author

Henry Chandlee Forman

1904–1991

An architect by training and a historian by calling, this writer spent decades uncovering and documenting early American buildings, gardens, and settlements. His books helped preserve the story of colonial architecture, especially in Maryland and the wider American South.

1 Audiobook

Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century

Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century

by Henry Chandlee Forman

About the author

Born in New York City in 1904, Henry Chandlee Forman studied architecture at Princeton University and later earned advanced degrees at the University of Pennsylvania. Although he trained as an architect, he became best known for his work as a historian of early American architecture and preservation.

His career included important research on some of the nation’s earliest colonial sites, including Jamestown, Virginia, and St. Mary’s City, Maryland. He also taught art and architectural subjects, and over the years wrote numerous books focused on seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and early nineteenth-century buildings, gardens, and landscapes.

Forman’s writing is especially valued for its close attention to historic houses and regional building traditions. Much of his work centered on Maryland and the South, where he helped record architectural heritage that might otherwise have been forgotten. He died in 1991.