read the tribute to Smith's reputation that Senator Sumner had written and the other congressmen had endorsed, then scanned the testimonial to Smith’s business integrity, signed by ninety prominent Boston merchants. Lincoln offered to have the case dismissed. Senator Sumner replied,
"Mr. President, we trust you will do nothing of the sort. To do that would be to leave a stigma on a good man’s name. Smith Brothers want it never to be said that this charge was fixed up through influence. They challenge the fight but want protection against a conspiracy and a court chosen by their enemies. We only come to ask you that when the court convicts, as it is evident it means to do, you will personally review the case."
Lincoln agreed and pledged, "If I find that men have been pursuing the Smiths, I will lay my long hand upon them, no matter who they are." He then ordered that the court-martial be conducted in Boston and asked Navy Secretary Welles to send him the trial record at the conclusion for his review. Welles was told to delay execution of the sentence until the president gave his approval.
Trial
The trial began September 15, 1864 and lasted four months, with the Navy questioning less than a dozen transactions among 12,554 items totalling $1.2 million in government purchases from the Smith Brothers. Only one article—a delivery of Revely Tin metal was supplied instead of the Banca variety—shorted the Navy by $100–200. Predictably, the trial ended in judgment against the defendants, who were sentenced to two years in prison and fined $25,000. The judgment and sentence were approved by the Secretary of the Navy; all that remained was a presidential sanction.
Presidential action
Charles Sumner again met with President Lincoln on the Smiths' behalf. The president asked Sumner to review the lengthy report from the Navy Secretary which identified the key elements in the court-martial, then render an opinion. Senator Sumner studied the document overnight and wrote an opinion which summarized the treatment of Franklin Smith:
"It is hard that citizens enjoying a good name, who had the misfortune to come into business relations with the Government, should be exposed to such a spirit; that they should be dragged from their homes, and hurried to a military prison; that, though civilians, they should be treated as military offenders; that they should be compelled to undergo a protracted trial by courtmartial, damaging their good name, destroying their peace, breaking up their business, and subjecting them to untold expense,—when, at the slightest touch, the whole case vanishes into thin air, leaving behind nothing but the incomprehensible spirit in which it had its origin.
Of course, the findings and sentence of the Court ought, without delay, to be set aside. But this is only the beginning of justice. Some positive reparation should be made to citizens who have been so deeply injured."
After reflection, the president wrote his decision to Welles, the court-martial board and the Navy:
"I am unwilling for the sentence to stand and be executed, to any extent, in this case. In the absence of a more adequate motive than the evidence discloses, I am wholly unable to believe in the existence of criminal or fraudulent intent on the part of one of such well-established good character as is the accused. If the evidence went as far toward establishing a guilty profit of one or two hundred thousand dollars, as it does of one or two hundred dollars, the case would, on the question of guilt, bear a far different aspect. That on this contract, involving from one million to twelve hundred thousand dollars, the contractors should attempt a fraud which at the most could profit them only one or two hundred, or even one thousand dollars, is to my mind beyond the power of rational belief. That they did not, in such a case, strike for greater gains proves that they did not, with guilty or fraudulent intent, strike at all. The judgment and sentence are disapproved and declared null, and the accused ordered to be discharged."
Lincoln never got the opportunity to "lay my long hand upon them" who pursued the Smiths. A few short weeks after the president vacated the sentence, he was killed by an assassin's bullet.
Aftermath
After he was freed by Lincoln, Smith spent some time restoring his business. When the city mourned the death of the president, Smith was asked to lead the gathering at Tremont Temple. He then decided to go abroad and left for Europe.
There were three issues at the center of these events:
The first was control of the military. The secretary of the Navy is a civilian, but he was manipulated by his assistant secretary, a career officer, into persecuting an innocent man, thereby allowing the military to follow its own agenda. Lincoln's actions shifted the power back to civilian control.
Second was the attempt by Congress to suspend the constitutional rights of individual citizens in defiance of the Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
. The basic constitutional rights of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
, a jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
of peers
Peer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
, and a Grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
hearing before being charged, were not accorded those facing military court-martial. The 1862 Military contractor court-martial act, that was the basis for Smith's trial, was declared unconstitutional by a federal circuit court in Kentucky during 1866. The court was considering a case similar to that of Franklin Smith.
Finally, the president upheld the rights of an individual against the nearly unlimited resources and power of a federal government agency, which Lincoln called, "a fight between a department and a citizen, and the citizen has no fair show". Lincoln was protecting an honest man from retribution by those in power.
Utopia
The Long DepressionLong Depression
The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, felt most heavily in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing strong economic growth fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution in the decade following the American Civil War. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great...
of 1873–79 resulted in the unemployment of thousands of former industrial workers. Smith authored four articles which were published in the Boston Advertiser in 1877, and the Boston Board of Aid to Land Ownership was formed that year "to divert workers from surplus in manufacturing to Tillage of the Earth--the basis of all industries, and the primary source of all wealth". The board selected a committee to investigate possible locations for a settlement. After learning that the Cincinnati Southern Railroad
Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway
The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway is a railroad that runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, south to Chattanooga, Tennessee, forming part of the Norfolk Southern Railway system. The rail line that it operates, the Cincinnati Southern Railway, is owned by the City of Cincinnati and is...
was constructing a rail line to the area, they chose the Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
in Tennessee.
Smith, who was president of the board, travelled to Tennessee in 1878 and selected a site, engaged a surveyor to plot the town, and an architect to design a hotel there. The location, which Smith named Plateau City, was the most beautiful he found. It overlooked river gorges, contained broad hills and had sweeping mountain vistas, but it was seven long miles from the railroad. By this time, the depression was ending, and unemployment was falling. A few Bostonians were reconsidering their investment in the venture, so Smith found additional investors through Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
, the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
social reformer. Hughes wanted to establish a utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n settlement for younger sons of English gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
which was classless, because class conventions in England prevented those born into high society from becoming tradesmen or farmers. In 1879, the London Board of Aid to Land Ownership became the primary investors in the Tennessee project and renamed the colony Rugby
Rugby, Tennessee
Rugby is an unincorporated community in Morgan and Scott counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Founded in 1880 by English author Thomas Hughes, Rugby was built as an experimental utopian colony. While Hughes's experiment largely failed, a small community lingered at Rugby throughout the 20th...
. Smith thought that the key to growth was to become a resort, where guests would buy land and settle there. Hughes disagreed and refused to spend time or money on tourist endeavors. When Smith realized that his ideas was being ignored, he divested himself of the project in 1880 and took another trip abroad.
Travel
As a prosperous man, Smith enjoyed traveling throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, studying architecture and the history of past civilizations. During his lifetime, he took more than a dozen trips across the Atlantic, and purchased numerous works of art and artifacts.
Smith's in-laws were Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, but they were financially able to construct and travel to a winter home near St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Following a trip to Florida to visit his wife's family, Smith decided to build his own winter residence there, but wanted his house to stand out, both in design and composition. On his next tour abroad in 1882, Smith traveled through southern Spain and found his inspiration when he toured the 12th-century Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
Alhambra
Alhambra
The Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex located in the Granada, Andalusia, Spain...
Palace in Granada, Spain. The remainder of the excursion was spent searching Spain, Egypt and Morocco for decorations and furniture. On Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
in Switzerland, Smith observed the construction of a Château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
which used sand from the lake bottom to make concrete; thus solving his question of building material.
Residence
In December 1883, Smith engaged a Boston mason to come to Florida to help build a special structure. They experimented making concrete blocks that used crushed coquina
Coquina
Coquina is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of the shells of either molluscs, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. For a sediment to be considered to be a coquina, the average size of the...
along with Portland cement. Satisfied with the results, they began to construct the Villa Zorayda
Villa Zorayda
Villa Zorayda at 83 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida was inspired by the 12th-century Moorish Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. It was built by the eccentric Boston millionaire Franklin W. Smith in 1883 as his private home in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. On September 23, 1993, it...
cast in courses ten inches (254 mm) tall. After 48 hours, the concrete had hardened enough to pour the next course. The process was repeated until the desired height was reached, and the resulting structure was nearly monolithic
Monolithic architecture
Monolithic architecture is a style of construction in which a building is carved, cast or excavated from a single piece of material. The most basic form of monolithic architecture is the monolith, such as the monolithic churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia or the Pancha Rathas in India.Buildings with a...
. The material grew harder with age; after one month, it was as hard as building stone. The outside of the Villa Zorayda appears as three separate sections. To maintain structural integrity, there are railroad rails within the walls that extend the entire width of the erection. The Zorayda was not a copy of the Alhambra, it was an amalgamation of Moorish style.
Revolution
Moorish Revival architecture became the style of choice in St. Augustine. Across the country, building construction utilizing poured concrete became all the rage and replaced more costly brick in many applications.
In 1883, Henry Morrison Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler was an American tycoon, real estate promoter, railroad developer and partner of John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil. He was a key figure in the development of the eastern coast of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean and was founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway...
and his new, young wife traveled to St. Augustine for their honeymoon and were impressed with Villa Zorayda. Flagler offered to buy it for his bride, but Smith would not sell. However, he planted the seed of St. Augustine's and Florida's future in Flagler's mind.
Flagler returned to St. Augustine in 1885 and made Smith an offer. If Smith could raise $50,000, Flagler would invest $150,000 and they would build a hotel together. Perhaps fortunately for Smith, he couldn't come up with the funds, so Flagler began construction of the 540-room Ponce de León Hotel
Ponce de León Hotel
The Ponce de León Hotel was an exclusive hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. The Hotel Ponce de Leon was designed in the Spanish Renaissance style by the New York architects John Carrere and Thomas...
by himself, but spent several times his original estimate. Smith helped train the masons on the mixing and pouring techniques he used on Zorayda.
Henry Flagler sold Smith the land on which Smith built the Casa Monica Hotel
Casa Monica Hotel
hThe Casa Monica Hotel is a historic hotel located in St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. The Casa Monica Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in the United States and is a member of the "" National Trust.-History:...
in 1887. The Casa Monica is an impressive five-story structure, 400 feet (121.9 m) wide with towers on each end rising 100 feet (30.5 m), topped with tiled roofs. There are architectural features including turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s, balconies, parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s, ornate railings, cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s, arches, and battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s on the exterior, all composed of poured concrete and coquina. The flagpole in the center of the building serves a dual purpose: it is also a lightning rod. The hotel contained 138 guest rooms, including 14 suites. Several suites are located in the towers, with up to 3 bedrooms, and occupy 2 to 4 floors.
The hotel opened on January 1, 1888 but Smith had financial troubles and was forced to sell it to Flagler after the winter season ended for $325,000. Smith built a shopping arcade across from the hotels where the hotel guests could spend money.
Pompeia
After selling the Casa Monica, Smith left St. Augustine and moved to Saratoga Springs, New YorkSaratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
. He wanted to create something educational to add culture to the town instead of gambling and horse racing for which it was known. Beginning in 1888, Smith built a full-scale reconstruction of a compilation of villas described in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC , was an English politician, poet, playwright, and novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling dime-novels which earned him a considerable fortune...
novel, The Last Days of Pompeii
The Last Days of Pompeii
The Last Days of Pompeii is a novel written by the baron Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. Once a very widely read book and now relatively neglected, it culminates in the cataclysmic destruction of the city of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.The novel uses its characters to contrast...
. The structure was 75 feet (22.9 m) wide and 200 feet (61 m) deep, for a total of 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²). It was completed in 1889 and named Pompeia, or House of Pansa and furnished in the style of that era, 79 A.D. Smith commissioned artists and historians to copy the architecture, statues and paintings that would present a picture of the lifestyle of a Roman nobleman nearly two thousand years ago. Many of the artifacts and sculptures he purchased in Europe were displayed in the Pompeia.
The structure became a popular attraction for visitors, drawing over 60,000 people in the first four years. Smith wanted all schools in the region to visit Pompeia each year. His plan for the Acropolis and National Galleries was refined during his time there.
Stupendous scheme
Franklin Smith travelled Europe extensively during his lifetime, studying the great architectural achievements and art from bygone eras. For one hundred years, the United States had directed its efforts toward industrial and commercial development while neglecting cultural development. Because America had no equivalent to the great national museums abroad, Smith began to form a plan for Washington, D.C. that would include the best work from eight major civilizations in history.In the Spring of 1890, noted architect James Renwick, Jr.
James Renwick, Jr.
James Renwick, Jr. , was a prominent American architect in the 19th-century. The Encyclopedia of American Architecture calls him "one of the most successful American architects of his time".-Life and work:Renwick was born into a wealthy and well-educated family...
was in Florida working on the bell tower design for the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is a historic cathedral in St. Augustine, Florida and the seat of the Catholic Bishop of St. Augustine. It is located at Cathedral Street between Charlotte and St. George Streets. Constructed over five years , it was designated a U.S...
. One evening, he and his wife listened to Smith deliver a speech to garner support for his Design and Prospectus for a National Gallery of History of Art at Washington. Renwick endorsed the idea and offered to provide drawings, plans and illustrations for the project. Smith gratefully accepted and the firm of 'Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell' spent six months completing their contribution.
In 1891, Smith paid to print his Design and Prospectus... and distributed it widely at major cities in the northeast. Smith delivered a series of lectures, beginning at the Boston Art Club
Boston Art Club
The Boston Art Club, Boston, Massachusetts, for nearly 157 years, serves as a nexus for Members and non Members to access the world of Fine Art. Currently more than 250 members maintain an active environment for the support and promotion of these works....
, then the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
at Baltimore, Philadelphia's Drexel Institute, and finally New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
on December 17, 1892.
However, the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
and depression
Depression (economics)
In economics, a depression is a sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. It is a more severe downturn than a recession, which is seen by some economists as part of the modern business cycle....
that followed forced Smith to delay his plan until the world's economies began to recover in 1898.
Smith took every opportunity to talk about his grand scheme wherever he was, and he travelled constantly. He was a charming, enthusiastic speaker, and he made his lectures interesting. He was able to persuade many influential people to endorse his vision, and gained widespread support. Smith insisted that all he needed was $10 million and 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land.
He lobbied both the House and the Senate, and made certain every member had a copy of his Design and Prospectus. He kept a file of 225 newspaper articles from 51 cities in 25 states that endorsed his plan. Another file held letters of support from politicians, educators, businessmen, scholars, museums and architects.
Prototype
Smith designed a museum in Washington D.C. and Samuel Walter Woodward, founder of the Woodward & Lothrop
Woodward & Lothrop
Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. Woodward & Lothrop was Washington, D.C.'s first department store, opening in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States...
department store chain, financed the construction at 1312 New York Avenue. It was built as an example of the historical and cultural displays that Smith advocated in his "Design and Prospectus". The Halls of the Ancients opened on February 4, 1899, with the entrance based on Great Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
Great Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
The Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak, located within the Karnak temple complex, in the Precinct of Amon-Re, is one of the most visited monuments of Ancient Egypt. The design was initially instituted by Hatshepsut, at the North-west chapel to Amun in the upper terrace of Deir el-BahriThe hall covers...
. Besides Egypt, the museum contained Greek and Roman sections that included furnishings and works of art that were historically accurate reproductions.
The New York Times called it "A novel, artistic and educational institution".
Petition
Smith found a like-minded man in Massachusetts Senator George Frisbie Hoar
George Frisbie Hoar
George Frisbie Hoar was a prominent United States politician and United States Senator from Massachusetts. Hoar was born in Concord, Massachusetts...
, who presented Smith's petition to Congress on February 12, 1900. It was identified as Senate document number 209 by the 56th Congress, First Session, and 5,000 copies were printed. Unfortunately for Smith, the United States was engaged in the Philippine–American War, and Senator Hoar was one of President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
's strongest critics. The majority of politicians were so preoccupied with the war that they paid scant attention to an issue of culture. When Hoar died in 1904, Smith's plan died with him.
With no lawmaker to shepherd the legislation, it never made it out of committee.
Death
Laura Smith separated from her husband during the 1890s. In the 1900 census, Franklin Smith's marital status was listed as "widowed", but Laura Smith did not die until 1915. The year 1906 ended Smith's dreams when the banks foreclosed on his properties in St. Augustine, Washington, D.C. and Saratoga Springs. Smith died in anonymity and poverty five years later, disowned by his family and residing with his older sister Mary in Boston. He was buried in the Smith family plot of Mount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
at Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
The Halls of the Ancients eventually was demolished and the site became a parking garage. During Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, Villa Zorayda was a speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
with casino gambling, but today it is a museum. Pompeia was partially destroyed by a fire in 1926, became a Shriners Hall, and today is occupied by an advertising agency. The Casa Monica Hotel was purchased in 1997, renovated to its original grandeur, and re-opened in 1999.
In 2000, Franklin Smith was designated a Great Floridian
Great Floridians
Great Floridian is a title bestowed upon citizens in the state of Florida by the Florida Department of State. There were actually two formal programs...
by the Florida Department of State for his contributions in the development of Florida. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine.
Publications
- The Conspiracy In The U. S. Navy Department Against Franklin W. Smith Of Boston, 1861-1865 ISBN 1141493411 Nabu Press (1865)
- Wooden ships superseded by iron: Cheap Iron Indispensable For The Revival Of American Commerce ISBN 112095925X A. Mudge & Son (1869)
- The Hard Times; Agricultural Development The True Remedy ISBN 1148949763 (1877)
- The Pompeia: A Reproduction Of The House Of Pansa, In Pompeii, Buried By Vesuvius ISBN 1104322269 Kessinger Publishing (1889)
- Design & Prospectus for the National Gallery of Art and History ASIN 110497374X Gibson Brothers (1891)
- National Galleries Of History And Art: Descriptive Handbook Of The Halls Of The Ancients ISBN 110497374X Kessinger Publishing (1900)