James A. Wetmore (1863-1940), Acting Supervising 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 design professionals on his staff. Serving a growing nation, during Wetmore's term his office designed at least 2000 buildings. He also implemented Treasury Secretary William McAdoo's concept of classifying federal buildings according to their level of annual receipts, the prominence of the community and location of the building site within that community, and the ranking of the local post office as first or second class. Local conditions and level of congressional appropriations still resulted in some design variations between U. S. Post Offices, but less so than under previous Supervising Architects' offices.[6:226-227] Wetmore 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.
Contents
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
A sampling of 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][17] (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][18]
U. S. Post Office (authorized 1911, occupied 1919), Chadron, Nebraska.[9-16]
U. S. Post Office (1926-1928), Central City (authorized 1913), 1512 Lincoln Highway, Central City, Nebraska.[9-16][19-22]
U. S. Post Office (1931), Broken Bow, Nebraska.[b]
U. S. Post Office (1931), Crete, Nebraska.[b]
U. S. Post Office (1931-1934), David City, Nebraska.[25][26][d]
U. S. Post Office (1931-1933), Sidney, Nebraska.[23][24][d]
U. S. Post Office (1932-1934), Superior, Nebraska.[26][27][d]
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.
c. Central City waited well over a decade between the initial authorization of a new Post Office in that community, and its eventual opening. A $50,000 project was initially authorized in 1913, without appropriations. A site was finally acquired (by donation) in 1917, then WWI stalled the project. An appropriation of $34,000 was announced in 1919; the project was again delayed for more funds in 1924, and Wetmore's office finally advertised for bids in 1926.[9-16][19-22]
d. A bill before Congress in 1931 proposed appropriation of $250,000 for post offices in Sidney, David City, and Grand Island. In 1933, a reduced allocation of $186,000 was intended to cover five post offices in David City, Seward, Wayne, Lexington and Superior.[23][26]
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).
17. "Masonic Lodge Will Lay Federal Cornerstone," Alliance (Nebraska) Times-Herald (November 14, 1916), 1.
18. "Post Office Plans are Here. Federal Building to be Handsome, Substantial and Arranged for Great Convenience," Aurora (Nebraska) News-Register (November 25, 1915), 7.
19. "$34,000 Appropriation for New Post Office," Central City (Nebraska) Republican-Nonpareil (June 26, 1919), 6.
20. "Central City to have New Federal Building," Columbus (Nebraska) Telegram (January 5, 1924), 7.
21. "Will Ask Bids for Postoffice," Central City (Nebraska) Republican-Nonpareil (October 28, 1926), 1.
22. "New Post Office Open to Public," Central City (Nebraska) Republican-Nonpareil (June 5, 1928), 1.
23. "Sidney Will Have New $80,000 Post Office Structure," Scottsbluff (Nebraska) Republican (February 17, 1931), 1.
24. "Post Office Bid Call in this Newspaper," Sidney (Nebraska) Telegraph (August 30, 1932), 6.
25. "Asking for Bids on Post Office," Banner-Press (David City, Nebraska (October 20, 1932), 1.
26. "State Capital News" (mentioning allocation of funds for USPOs in David City, Seward, Wayne, Lexington & Superior), Sidney (Nebraska) Telegraph (November 21, 1933), 4.
27. "Bids Opened For the Superior Post Office Wednesday," Superior (Nebraska) Express (June 28, 1934), 1.
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Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer & D. Murphy, “James A. Wetmore (1863-1940), Acting Supervising 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 20, 2024. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, January 6, 2025.
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