Walter A. Post

Walter A. Post
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]}

References

^ Rouse, Parke (March 24, 1991). "A Look Back at NN Leaders". Daily Press. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Death of Walter Post". newspapers.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
^ Parke, Rouse (December 8, 1996). "Walter Post, Builder of NN". Daily Press. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

Preceded by none	Mayor of Newport News 1896–1898	Succeeded by Allan A. Moss

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[Press-1] Rouse, Parke (March 24, 1991). "A Look Back at NN Leaders". Daily Press. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

[:0-2] "Death of Walter Post". newspapers.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.

[Rouse-3] Parke, Rouse (December 8, 1996). "Walter Post, Builder of NN". Daily Press. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

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