1896: Company is founded
Company founder Evangeliste Turgeon begins building houses, some of which still stand today, in and around Providence, Rhode Island. By 1931 his sons, John, Edward, George, and Henry, join the firm, and it starts to take on larger construction projects, including many schools, hospitals, public buildings, and industrial projects in southeastern New England. “At one time E. Turgeon was one of the largest contractors in the state,” Draycott says. “I drive my kids nuts driving around Providence saying Turgeon did that and Turgeon did that.”
1946: Reaching new heights
Evangeliste Turgeon retires, and the company remains in the control of his sons. By the 1950s E. Turgeon is the largest construction firm in Rhode Island, with hundreds of employees. “It wasn’t like today, when you subcontract work to different companies,” Draycott says. “They owned equipment that rivaled everybody.” E. Turgeon becomes known for large masonry projects with ornate detailing. Its work includes the Veteran’s Hospital and the Nathanial Green School in Providence. “Back when they really built a school to last,” Draycott says. “I’m amazed now at the shape of the bricks used at St. Matthews. All of the brick is in premade shapes to fit into the architecture. The detail and coordination involved without the aid of a computer was quite a high-level skill.”
1973: New face, a new role
In April, Frank Ducharme joins E. Turgeon as a vice president. Turgeon’s sons are of retirement age and don’t have children ready to enter the business, so within a year Ducharme becomes owner and president. He oversees cost controls and sells equipment to scale the firm back to a general-contracting role. E. Turgeon Construction Company focuses on building relationships with clients and participates less in the public bidding process. Over the next decade E. Turgeon develops long-lasting relationships with Providence-based Swarovski Crystal, Cherry Semiconductor, The Catholic Diocese of Providence, and Providence College.
1987: Keeping a tight focus
Brad Draycott, a former senior project manager for Bryant University, joins E. Turgeon as a project manager and later becomes vice president and a partner at the firm. Ducharme’s sons, David and Christopher, join the firm later in 1994. “We’ve managed to stay very close to home with our work and to jump between sectors of commercial, religious, and educational projects,” Draycott says. “Being a small company, we keep our overhead low, and we can ride these tides.”
2009: The Byzantine church
In 2009, E. Turgeon, known for a century for constructing landmark projects, starts work on the Saint Mary and Saint Mena Coptic Orthodox Church. The 24,000-square-foot cathedral includes two 65-foot towers with ornate cupolas and a 35-foot-diameter dome over the main sanctuary, which seats 600. “It’s very unique Byzantine styling with a large gold dome and five domes altogether,” Draycott says. “It’s built on rural farmland, and all of a sudden this structure comes out that’s quite spectacular.” The church includes intricate detailing such as hand-carved wood from Egypt and Canada and a bell, which is also from Egypt. The altar and baptistery are carved from marble from China. “It’s the type of building they aren’t just going to put an addition on in a few years,” Draycott says. “This building is going to stand as it is for the next 100 years.”
