For the Rehabilitation of c. 1902 Fuquay Springs Post Office, Fuquay-Varina
This modest frame building played an important role in the history of Fuquay-Varina; it was home to Fuquay Spring’s first post office. Ms. Hattie Jones served as the Town’s postmistress from 1902 through 1922. At the time the postal service required postmasters to provide a building, and the building’s size and form suggest that Ms. Jones probably had the building built specifically for this purpose.
The restoration of the building was made possible by the cooperative efforts of the Town of Fuquay-Varina and many Fuquay-Varina organizations, businesses and individuals. The undertaking was lead by Fuquay Springs Quester Chapter # 1134, a local chapter of Questers International, a group that works to preserve historic sites. The local chapter’s twelve members provided the vision, drive and sweat equity needed to convert an abandoned old building into a community asset.
Over the course of its lifetime the post office had been moved three times and by 2006 it sat at the old Jones home place off NC 42. Upon learning that the Jones’s family property was being sold for development, the Questers began the complex process of moving and restoring the structure. The Jones family agreed to donate the building, and the Town offered a parcel adjacent to the Ballentine Schoolhouse historic property. Before the move, the Town prepared the site and poured a foundation. Once on its new location the Questers held a barbeque dinner and a “Post Office Luncheon” to raise money for the building’s restoration. Old North State Renovations, Inc. of Tarboro, NC was the rehabilitation contractor.
Restoration was completed in January of 2009, in time for the Town’s centennial celebration. The building is furnished as a small town post office with period artifacts and furnishings and interpretative exhibits. It is now open to the public for tours. In the fall school groups will add the post office to their tours of the adjacent Ballentine Schoolhouse.
The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2009 Anthemion Award to Fuquay Springs Quester Chapter #1134; the Town of Fuquay-Varina; and Old North State Renovations, Inc. for the Rehabilitation of c. 1902 Fuquay Springs Post Office.