James F. Post


James F. Post 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.

Early life

James F. Post was born James Francis Post in Franklin, New Jersey, on September 24, 1818.
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.
In 1849, the family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where they had a third child, James France Post, Jr.. 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

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.
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. 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.
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. He assigned his assistant architect and draftsman, a fellow Northern architect named Russell 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.
After the war, Post designed and/or superintended many public buildings in Wilmington, including the Post Office 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

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.
Building NameLocationDateStatusBuilding Type
Front Street Methodist ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1859No Longer StandingReligious
St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1845-1847; 1884 StandingReligious
Eliza Lord HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1850No Longer StandingResidential
Henry Nutt HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1850No Longer StandingResidential
Levi A. Hart HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1850No Longer StandingResidential
Donald McRae House, or MacRae-Dix HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1851-1852StandingResidential
Duncan K. McRae House, or MacRae-Willard HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1851-1852StandingResidential
Edward Savage HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1851-1852StandingResidential
Bennett Flanner HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1852No Longer StandingResidential
S. P. Polley Carriage HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1852No Longer StandingTransportation
Zebulon Latimer HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1852StandingResidential
Fire HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1853No Longer StandingPublic
Hustin HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1853No Longer StandingResidential
DeRosset Stable and Carriage HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1854No Longer StandingTransportation
Mauger London HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1854No Longer StandingResidential
New Hanover County JailWilmington, New Hanover County1854Standing, AlteredPublic
Scott and Baldwin StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1854No Longer StandingCommercial
Wessell-Hathaway House, or Jacob Wessell HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1854StandingResidential
City Hall-Thalian HallWilmington, New Hanover County1855-1858StandingPublic
David Smith HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1855No Longer StandingResidential
Lazarus-Hill-Divine HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1855StandingResidential
Levi A. Hart Slave QuartersWilmington, New Hanover County1855No Longer StandingResidential
E.W. Hall BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1857No Longer StandingCommercial
J. Dawson BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1857No Longer StandingCommercial
J.G. Wright BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1858No Longer StandingCommercial
Mauger London StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1858No Longer StandingCommercial
Wright-Harriss-Bellamy HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1858No Longer StandingResidential
Bellamy MansionWilmington, New Hanover County1859-1861StandingResidential
Conoley-Sidbury HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1859StandingResidential
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1859-1869StandingReligious
Von Glahn HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1859StandingResidential
Elmwood, or James Grist HouseWashington, Beaufort County1860StandingResidential
IcehouseWilmington, New Hanover County1860No Longer StandingCommercial
O. G. Parsley HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1860StandingResidential
O. G. Parsley StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1860No Longer StandingCommercial
Martin-Huggins HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1870StandingResidential
Seamen's HomeWilmington, New Hanover County1873No Longer StandingPublic
Adrian HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1875StandingResidential
Carolina Rice MillsWilmington, New Hanover County1880No Longer StandingIndustrial
Carolina Yacht ClubWrightsville Beach, New Hanover County1883No Longer StandingRecreational
Honnett HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1883 StandingResidential
City HospitalWilmington, New Hanover County1884 No Longer StandingHealth Care
James F. Post HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1884No Longer StandingResidential
S. and B. Solomon HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1885No Longer StandingResidential
F. W. Kerchner StoresWilmington, New Hanover County1886No Longer StandingCommercial
Worth and Worth BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1886StandingCommercial
Benjamin Beery HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1887 StandingResidential
City JailWilmington, New Hanover County1887No Longer StandingPublic
Delancy Evans HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1887No Longer StandingResidential
Mrs. M. P. Taylor's StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1887No Longer StandingCommercial
William B. McKoy HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1887StandingResidential
Pembroke Jones CottageWrightsville Sound, New Hanover County1888No Longer StandingResidential
United States Post Office and CourthouseWilmington, New Hanover County1888No Longer StandingPublic
Hemenway SchoolWilmington, New Hanover County1889; 1897 No Longer StandingEducational
Union SchoolWilmington, New Hanover County1889No Longer StandingEducational
Williams-Holladay HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1889-1890StandingResidential
New Hanover County CourthouseWilmington, New Hanover County1891-1893StandingPublic
Strausz House, or Heide-Bridgers HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1891StandingResidential
Sol Bear's StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1892StandingCommercial
Masonic TempleWilmington, New Hanover County1894UnbuiltFraternal
MacRae Building, or S. H. Fishblates Store FrontWilmington, New Hanover County1895StandingCommercial
Ebenezer Baptist ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1896No Longer StandingReligious
Oakdale Cemetery GateWilmington, New Hanover County1896StandingPublic
Oakdale Cemetery LodgeWilmington, New Hanover County1896-1897No Longer StandingPublic
Goodman BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1897StandingCommercial
I. Shrier StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1897StandingCommercial
Sol Bear Beach or Sound HouseWrightsville Beach, New Hanover County1897No Longer StandingResidential

Military Service

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.
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.

Death

Post died on July 15, 1899 at the age of 80. He was buried in Oakdale Cemetery, his wife Mary Ann later buried by his side when she died the following year in 1900.