Born in August 1870, Buncombe County native Walter Jerome Mathews became the first person to enroll at North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts on October 3, 1889. One of the 19 members of the first graduating class, Mathews received a Bachelor of Engineering degree on June 14, 1893.

After working in Greensboro for several months following graduation, Mathews supervised the Engineering Department for the North Carolina School of the Deaf in Morganton, N.C. Two years later, he became the superintendent of the Engineering Department of the State Hospital in Goldsboro, N.C. During his fifteen years at the hospital, Mathews designed the construction for many buildings and installed facilities such as an electric plant and cold storage.

Mathews left the State Hospital in Goldsboro in order to pursue a career in the construction business, a profession he continued for the next 25 years. During this time, he constructed buildings such as large churches in Goldsboro, N.C., Edenton, N.C., Kinston, N.C., and Newport, N.C. He was an active member in the Goldsboro community, serving a term as mayor as well as being a Sunday School teacher.

In 1957, Mathews' family presented his portrait to North Carolina State College on the school's 68th anniversary. As long as health permitted, Mathews stayed active in his alma mater's affairs, visiting regularly and participating in commencement exercises.

Mathews died in Goldsboro, N.C., on August 28, 1967.