Orangeburg post office renamed to honor community leader

ORANGEBURG, SC (WOLO) — The Orangeburg Post Office is now the J.I. Washington Post Office. 

Monday morning, Orangeburg leaders and the US Postal Service hosted a dedication and plaque presentation ceremony as part of the renaming.

Gloria Warner remembers her father, the late J.I. Washington, with fondness and respect. 

“His thing was you work hard, you do well and have a good work ethic,” Warner said. “He and my mother instilled in my sister and I, ‘You get up, you go to work. you do your job.’”

Washington was a key figure in the Orangeburg community and was the first African-American to serve on the county’s voter registration board. 

“This community was his thing. South Carolina was his thing.” Washington’s daughter said. “He often said ‘If it ain’t in South Carolina, it ain’t.’”

“Everybody liked J.I. Washington, but everybody was not ready to respect J.I. Wahsington,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn. “Naming this post office gives him his just due.”

Clyburn was part of the renaming effort. He first met J.I. Washington in college and their relationship continued over the years. 

“My doorbell would often ring around daybreak and it would be J.I. After delivering eggs, he would stop by my house in Columbia and offer advice,” Clyburn said.

While the congressman believes the renaming is long overdue, Clyburn says he was willing to wait.

“One of the things I learned from J.I. is the virtue of patience and I waited,” he said.

Washington also owned a poultry farm, served in WWII and also was a charter member of the Orangeburg VFW post and member of many different organizations.