Walter A. Post (January 7, 1857 - February 12, 1912) was the first
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...
.
He was born in Kingston, New York, on 7 January 1857, and studied as a civil engineer.
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.
When Newport News was chartered as an
independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
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.
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.
''Post Street'' in the
Hilton Village
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 191 ...
historic district in Newport News is named after Post.
References
Mayors of Newport News, Virginia
1912 deaths
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