James Addison Jones, (20 August 1869 − 25 May 1950), was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of J.A. Jones Construction and supported many organizations such as the Methodist Church, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina and surrounding areas, regional hospitals and several other companies. He was the benefactor and namesake for the James Addison Jones Library at Greensboro College, and the J.A. Jones Library at Brevard College. His company also contributed to the building of the Liberty fleet during World War II. Jones was married four times in his lifetime and had fifteen children.[1]
James Addison Jones was born in Farmer, North Carolina, on August 20, 1869, to Robert B. Jones and Elizabeth Horney Jones (21 August 1839 – 15 June 1872).[2] Jones had multiple siblings in descending order: John, William, Sherman and Emma.
Jones was only able to attend school a few months each year at a local one-room country school due to his responsibilities on the family farm. It is reported that he did not receive any formal education beyond the fourth grade. At the age of eighteen, he left home with no money and no formal skills to rely on.
In Lexington, North Carolina, Jones got his first job from David K. Cecil, a contractor building the first cotton mill in Charlotte, North Carolina, who hired him to drive a wagon, transporting the machine used to make bricks.[2][3] Jones was paid twenty-five cents a day with room and board in the construction camp. He eventually became the mason’s tender and was later promoted to apprentice mason.
Jones was married four times, losing his first three wives to illness, and was survived by his fourth wife. He had fifteen children with three of his wives, though five of his children predeceased him. Twice, after the loss of a wife, he was left to care for infant children and had to hire the help of a nurse or live-in housekeeper.
Jones remained active until the last final months of his life. During the winter of 1949-1950, he experienced health issues related to colds and influenza, leaving him slightly weakened. He also suffered a mild stroke that winter. Despite this, he continued to go to the office until three days before his death. He passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage at 7:46 p.m. on May 20, 1950, at the age of 80.
Jones, a self-taught man, rose those his mason apprenticeship quickly and became a general contractor after his first jobs as a mason. The first building Jones would building was the "dining-car job" which was an addition to the Southern Railway Station. There were many roadblocks to their success as a flood ruined their original wall and Jones only had four workers. He personally helped his workers rebuild the wall, creating a motto that would last his entire career "Finish the Job."
In his early career, he served as the Superintendent of Maintenance-a-way for the Southern Railway, working on repairs from washouts or wrecks and then helping restore the traffic after wrecks. He returned home to Charlotte and started gathering contracts to help build Charlotte's first skyscrapers such as the twelve-story Independence Building, completed in 1909. The company continued its work and had a few contracts during the First World War, finishing all the jobs they were given despite financial troubles and eventually the company became incorporated in 1920. During the Depression, J.A. Jones Construction weathered the storm with government contracts to build a new military air base in the Panama Canal Zone, Albrook Field. Jones went on to gain more government contracts building housing, post offices, military bases, and other projects. One of his more well known projects was the creation of the shipyards in Panama City, Florida and Brunswick, Georgia where the chief product was the Liberty Ships.
The company continued to grow after World War II, maintaining military contracts as well as expanding into other international markets. After a restructuring in 1948, Jones became the chairman of the board while his sons took over as president and executive vice president, the company went into heavy construction and highway work. The company was bought in 1978 by Philipp Holzmann AG, a west German construction company but would remain J.A. Jones construction with family ties until May 1993 when a veteran Charles Davidson would take over as president and CEO.
Jones first attended church in Charlotte, and met his future wife, Minnie, at Tyron Street Methodist Church. The J.A. Jones Construction company helped build Dilworth Methodist Church across the street from the Jones' home in Charlotte. In 1927, the company and family help to add a two-story parsonage, then in 1940, they assisted with the building of the J.A. Jones Education Building. Finally, the family helped build the Memorial Chapel, furnishing it as well as a donation of stained glass windows.
Jones served as delegate to five Methodist General Conferences as representative for the Western North Carolina Conference, also the Uniting Conference, and three Jurisdictional Conferences relating to the Methodist Church. He also served on the board of trustees for the Methodist Home for the Aged.
Jones was an active member of his community, serving numerous positions of importance within the city of Charlotte as well as the surrounding areas. He helped save Charlotte from drought as he developed a system to supply the growing city with the amount of water needed, using pipes connecting to the Catawba River rather than relying on artesian wells. He was also on the Board of Commissions for two to three terms around 1930 as well as the executive committee to help oversee department's efficiency in the city of Charlotte. He was an active member of the Y.M.C.A., was on the board of trustees for at least three regional hospitals (Charlotte Memorial, the North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital at Gastonia, and the Elkin Hospital), a member of the Phalanx Lodge of Masonry, a Shriner, and was president of numerous hotel and realty companies (Addison Realty, Skyline Hotel Company, Highlands Hotel Company). Jones also served as the director of the Bank of Commerce and of the Interstate Milling Company and of the Citizens Hotel Company). He also was on the board of trustees at Greensboro College.
In 1944, he received the Maritime "M", the highest award given by the Maritime Commission for his assistance in World War II with the construction of the Liberty ships, a type of cargo ship. He also received the Army-Navy "E" award, an honor for excellence in production of war equipment.
There are two libraries named after Jones, one at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina, and another at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina. The J.A. Jones library at Brevard College was originally built in 1948 with the help of J.A. Jones Construction and was dedicated on 10 April 1948. The cost of the library was approximately $100,000 with a capacity of up to 40,000 volumes.[4] Although, the library has been moved to another building in the 1960s, it kept the J.A. Jones name as well as the portrait originally unveiled at the original library's opening.
A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[5][6]
Works include (with variations in attribution):
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