James F. Post (September 24, 1818 – July 15, 1899) was an American 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 Fairfield Township, Essex County, 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 (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 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 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.Rufus Bunnell Diary, Bellamy Mansion Archives.
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 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 TypeFront Street Methodist ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1859No Longer StandingReligiousSt. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1845-1847; 1884 (addition)StandingReligiousEliza Lord HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1850No Longer StandingResidentialHenry Nutt HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1850No Longer StandingResidentialLevi A. Hart HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1850No Longer StandingResidentialDonald McRae House, or MacRae-Dix HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1851-1852StandingResidentialDuncan K. McRae House, or MacRae-Willard HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1851-1852StandingResidentialEdward Savage HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1851-1852StandingResidentialBennett Flanner HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1852No Longer StandingResidentialS. P. Polley Carriage HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1852No Longer StandingTransportationZebulon Latimer HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1852StandingResidentialFire HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1853No Longer StandingPublicHustin HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1853No Longer StandingResidentialDeRosset Stable and Carriage HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1854No Longer StandingTransportationMauger London HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1854No Longer StandingResidentialNew Hanover County JailWilmington, New Hanover County1854Standing, AlteredPublicScott and Baldwin StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1854No Longer StandingCommercialWessell-Hathaway House, or Jacob Wessell HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1854StandingResidentialCity Hall-Thalian HallWilmington, New Hanover County1855-1858StandingPublicDavid Smith HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1855No Longer StandingResidentialLazarus-Hill-Divine HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1855StandingResidentialLevi A. Hart Slave QuartersWilmington, New Hanover County1855No Longer StandingResidentialE.W. Hall BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1857No Longer StandingCommercialJ. Dawson BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1857No Longer StandingCommercialJ.G. Wright BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1858No Longer StandingCommercialMauger London StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1858No Longer StandingCommercialWright-Harriss-Bellamy HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1858No Longer StandingResidentialBellamy MansionWilmington, New Hanover County1859-1861StandingResidentialConoley-Sidbury HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1859StandingResidentialSt. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1859-1869StandingReligiousVon Glahn HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1859StandingResidentialElmwood, or James Grist HouseWashington, Beaufort County1860StandingResidentialIcehouseWilmington, New Hanover County1860No Longer StandingCommercialO. G. Parsley HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1860StandingResidentialO. G. Parsley StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1860No Longer StandingCommercialMartin-Huggins HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1870StandingResidentialSeamen's HomeWilmington, New Hanover County1873No Longer StandingPublicAdrian HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1875StandingResidentialCarolina Rice MillsWilmington, New Hanover County1880No Longer StandingIndustrialCarolina Yacht ClubWrightsville Beach, New Hanover County1883No Longer StandingRecreationalHonnett HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1883 (enlargement)StandingResidentialCity HospitalWilmington, New Hanover County1884 (addition)No Longer StandingHealth CareJames F. Post HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1884No Longer StandingResidentialS. and B. Solomon HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1885No Longer StandingResidentialF. W. Kerchner StoresWilmington, New Hanover County1886No Longer StandingCommercialWorth and Worth BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1886StandingCommercialBenjamin Beery HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1887 (remodel)StandingResidentialCity JailWilmington, New Hanover County1887No Longer StandingPublicDelancy Evans HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1887No Longer StandingResidentialMrs. M. P. Taylor's StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1887No Longer StandingCommercialWilliam B. McKoy HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1887StandingResidentialPembroke Jones CottageWrightsville Sound, New Hanover County1888No Longer StandingResidentialUnited States Post Office and CourthouseWilmington, New Hanover County1888No Longer StandingPublicHemenway SchoolWilmington, New Hanover County1889; 1897 (expansion)No Longer StandingEducationalUnion SchoolWilmington, New Hanover County1889No Longer StandingEducationalWilliams-Holladay HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1889-1890StandingResidentialNew Hanover County CourthouseWilmington, New Hanover County1891-1893StandingPublicStrausz House, or Heide-Bridgers HouseWilmington, New Hanover County1891StandingResidentialSol Bear's StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1892StandingCommercialMasonic TempleWilmington, New Hanover County1894UnbuiltFraternalMacRae Building, or S. H. Fishblates Store FrontWilmington, New Hanover County1895StandingCommercialEbenezer Baptist ChurchWilmington, New Hanover County1896No Longer StandingReligiousOakdale Cemetery GateWilmington, New Hanover County1896StandingPublicOakdale Cemetery LodgeWilmington, New Hanover County1896-1897No Longer StandingPublicGoodman BuildingWilmington, New Hanover County1897StandingCommercialI. Shrier StoreWilmington, New Hanover County1897StandingCommercialSol 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.
References
__FORCETOC__