Saint Anselm College

1891 through the winter of 1892; the building was designed by Patrick W. Ford, an Irish-American architect from Boston. Nearing completion in February 1892, all that remained was for workers to continue to plaster the interior walls. A fire, which was most likely caused by an open heating stove's grate, sparked an ember and destroyed the entire structure. No one was seriously hurt because of the fire. The monks were forced to rebuild the college, spending considerably less money on the construction, as they had received only $55,000 from the Insurance Commissioner of the State of New Hampshire. In an effort to save money, bricks were salvaged from the previous structure and pieces of granite were cut from large granite rocks still visible on the current quad. In 1893, the building that is the center of campus was completed; the fire delayed the first academic semester by one year. On October 11, 1893, the college was officially rededicated. To avoid the possibility of another fire, a power house was constructed …