John Granderson Zemmer Jr. (1942–2016) was an architectural historian, preservationist, photographer, and author of architectural history in Virginia and North Carolina, especially in Richmond, Virginia. His work includes documentation and an impressive catalog of photographs of historic properties. He produced several books on historic sites and is credited with helping preserve several buildings.

Biography

Zehmer was born in

McKenney, Virginia McKenney is an incorporated town in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, United States. The population was 483 at the 2010 census. History McKenney is located along a former railroad mainline. The Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad, passing thro ...

in Dinwiddie County and moved to Richmond in 1974. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in architectural history from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and served in the

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Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Zehmer served as Richmond's first senior planner for historic preservation. He was also a director for the

Valentine Museum The Valentine is a museum in Richmond, Virginia dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond's history. Founded by Mann S. Valentine II 1898, it was the first museum in Richmond. In the early 21st century, The Valentine offer ...

and was the executive director of the Historic Richmond Foundation from 1984 until 1998. He also served on the staff of the

Virginia Department of Historic Resources The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is the State Historic Preservation Office for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency maintains the Virginia Landmarks Register (the first step for properties and districts in Virginia seeking list ...

from 1999 until 2004 and was director of the Valentine Museum from 1974 to 1981. Zehmer was involved in helping preserve and readapt Linden Row on West Franklin Street and downtown Richmond's National Theater. He also helped preserve Monumental Church, the Bolling Haxall House,

Virginia Executive Mansion The Virginia Governor's Mansion, better known as the Executive Mansion, is located in Richmond, Virginia, on Capitol Square and serves as the official residence of the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Designed by Alexander Parris, it is ...

, Monument Avenue Historic District, Broad Street Historic District, Wickham-Valentine House and Richmond's Old City Hall building. His books include the photo illustrated ''Church Hill Old & Historic Districts'' (2011) which Edwin Slipek of Architecture Richmond described as "an indispensable resource". He also wrote ''Hayes; The Plantation, Its People, and Their Papers'' with color photo illustrations by John O. Peters about the house in Chowan County designed by British architect William Nichols and built for wealthy planter James Cathcart Johnston including documents related to the management of the plantation during the

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...

period. A bill to honor Zehmer was passed in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

in 2016 and presented to the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

Bibliography

*Hayes: The Plantation, Its People, and Their Papers (North Caroliniana Society Imprints) Jan 1, 2007 by John G. Zehmer *Old Richmond Today (Oct 1, 1988) by John G. Zehmer *Church Hill Old & Historic Districts Church Hill: The St. John's Church Historic District (1991) by John Zehmer and photography by Richard Cheek *Church Hill The St. John's Church Historic District (1991) by Marguerite Crumley and John G. Zehmer *Two Mecklenburg Towns: Architectural and Historical Surveys of Boydton and Clarksville *Old Richmond today (1988) by Richard Cheek and John G. Zehmer

References

External links

* John G. Zehmer's architectural photographs of Richmond, Virginia on Wikimedia Commons Historical preservationists People from Richmond, Virginia University of Virginia alumni 1942 births 2016 deaths American art historians Historians from Virginia {{architecture-hist-stub