Thomas Tefft was born in Richmond Rhode Island where at age seventeen he taught school. After being persuaded by Henry Barnard to enter Brown University, he began working with a Providence architect named James Bucklin. During his time at Brown, Tefft was greatly influenced by a select group of professors; Charles Coffin Jewett, Francis Wayland, and George W. Greene. After his graduation in 1851, not only did Tefft begin his independent architectural career but he also lectured and promoted architectural associations and education. He was inspired by the Great Exhibit of 1851 and advocated the establishment of a school of design and an art museum in Providence. From 1851 to 1856 Tefft created approximately 150 buildings. Among these buildings were residences, factories, libraries, churches, schools, and railroad stations. One of Teffts greatest designs was for the old Railroad Station in Providence (1848), demolished in 1898 during a period of transformation within the city.