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Walter A. Post
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
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