James F. Post (September 24, 1818 – July 15, 1899) was an architect, builder, and contractor who designed and oversaw the construction of over 60 buildings. He is most known for his buildings in Wilmington, North Carolina, including the Bellamy Mansion, New Hanover County Courthouse, City Hall-Thalian Hall, and Zebulon Latimer House.

James F. Post
Born
James Francis Post

September 24, 1818
DiedJuly 15, 1899 (aged 80)
OccupationArchitect
SpouseMary Ann Russell Post
Children3

Early life

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James F. Post was born James Francis Post in Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, on September 24, 1818.[1]

At some point around 1836, he moved to New York and studied architecture there for five years. In 1841 he moved to Petersburg, Virginia, and worked as an architect and builder for eight years. During his time in Petersburg, he met his future wife Mary Ann Russel; they were married October 8, 1843. During their time in Virginia, the couple had two children: Erastus, who died shortly after, and Thomas Russell Post (1846-1943).

In 1849, the family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where they had a third child, James France Post, Jr. (1850-1918). Post began his career in Wilmington by doing small carpentry jobs, but he soon took on larger jobs and developed a reputation as an architect. He took quickly to his newly adopted home and would later fight for North Carolina on the side of the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

Architecture career

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Little is known about Post's architectural career before his move to Wilmington, however it is alleged he designed the first residence for millionaire John Jacob Astor in New York City 1840. Post moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1849 and resided there until his death in 1899.

 
The Bellamy Mansion, designed by James F. Post, now stands as a museum.

Throughout his career, Post would identify with different careers in construction depending on the current demands of the community. In the 1850s he identified himself as a carpenter, while saying he was an architect by the 1860s. From the 1860s on, he would alternatively call himself any combination of the titles of architect, contractor, carpenter, and builder, often all four titles in succession.[1] he would often engage in contractor work as a carpentry partner or as a supervising architect for local mason contractors like Joseph Keen or Robert B. and John C. Wood, usually when they undertook large projects.[2]

In 1859 after finishing the City Hall-Thalian Hall project, Post undertook a commission to build the Bellamy Mansion for Dr. John D. Bellamy, one of the largest and most expensive homes built in Wilmington at the time.[3] He assigned his assistant architect and draftsman, a fellow Northern architect named Rufus W. Bunnell whom Post had recruited from Connecticut in 1858, to create facade drawings and oversee construction. Bunnell stayed until 1860, when he moved back North to escape the rising tensions leading to the Civil War.[2][4]

After the war, Post designed and/or superintended many public buildings in Wilmington, including the Post Office (no longer standing) and the New Hanover County Courthouse. He also took on many private commissions, building homes, offices, and other buildings for residents of Wilmington and surrounding areas.

List of buildings

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According to his ledger records, James F. Post officially worked on over 60 projects, his entries detailing 66 different projects in the New Hanover Country area over the span of 53 years.[1]

Building Name Location Date Status Building Type
Front Street Methodist Church Wilmington, New Hanover County 1859 No Longer Standing Religious
St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church Wilmington, New Hanover County 1845-1847; 1884 (addition) Standing Religious
Eliza Lord House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1850 No Longer Standing Residential
Henry Nutt House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1850 No Longer Standing Residential
Levi A. Hart House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1850 No Longer Standing Residential
Donald McRae House, or MacRae-Dix House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1851-1852 Standing Residential
Duncan K. McRae House, or MacRae-Willard House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1851-1852 Standing Residential
Edward Savage House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1851-1852 Standing Residential
Bennett Flanner House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1852 No Longer Standing Residential
S. P. Polley Carriage House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1852 No Longer Standing Transportation
Zebulon Latimer House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1852 Standing Residential
Fire House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1853 No Longer Standing Public
Hustin House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1853 No Longer Standing Residential
DeRosset Stable and Carriage House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1854 No Longer Standing Transportation
Mauger London House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1854 No Longer Standing Residential
New Hanover County Jail Wilmington, New Hanover County 1854 Standing, Altered Public
Scott and Baldwin Store Wilmington, New Hanover County 1854 No Longer Standing Commercial
Wessell-Hathaway House, or Jacob Wessell House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1854 Standing Residential
City Hall-Thalian Hall Wilmington, New Hanover County 1855-1858 Standing Public
David Smith House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1855 No Longer Standing Residential
Lazarus-Hill-Divine House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1855 Standing Residential
Levi A. Hart Slave Quarters Wilmington, New Hanover County 1855 No Longer Standing Residential
E.W. Hall Building Wilmington, New Hanover County 1857 No Longer Standing Commercial
J. Dawson Building Wilmington, New Hanover County 1857 No Longer Standing Commercial
J.G. Wright Building Wilmington, New Hanover County 1858 No Longer Standing Commercial
Mauger London Store Wilmington, New Hanover County 1858 No Longer Standing Commercial
Wright-Harriss-Bellamy House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1858 No Longer Standing Residential
Bellamy Mansion Wilmington, New Hanover County 1859-1861 Standing Residential
Conoley-Sidbury House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1859 Standing Residential
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church Wilmington, New Hanover County 1859-1869 Standing Religious
Von Glahn House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1859 Standing Residential
Elmwood, or James Grist House Washington, Beaufort County 1860 Standing Residential
Icehouse Wilmington, New Hanover County 1860 No Longer Standing Commercial
O. G. Parsley House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1860 Standing Residential
O. G. Parsley Store Wilmington, New Hanover County 1860 No Longer Standing Commercial
Martin-Huggins House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1870 Standing Residential
Seamen's Home Wilmington, New Hanover County 1873 No Longer Standing Public
Adrian House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1875 Standing Residential
Carolina Rice Mills Wilmington, New Hanover County 1880 No Longer Standing Industrial
Carolina Yacht Club Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover County 1883 No Longer Standing Recreational
Honnett House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1883 (enlargement) Standing Residential
City Hospital Wilmington, New Hanover County 1884 (addition) No Longer Standing Health Care
James F. Post House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1884 No Longer Standing Residential
S. and B. Solomon House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1885 No Longer Standing Residential
F. W. Kerchner Stores Wilmington, New Hanover County 1886 No Longer Standing Commercial
Worth and Worth Building Wilmington, New Hanover County 1886 Standing Commercial
Benjamin Beery House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1887 (remodel) Standing Residential
City Jail Wilmington, New Hanover County 1887 No Longer Standing Public
Delancy Evans House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1887 No Longer Standing Residential
Mrs. M. P. Taylor's Store Wilmington, New Hanover County 1887 No Longer Standing Commercial
William B. McKoy House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1887 Standing Residential
Pembroke Jones Cottage Wrightsville Sound, New Hanover County 1888 No Longer Standing Residential
United States Post Office and Courthouse Wilmington, New Hanover County 1888 No Longer Standing Public
Hemenway School Wilmington, New Hanover County 1889; 1897 (expansion) No Longer Standing Educational
Union School Wilmington, New Hanover County 1889 No Longer Standing Educational
Williams-Holladay House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1889-1890 Standing Residential
New Hanover County Courthouse Wilmington, New Hanover County 1891-1893 Standing Public
Strausz House, or Heide-Bridgers House Wilmington, New Hanover County 1891 Standing Residential
Sol Bear's Store Wilmington, New Hanover County 1892 Standing Commercial
Masonic Temple Wilmington, New Hanover County 1894 Unbuilt Fraternal
MacRae Building, or S. H. Fishblates Store Front Wilmington, New Hanover County 1895 Standing Commercial
Ebenezer Baptist Church Wilmington, New Hanover County 1896 No Longer Standing Religious
Oakdale Cemetery Gate Wilmington, New Hanover County 1896 Standing Public
Oakdale Cemetery Lodge Wilmington, New Hanover County 1896-1897 No Longer Standing Public
Goodman Building Wilmington, New Hanover County 1897 Standing Commercial
I. Shrier Store Wilmington, New Hanover County 1897 Standing Commercial
Sol Bear Beach or Sound House Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover County 1897 No Longer Standing Residential

Military service

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The American Civil War began April 12, 1861, with North Carolina officially succeeding from the Union to join the Confederate States of America on May 20, 1861.

At the beginning of the war, James F. Post served in the North Carolina 2nd Artillery Regiment, also known as the 36th Regiment Volunteers or the “Cape Fear Regiment,” in 1st Company A, also known as “Wilmington Horse Artillery.” He rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant on June 18, 1861. He was not re-elected at the company’s reorganization on April 15, 1862, and was released from duty to civilian life on April 27, 1862.[5][6][7]

Following his discharge, he continued to contribute to the Confederate war effort, employed by the Confederate government for building and repairing various military structures at installations such as Fort Fisher, Fort Anderson, and other locations that worked to protect to Wilmington’s harbor, which was not only a major Confederate port at the time but also one of the last ports still available to blockade runners until the fall of Fort Fisher in 1864.[2]

Death

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Post died on July 15, 1899, at the age of 80.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Post, James F. (1818-1899) : NC Architects & Builders : NCSU Libraries". ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  2. ^ a b c W., Bishir, Catherine (2004). The Bellamy Mansion, Wilmington North Carolina : an antebellum architectural treasure and its people. Buchman, Tim., Bellamy Mansion Museum. Wilmington, N.C.: Bellamy Mansion Museum. ISBN 0967303737. OCLC 56936927.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ W., Bishir, Catherine (2005). North Carolina architecture. Preservation North Carolina (Organization) (Portable ed.). Chapel Hill: Published for the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina, Inc., by the University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807829595. OCLC 58050659.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Rufus Bunnell Diary, Bellamy Mansion Archives.
  5. ^ "Soldier Details - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  6. ^ "2nd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery Genealogy - FamilySearch Wiki". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  7. ^ "Research OnLine - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery". www.researchonline.net. Retrieved 2018-11-26.