F. A. Sexton, Architect [1842-1930]
F. A. Sexton [†] was born in Norfolk County, England, in 1842 and came to the U.S. as a child of five. After studying architecture in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, he came to Tacoma about 1890 and the following year pitched a tent at the eastern edge of the Everett townsite to assure himself a role in the development that was about to occur. Sexton's energetic efforts were to result in his virtual monopoly of architectural work in that sector, including such major commissions as the McCabe Block, Rudebeck Hall, the Brue Building, Hotel Everett, Monroe School and Bast Block. He was architect of the first brick building erected on the Everett townsite, the Bank of Everett at Hewitt & Pine Street, and designed homes for many prominent figures in the community. In later years he operated a successful practice in Seattle, retiring to a Pierce County farm where he died in 1930.
Surveys of Everett's "Riverside" district reveal that very few buildings of the initial boom period of the city's history have survived with their architectural integrity intact. Sexton's McCabe Block, listed on the National Register, is the finest extant commercial building by this architect. Likewise, the Swalwell cottage is a rare survivor, also listed on the National Register.
† David Dilgard and Staff for the Northwest Room, Everett Public Library, and City of Everett Historical Advisory Commission, Swalwell Cottage, Snohomish County, Washington, nomination document, 1978, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.