Historic District in Wilmington in New Hanover County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

John J. Fowler House

1895

— L.H. Vollers, builder —

John J. Fowler House Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 23, 2024

1. John J. Fowler House Marker

Inscription. Queen Anne style house with Italianate features built for John Joseph Fowler (1850-1915), lawyer, county coroner, mayor, city clerk and treasurer, chief of police, president Hanover Building and Loan; and wife, Lula Bultmann Heiser (1868-1922), native of Sumter, SC.

Erected by Historic Wilmington Foundation, Inc.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Government & Politics • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the North Carolina, Historic Wilmington Foundation series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1895.

Location. 34° 13.77′ N, 77° 56.87′ W. Marker is in Wilmington, North Carolina, in New Hanover County. It is in the Historic District. It is on South Front Street north of Church Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 417 S Front St, Wilmington NC 28401, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain and on the Cape Fear Coast.

It is also

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in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Charity-Prescott House (a few steps from this marker); Fowler-Pastis House (a few steps from this marker); McClammy-Powell House (within shouting distance of this marker); Sprunt House (within shouting distance of this marker); Thomas H. Smith House (within shouting distance of this marker); Wm. B. Meares House (within shouting distance of this marker); Forshee-Sprunt House (within shouting distance of this marker); Daggett-Taylor House (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wilmington.

Also see . . .
1. Wilmington Historic District (PDF). National Register

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 23, 2024

2. John J. Fowler House Marker

of Historic Places nomination for the district, which includes this property and was listed in 1974. (Prepared by Survey and Planning Unit, North Carolina Division of Archives and History; via North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office) (Submitted on December 25, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. Wilmington Historic District Boundary Expansion and Additional Documentation (PDF). National Register nomination that expanded the district in 2003. (Prepared by Sherry Joines Wyatt and L. Robbie King; via North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office) (Submitted on December 25, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Additional commentary.
1. John Joseph Fowler
Fowler held a variety of public offices in Wilmington during his lifetime: one term as mayor (in 1890), city alderman, city clerk/treasurer (two terms), police chief (one term), justice of the peace, and county coroner (one term). During his mayoral administration the city added grassy plazas, planted with oaks, crepe myrtles and azaleas, in the centers of Third, Fifth and Market Streets (Fifth

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Street was later renamed Fifth Avenue).

He died under tragic circumstances, drowning in a resort lake near Wilmington several days after his arrest "on a charge involving his morals" (the exact charge was never specified in newspaper stories). Officials, saying he feared the humiliation of a trial, ruled his death a suicide despite witnesses saying that Fowler (a known teetotaler) appeared inebriated the last time he was seen alive. Fowler had maintained his innocence, saying the charge against him was a politically motivated extortion attempt. His accuser, an 18-year-old man named Leonard Sterne, was later convicted of blackmail and sentenced to a year at the county farm. However, he escaped on his first day there and was loose for more than a month before his capture in Norfolk, Va. Upon his return, he was sent to finish his term in jail.

— Submitted December 25, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 24, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 358 times since then and 103 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 24, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.