Walter A. Post | |
---|---|
Mayor of Newport, Virginia | |
In office November 1896 –September 1, 1898 | |
Preceded by | None,new office |
Succeeded by | Allan A. Moss |
Personal details | |
Born | January 7,1857 Kingston,New York,U.S. |
Died | February 12,1912 |
Walter A. Post (January 7,1857 - February 12,1912) was the first mayor of Newport News,Virginia. [1]
He was born in Kingston,New York,on 7 January 1857,and studied as a civil engineer. [2]
He was sent to Newport News by his brother-in-law,Eugene White of Brooklyn,who had contracted with railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington to build a cargo terminal at the end of the newly built eastern terminus of the Chesapeake &Ohio Railway on the Virginia Peninsula,in 1880. [3]
When Newport News was chartered as an independent city in 1896,Post was chosen to serve as acting mayor until the city's first municipal elections could be held. On July 1 of that year,he was elected. Post chose to serve only one term as mayor,stepping down in 1898.
In 1902 Post commissioned a handsome Beaux Arts style mansion on Huntington Avenue in the North End Neighborhood of Newport News. The Post house still stands,surrounded by its original wrought-iron fence at 5600 Huntington Avenue,the largest lot in the North End.
In 1911,he assumed the presidency of Newport News Shipbuilding &Dry Dock Company. He would hold that office until his death in 1912. The newspapers of the day attributed his death to "overwork",and heart failure. [2] His entire time in Newport News was spent serving as a kind of lieutenant for Huntington,who essentially built the city of Newport News to serve his railroad.[ citation needed ]
Post Street in the Hilton Village historic district in Newport News is named after Post.[ citation needed ]
Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS),a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries,is the sole designer,builder,and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co. in 1886,Newport News Shipbuilding has built more than 800 ships,including both naval and commercial ships. Located in the city of Newport News,Virginia,its facilities span more than 550 acres (2.2 km2).
Williamsburg is an independent city in Virginia,United States. As of the 2020 census,it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula,Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is bordered by James City County on the west and south and York County on the east.
Newport News is an independent city in southeastern Virginia,United States. At the 2020 census,the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region,it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city in the United States. The city is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula,on the northern shore of the James River to the river's mouth on the harbor of Hampton Roads.
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The seat of Cabell County,the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Guyandotte rivers. Huntington is the second-most populous city in West Virginia,with a population of 46,842 as of the 2020 census. Its metro area,the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area,is the largest in West Virginia,spanning seven counties across three states and having a population of 376,155 at the 2020 census.
Collis Potter Huntington was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading who invested in Theodore Judah's idea to build the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad. Huntington helped lead and develop other major interstate lines,such as the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Chesapeake &Ohio Railway (C&O),which he was recruited to help complete. The C&O,completed in 1873,fulfilled a long-held dream of Virginians of a rail link from the James River at Richmond to the Ohio River Valley. The new railroad facilities adjacent to the river there resulted in expansion of the former small town of Guyandotte,West Virginia into part of a new city which was named Huntington in his honor.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington,it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to the Ohio River by 1873,where the railroad town of Huntington,West Virginia,was named for him.
Williams Carter Wickham was a Virginia lawyer and politician. A plantation owner who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly,Wickham also became a delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861,where he voted against secession,but after fellow delegates and voters approved secession,he joined the Confederate States Army and rose to the rank of cavalry general,then became a Confederate States Congressman near the end of the American Civil War. Later,Wickham became a Republican and helped rebuild Virginia's infrastructure after gaining control of the heavily damaged Virginia Central Railroad,which he repaired and helped merge into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway company. Cooperating with financier Collis Huntington,Wickham developed coal resources and the Newport News Shipyard. He was also again elected to the Virginia Senate. His son Henry T. Wickham also became a lawyer and would work with his father and eventually twice become the speaker pro tempore of the Virginia Senate.
Oscar Jerome "Jerry" Brittingham Jr. was the mayor of Newport News,Virginia from July 1,1958 to June 30,1962. Brittingham served as the first mayor of the city following its consolidation with the city of Warwick. The official consolidation took place on the day Brittingham became mayor. In May 1962,Brittingham saw the city's new Victory Arch dedicated. The establishment of Christopher Newport College came late in his term.
Robert B. "Bob" Smith was the mayor of Newport News,Virginia from September 1,1956 to June 30,1958. Prior to serving as mayor,Smith had served as the head of the news operation for the city's Daily Press and Times-Herald newspapers. In 1946,he served as an officer for the city's Golden Anniversary celebration,commemorating 50 years since the city's incorporation.
Alfred M. Monfalcone was the mayor of Newport News,Virginia,from January 1956 until September 1956. He served as a member of the city's council from 1942 until his death.
Harrison Phoebus was an American 19th century entrepreneur and hotelier who became the leading citizen and namesake of the town of Phoebus in Elizabeth City County,near Fort Monroe,which is now part of the independent city of Hampton,Virginia.
Hilton Village is a planned English-village-style neighborhood in Newport News,Virginia. Recognized as a pioneering development in urban planning,it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood was built between 1918 and 1921 in response to the need for housing during World War I for employees of Newport News Shipbuilding &Drydock Company. It is recognized as the United States' first Federal war-housing project.
Homer Lenoir Ferguson was an author and businessman. He was president of Newport News Shipbuilding &Dry Dock Company in Newport News,Virginia,from July 22,1915,through July 31,1946.
Newport News High School was a high school located in Newport News,Virginia,United States. It was located at 3100 Huntington Avenue and operated by Newport News Public Schools.
Newport News station was an Amtrak inter-city train station in Newport News,Virginia. When it closed,it was the southern terminus of two daily Northeast Regional round trips. It has a single side platform adjacent to a large CSX rail yard. An Amtrak Thruway motorcoach connection to Norfolk station effectively doubles the frequency between each station and Washington. It was replaced by the Newport News Transportation Center.
Parke Shepherd Rouse Jr. was an American journalist,writer and historian in Tidewater Virginia.
Newport News has a long history dating back to the days of Jamestown,Virginia. The area which is now the city of Newport News has existed under different names and forms including Elizabeth Cittie,Warwick River Shire,Warwick County,Virginia,Warwick City,and the current independent city of Newport News.
The Peninsula Extension which created the Peninsula Subdivision of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was the new railroad line on the Virginia Peninsula from Richmond to southeastern Warwick County. Its principal purpose was to provide an important new pathway for coal mined in West Virginia to reach the harbor of Hampton Roads for coastal and export shipping on collier ships.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Hampton,Virginia,United States.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Newport News,Virginia,United States.