Born on a farm in the District of Columbia, John L. Weaver* spent 51 years in the real estate business in Washington, D.C., retiring in 1939.
During the First World War, Mr. Weaver, as a member of a committee of five, undertook the curious and unprecedented task of commandeering housing in Washington for federal purposes. The committee appointed 145 houses ranging in price from five thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars, finally returning all properties to the owners without a single dispute reaching the courts. Mr. Weaver also served during World War I as fuel administrator for the capital city. He was a member of Washington’s first zoning committee. One of the organizers of the Washington Real Estate Board, he served as its president.
Known as the “peace president” of the National Association of Real Estate Boards, John Weaver steered the Association through the troubled period that followed the war’s close. The high cost of living, excess profit tax and regulatory legislation were topics of the day, as the whole country strove to resume normal production and to rid itself of difficulties brought about by wartime abnormalities and dislocations. Through these trying times of readjustment, Mr. Weaver strove to guard the long-term interests of real estate and the welfare of the nation’s property owners. He lead the Association’s fight for the amelioration of hardships imposed on real estate by war revenue legislation and for a more equitable place for real estate in the national tax structure.
Source: Presidents of the National Association of REALTORS®, (Chicago: NAR, 1980).
*Deceased