Difference between revisions of "James A. Wetmore (1863-1940), Architect"

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James Alphonso Wetmore was born in 1863, in Bath, New York, to Justus F. and Cornelia Wetmore. His father was a lawyer and 16-year-old "Alphonso" was listed in Hornellsville, New York, as a "Law student" in 1880.[4][8] He entered federal service as a court stenographer in 1885, completed a law degree at George Washington University in 1896, and served as the head of the U. S. Treasury Department's Law and Records Division from 1896 until 1911.[6:222]. Wetmore brought that administrative experience to the office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury in 1911 as James Knox Taylor's executive officer, then continued in that role during the brief term of Taylor's successor Oscar Wenderoth. When Wenderoth resigned in 1915, attorney Wetmore was appointed as the Supervising Architect. He held that office until retiring in 1935, the longest tenure of any Supervising Architect, but Wetmore always scrupulously titled himself as Acting Supervising Architect, in recognition that his role differed from that of the trained professional architects on his staff. Serving a growing nation, during Wetmore's term his office designed at least 2000 buildings. He married Hattie Blye in 1884 and they had a son and a daughter.[3][5][8] She died in 1922; in 1930 he married Mrs. Anna Polk Boush. They retired to Florida in 1935, where he died in 1940.[1-3][6-8]

This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.

U. S. Post Office, 1931, Broken Bow (D. Murphy)

Educational & Professional Associations

1885: entered federal service as a court stenographer, Washington, D. C.[6]

1896: attending night classes, earned law degree from George Washington University, Washington, D. C.[3][6]

1896-1911: head of Records and Law Division, U. S. Treasury Department.[6]

1911-1915: executive officer to Supervising Architect of the Treasury.[6]

1915-1934: Acting Supervising Architect of the Treasury, Washington, D. C.[2][3][6]

Nebraska Buildings & Projects

Completed or under construction during Wetmore's term

U. S. Post Office & Courthouse (1912-1916), McCook, Nebraska.[14][a] (RW05-154)

U. S. Post Office (1916-1918), Alliance, Nebraska.[9-14] (BX01-064)

U. S. Post Office (authorized 1913, occupied 1918), Falls City, Nebraska.[9-14]

U. S. Post Office (authorized 1913, occupied 1918), Wahoo, Nebraska.[9-14]

U. S. Post Office (authorized 1913, occupied 1918), Aurora, Nebraska.[9-14]

U. S. Post Office (authorized 1911, occupied 1919), Chadron, Nebraska.[9-15]

USPO Central City, $50,000 for site and building 1913-1916; no contract [9-16] "Site donated"--1917

U. S. Post Office (1931), Broken Bow, Nebraska.[b]

U. S. Post Office (1931), Crete, Nebraska.[b]

Notes

a. The McCook Post Office was designed and construction begun under Supervising Architect Wenderoth, then completed and occupied in 1916, early in Wetmore's term.

b. Date and name of "Acting Architect" on the cornerstones.

References

1. Henry E. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) (Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1970), 647.

2. "Death Claims J. A. Wetmore, Treasury Aide--Architect, Native of Bath, Dies in Florida," Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) (March 15, 1940), 42.

3. "James A. Wetmore, Retired Treasury Architect, Dies," Evening Star (Washington, D. C.) (March 15. 1940, 14 (with portrait).

4. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Alphonso Wetmore" [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

5. Ancestry.com. "1900 United States Federal Census," s.v. "Hattie V. Wetmore," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

6. Antoinette J. Lee, "James A. Wetmore" in Architects to the Nation: The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect's Office (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 222-258.

7. Ancestry.com. District of Columbia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1810-1953, s.v. "James A Wetmore," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

8. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "James Alphonso Wetmore," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

9. Oscar Wenderoth, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1913, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913), 20 (Alliance); 30 (Aurora); 78 (Central City); 80 (Chadron); 142 (Falls City): 380 (Wahoo).

10. Oscar Wenderoth, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1914, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1914), 14 (Alliance); 24 (Aurora); 74 (Central City, Chadron); 136 (Falls City); 378 (Wahoo).

11. Oscar Wenderoth, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1915, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1915), 18 (Alliance); 28 (Aurora); 80 (Central City, Chadron); 144 (Falls City); 396 (Wahoo).

12. James A. Wetmore, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1916, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1916), 18 (Alliance); 30 (Aurora); 80 (Central City, Chadron); 144 (Falls City); 396 (Wahoo).

13. James A. Wetmore, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1917, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1917), 18 (Alliance); 30 (Aurora); 82 (Central City); 84 (Chadron); 152 (Falls City); 252 (McCook); 424 (Wahoo).

14. James A. Wetmore, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1918, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1918), 18 (Alliance); 30 (Aurora); 82 (Central City); 84 (Chadron); 152 (Falls City); 424 (Wahoo).

15. James A. Wetmore, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1919, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1919), 86 (Central City & Chadron).

16. James A. Wetmore, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June 30, 1920, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1920), 88 (Central City; site donated but construction not yet under contract).

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Page Citation

E. F. Zimmer & D. Murphy, “James A. Wetmore (1863-1940), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, April 30, 2015, updated December 12, 2024. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 11, 2025.

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