Through the years interesting facts about the early post offices have been published. I find these interesting and informative to read. Here are some of these interesting tidbits.
* Lambs, Lambsville or Willow Grove was a small pioneer town located on the Flynn’s Ferry road in the 1830s, and was started by Joel Lamb, who first built a blacksmith shop and a tanyard. It was located near the Fishtrap Road and Wilson Farm Road.
* January 17, 1895 – A new post office will shortly be established at J. H. Robinson’s on the Marion and Fords Ferry route. The name of the office is “Mounds,” and J. H. Robinson will be the official to stand upon it.
* Jan. 17, 1895 - Mounds Post Office was housed in a country store building. The store was the property of Mr. Harloe Robinson. Both the store and the office were operated by Mr. Robinson.
* August 17, 1899 – A new post office has been established in Rodney. It is at James Hickland’s and Mr. Hickland is the postmaster. The office is supplied Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays from Weston.
* Mar. 29, 1900 – Starr is a new post office, situated at Piney Camp grounds, near Stonewall. We have two mails a week, Tuesday and Friday. Carl T. Boucher is the postmaster and is already to hand out your mail or sell you goods.
* The Pony post office established July 19, 1880, by Richard Vanhook who remained postmaster until John T. Cochran took over January 12, 1881. Pony was discontinued Dec. 14, 1884, and its mail service assumed by Levias. Going by the usual procedure of post offices in the county, the post office was conducted in a corner of Richard Vanhook’s general store somewhere near Midway.
* Kirksville-Hurricane-Tolu – The post office department reveals that the post office in Tolu was first established as Hurricane Aug. 23, 1857. It was changed to Tolu Feb. 3, 1890. The post office of Hurricane was in a boat at the river, when the town was named Tolu the office was moved from the river to town.
* The Weston Post Office was originally established as Westonburg on February 22, 1859. The post office named was changed to Weston on October 24, 1877. Rose E. Sturgeon was appointed as the last postmaster on February 11, 1916 and served until the post office was discontinued on July 31, 1916.
* Frances Post Office. Mr. Marion F. Pogue of Frances furnished this information on the little village of Frances, that it was named, probably by a romantic post office clerk, for Miss Frances Folsom, who became the wife of President Grover Cleveland. Frances was the first post office named after the marriage and was so christened on the day the wedding was announced. At different periods before the coming of the post office this community was variously known as “Cross Roads,” Liberty,” and “Needmore,” but as each of these names was already in use by other post offices in the state, a new one was necessary. As the people of the community made no suggestion the privilege fell to employees of the post office department, as that is the custom in such instances.
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All of the rural post offices, but two, Crayne and Dycusburg, have long since been discontinued with Tolu being the last to be discontinued in 2011. But most all the old communities in the territory in which they were located still go by the old names.
Most of these long ago post offices where located in a corner of the local grocery store, or in some instances, the house of the postmaster. These old post offices were a welcome addition to the small communities and besides being convenient for the local residents to use, it was a daily place to meet and visit with your friends and neighbors, a great place to catch up on the happenings in your community. What great memories to have of those old post offices, grocery stores and communities of yesteryear.
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