The King Building

King Building Architecture

The King Building at 226 Princess Street was constructed as an office for the F.R. King Construction Company that distributed construction supplies in the early twentieth century. As such, it was built in a utilitarian style that maximizes the space usable to the owners while sharing its lot with at least one other adjacent building. Like its neighbors, most of the structure was built predominantly of brick using an American bond style where collections of normal alternating layers of brick are sandwiched between header courses, or layers of bricks laid perpendicular to the bricks in the other layers. On the façade facing the street, the King Building’s brickwork boasts a visually interesting design featuring protruding layers, layers of soldier courses where the bricks are laid vertically, and a small collection of square and diamond accents that contrast the rest of the façade. The rest of the façade consists of large windows that frame the front door and provide street display opportunities to the owner.

At the time of the original Historic Wilmington Foundation plaque application in 2017, the King Building was not in use and this façade was worn. The windows and door appeared to be in disrepair, and most paint or polishing had faded from the brick. As of July 2022, the building has been refurbished with a light stony wash for the brick façade, the windows and front entrance have been replaced, and the tile and brick threshold has been restored. The building measures about nine hundred square feet on the ground level and leads out to a back lot. Unfortunately, no known images of the historical interior exist.

The King Family

Frank Rhodes King, who ordered the construction of the King Building for use by the construction supplies company Roger Moore’s & Sons Co. of which King was the secretary-treasurer, was a native Wilmingtonian. He was born to John William King and Caroline Virginia Williams King as the first of two known children. There are several conflicting birth dates attributed to Frank Rhodes King on documents such as the Federal Census, his draft registration card submitted in 1917, and his death certificate. The year of Frank Rhodes’ birth range from 1875 to 1878, but the most likely date is December of 1877.^[1] The first King family home appears to have been a building on McRae Street that no longer exists, and sometime before 1900 the family moved to a new house on Mulberry Avenue in Wilmington’s 3^rd Ward.^[2]

Later known to New Hanover County at large as a “popular young business man,” Frank Rhodes King appears to have lived a modest childhood.^[3] His father John, who often went by William, married young and had Frank when his wife Caroline was 20 years old. According to the Federal Census, neither parent had attended school and William held multiple jobs between 1880 and 1900, including a clerk and an upholsterer. Frank Rhodes began working himself during his childhood; by 1900 he was working with brick and masonry for a local cemetery. The following decade proved to be one of Frank Rhodes King’s most prosperous, as he obtained a house at 302 North Seventh Street, which stands today in good condition as a family residence. In 1907, he married Pauline Cleapor, a woman originally from Charleston, South Carolina but who had been living with her parents at 308 North Sixth Street. They were married by the rector of St. John Episcopal Church in a quiet family ceremony, despite news of the wedding appearing in papers as far out as Greensboro, NC.^[4] After, they “hurried” to embark on their honeymoon to see some of America’s significant sites, including Niagara Falls and the ongoing historic exposition of Jamestown in Virginia.^[5]

Pauline Cleapor King was born in Charleston in September 1887. Unfortunately, not much is known about her personal life and activities, but she had moved with her father, William Grierson Cleapor and mother, Margaret Ann Glover Cleapor, to Wilmington sometime before 1900. What is clear is that after marrying Frank Rhodes King in 1907, Pauline became a dedicated mother. Over the course of their marriage, they had five children: the eldest son, Frank Rhodes King Jr., Margarette King, Bessie King, and twins John and William.^[6] It appears that well into the mid-twentieth century, much of the King family lived under the same roof, including Frank Rhodes Sr.’s parents. This may be attributed partly to the tragic early loss of Frank Rhodes Sr. who passed away on November 30, 1930, at the age of 52.^[7] Nevertheless, his wife and children appeared to live fulfilling lives, with Pauline only passing away in 1990 at the age of 102, and many of their children raising sizable families of their own.^[8] Though these children would eventually begin moving away from their family home in Wilmington, it was clear that Frank Rhodes King and his wife Pauline had maintained a place for them to come back to.

Frank Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps, first working with him at Roger Moore’s Sons & Co. before setting out to run his own business, F.R. King Construction Co. Margarette was considered a “capable young woman” who held jobs such as the stenographer for the firm of A.F. Newton.^[9] She had moved out of Wilmington to marry in the 1930s, but was soon divorced and moved back to her family. Unfortunately, not much is known about the life of Elizabeth C. King, who may have also gone by the name Bessie.^[10] The twins John W. and William G. King may have been the babies of the family but they also made their marks on their family legacy. Prior to moving out of his parents’ house in the 1940s, John W. worked as a stenographer.^[11] He briefly attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he served as a navigator aboard B-17 bombers throughout the latter years of World War II and was awarded a Purple Heart. He thereafter worked under his older brother Frank R. Jr. at the family construction firm and served as member and President of the Wilmington Lions Club that provided assistance to the vision impaired. He passed away on October 9, 2013.^[12] William G. attended The University of North Carolina later than his brother but graduated in 1955 with a degree in Business Administration. He had a successful career with the oil company Pure Oil, later renamed the Union Oil Company, before passing away on June 9, 2014, less than a year after his twin brother.^[13]

[1] “King Building Application,” Historic Wilmington Foundation (September 13, 2017), 3-5. https://cdm16072.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15169coll2/id/1737/rec/401

[2] “Frank R. King” in 1880 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/discoveryui-content/view/13393131:6742?tid=&pid=&queryId=a186cad7-72d9-4ef3-b0cc-871d67829683&_phsrc=zVg1&_phstart=successSource

[3] Wilmington Morning Star, “Pretty Home Wedding” (Wilmington, NC: Sept. 25, 1907, edition), 1. Accessed through DigitalNC on 2/11/2024.

[4]  Daily Industrial News (Greensboro, N.C. Sept. 26, 1907, Edition 1, Page 3), accessed through DigitalNC on 2/11/2024.

[5] Wilmington Messenger, “A Quiet Home Wedding” (Wilmington, NC: Sept. 25, 1907, edition 1), 4. Accessed through DigitalNC on 2/11/2024.

[6] “Frank R. King,” in 1930 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/discoveryui-content/view/76034815:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=76f8581b-3f3f-430d-a981-25053d59aa3a&_phsrc=zVg9&_phstart=successSource

[7] “King Building Application,” Historic Wilmington Foundation (September 13, 2017), 3-5.

[8] “Pauline Cleapor King,” in Burial Database (Wilmington, NC: Oakdale Cemetery Records), https://www.oakdalecemetery.org/burial-database/?OID=42891&CID=9667. Accessed on 2/11/2024.

[9] The Cleveland Star, “Miss Margaret King Weds Joseph Wright” (Shelby, NC: Oct. 18, 1935, Edition 1), 6. Accessed through DigitalNC on 2/11/2024.

[10] “John W. King,” in 1940 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/discoveryui-content/view/151946555:2442?tid=&pid=&queryId=860c13a2-55ce-4a22-8fda-92e38dbbafb1&_phsrc=zVg12&_phstart=successSource

[11] “John W. King,” in 1940 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com.

[12] “John William King, Sr.,” Andrews Mortuary and Crematory, https://www.andrewsmortuary.com/obituary/5132470

[13] “Obituary of William G. King,” YourFolks.com, https://www.mesaieux.com/Obituary/William-G.-King/2828501

The King Family’s Business and 226 Princess Street

The King family was one immersed in the construction supplies business. Frank Rhodes Sr. began his career early in his life, and by the early 1900s was working with the firm of Henry Roger Moore. This was the son of the local political figure Roger Moore, who had been an officer in the Confederate Army and had played a large role in organizing the 1898 Coup against Wilmington’s black community. Henry Roger Moore had taken up his father’s name and began his construction company soon after Roger Moore Sr.’s death in 1900. ^[1] It is unknown what Frank Rhodes King’s own political and racial views were, but he certainly obtained professional visibility through his role as secretary-treasurer in the firm of Roger Moore’s Sons & Co.

226 Princess Street was not the only building utilized by Frank Rhodes King and his firm under Roger Moore, nor was it the first. Frank Rhodes had begun working with Roger Moore’s Sons & Co. in the mid-1910s, and it was soon after that the firm was struck with misfortune. The firm had opened “possibly the most complete” and perhaps most productive brick-making plant in North Carolina in the mid-1910s, located on Castle Haynes Road north of the town center. In June 1909, the plant was virtually destroyed in a fire that caused upwards of $30,000 in damages, a figure that equates to over one million dollars in 2024.^[2] However, it was clear that Frank Rhodes King and his business partners received considerable support from their community and possibly the state. This plant was rebuilt and remodeled by the end of September 1909, becoming “the most modern and best equipped for the manufacture of brick in the State.” Despite this massive setback, Roger Moore’s Sons & Co. remained very productive, producing 50,000-100,000 bricks every day and fueling construction projects across the county.^[3]

As such, the firm’s business expanded across the 1910s and 20s. The firm dealt with many materials other than brick, including roofing materials, shingle, land plaster and wallboard.^[4] Advertisements appeared in local and regional newspapers alike on hundreds of occasions between 1900 and 1950, a testament to the importance to and popularity among the New Hanover County business community. As this business expanded, the King family sought to expand their own interests as well. 226 Princess Street was thus identified by Frank Rhodes King in the late 1920s as a suitable site to expand and centralize their business interests closer to Wilmington’s downtown. He contracted Roger Moore to construct the building, and in November of 1929 ground was broken.^[5] Unfortunately, Frank Rhodes Sr. would not live to see his family business expand here, as he died just one year later. The building was occupied by first the City Electric Company, but would later see Frank Rhodes Jr. utilize the building for the purposes of the family construction supplies firm F.R. King Construction Co.^[6]

The King family owned the property at 226 Princess Street for almost seventy years. They rented the building to various business tenants including the insurance law firm of Harold Wells & Son which served the Wilmington business community for thirty years. The King family finally sold the property in 1998 to their last tenants, the law firm of Harold P. Lang.^[7] Though the King building fell into relative disuse in the 2010s, it has since been renovated and stands as a reminder of the King family’s impact on the city. Frank Rhodes King and his family were without a doubt “intimately linked with Wilmington’s progress and prosperity.”^[8]

Researched and written by Cameron Kinard, UNCW Public History Graduate Student

[1] Ann Moore Bacon, “Moore, Roger,” NCPedia (1991, Revised August 2023), accessed 2/13/2024, https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/moore-roger-0

[2] Wilmington Morning Star, “Brick Plant Destroyed,” June 8, 1909, edition 1, 5.

[3] Wilmington Morning Star, “Brick Plant Now Ready,” Sept. 3, 1909, edition 1, 5.

[4] Wilmington Morning Star, June 29, 1919, Edition 1, 10.

[5] “King Building Application,” Historic Wilmington Foundation, 5.

[6] Ibid, 5.

[7] “Deeds,” Historic Wilmington Foundation, 9, https://cdm16072.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15169coll2/id/1737/rec/401

[8] Wilmington Morning Star, “Roger Moore’s Sons & Co.” Dec. 14, 1909, edition 1, 36.