Historic – Swan Masonry

Historic Division

Historic Downtown Wilmington is where it all began. Back in the late 90’s Jim Swan was a fixture throughout historic downtown Wilmington with the Swan Masonry sign in the front yards of literally dozens of historic downtown homes at any given time.
Jim personally rebuilt over 100 chimneys after multiple hurricanes struck Wilmington in the late 90’s through the early 2000’s.

Wilmington

(910) 362-1111

Charlotte

(704) 362-1111

Raleigh/Cary

(910) 362-1111

Jim became so known for being the go-to historic mason in Wilmington that it reached a point where there were almost no remaining historic chimneys to work on – because he had already repointed or rebuilt almost all of them!

This is where it all began. After working in masonry and concrete during and immediately following high school in western and central Virginia, a lifelong love of the ocean brought founder and owner Jim Swan to Wrightsville Beach in late 1992.

Less than five years later, he became a father and made the decision to start his own business while under the same financial pressure faced by every young father. That decision was solidified one day after being scolded by his employer for taking extra time to properly match the mortar on a historic wall that was being repaired.

In that moment, he recognized an opportunity to fill a niche. It was a segment of the trade that could be entered as a one-man operation, with no employees and without the professional equipment that was either unavailable or unaffordable at the time. What bothered him most was the eyesore created when local masons refused, or simply lacked the skill, to take the necessary steps to properly match the color and texture of the original mortar.