The James Company History
Our company was formed in 1986 by James N. Carter and Jimmie Carter, Jr., one a Realtor extraordinaire and the other a successful and hardworking developer. The original corporate name was The Jameses Company, after two men named James. Joseph P. Oliva joined the Carters in 1987 as the corporate President. The company established its headquarters in Irvington at the old Capt’n Bernard Willings store on Steamboat Road after an extensive renovation of the building. The James Company quickly gained a reputation for high-quality cost-conscious construction being part of the organization that created the Mallard Bay community near Heathsville in Northumberland County. In 1991, Joe Oliva bought the company from the Carters and changed the name to The James Company. The James Company has been successful because we truly believe in our mission statement. We love to build homes and bring dreams to reality for our clients that then become our friends in the process. We are proud to say that we have built the personal homes for four architects and have been able to work with homeowners building a second home after building their first home years prior. We have worked on historic homes and done many renovations and additions besides building custom homes. We have worked in Northumberland County, Middlesex County, Mathews County, Gloucester County, Essex County, James City County and Richmond in addition to Lancaster County.
“My husband and I thank our lucky stars that we chose The James Company to build our “dream house.” Joe Oliva became and remains a person whose expertise, honesty and friendship we cherish. Joe worked on a post-construction issue for a long time until we were satisfied that the problem was fixed. I know of no other builder who would have stood by his product the way Joe has. Our home is everything we hoped it would be and more and in no small measure due to Joe Oliva’s care for his clients and the houses he builds for them.”