US Post Office, Former
Why it's listed
Built in 1931-1933 on a corner lot in Mount Olive, this two-story brick post office follows the Classical Revival style and was designed by James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury. The hipped-roofed front section is faced in red brick laid in Flemish bond, with a recessed colonnade of six Roman Ionic columns in antis and trim of limestone. A copper roof, a brick parapet and a lobby with brown marble wainscoting and terrazzo floors remain largely unaltered. The building was erected with an appropriation of $75,000 after the town's population grew past 2,500 and the postal service sought a federally owned facility. Its construction reflects the Depression-era surge in federal building projects, when many public works programs employed masons and carpenters. It is considered a typical example of the standardized small-town post offices designed in Washington during that period.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is a well-composed and relatively intact representative example of a classically inspired small-town post office built during the Depression-era expansion of federal public building construction. It is also cited for its association with public works programs created to provide employment and for illustrating the federal move from leased quarters to government-owned post offices.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95000670, listed June 2, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 124 W. James St., Mount Olive |
|---|---|
| County | Wayne County |
| Listed | June 2, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000670 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1931-1945 |
| Architect / builder | James A. Wetmore (architect); General Engineering Corporation (builder), with National Surety Company taking over the construction contract |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Mount Olive Post Office was sold with preservation covenants in 1993 and the purchaser planned to convert the building to office space. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Mount Olive Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.19740, -78.06674 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95000670.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20679853
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.