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POST OFFICE

    The first post office was established in this community Jan. 29, 1847. The first settlers came here in 1836, but presumably had to go to Rochester for their mail, where a post office was established in 1837. Three years later, Tipton was founded and given a post office, and that was a step nearer home for settlers in this part of the country. In 1841, an office was established at Cedar Bluff. Of those 3 towns today, only Tipton has a post office.

    By 1847 enough people had settled here to permit them to have their own office. James K. Polk was president of the U.S. and no doubt signed the commission, making Goodwin Taylor postmaster of this office, established as Pioneer Grove. On the east side of the creek, on what is now the Lynch farm about one and a half miles northwest of the present Mechanicsville, were two one room log cabins and a saw mill. The man who ran the saw mill operated by water from the creek, lived in one of the cabins. The other cabin housed a general store and the post office.

    It has had many locations since the log cabin days, apparently being kept in the postmaster’s place of business until it became a third class office. May 21, 1858 it was changed from Pioneer Grove to Mechanicsville.

    For a time it was located in the Fall Implement Store on the corner where the Mechanicsville Trust and Savings Bank now stands. But when George Fall became postmaster in 1893, he erected the building on the corner east of the bank, now owned by Joe Gamble, “to be used as a post office and for no other purpose.”

    For a time it was in the west part of the savings bank, but in October 1920 it was moved by postmaster E. H. Vary across the street to the building where the Sebesta-Kuehnle law offices now are. The moving was done on Sunday, so that the mails might suffer the least possible interruption. Here it stayed until June 1, 1954, when it opened for business in the present Sievers Memorial building. As before, the moving was done on Sunday and Memorial Day, which came on Saturday, so there was practically no interruption of service.

    The same year the post office was established in Pioneer Grove, Congress authorized the use of postage stamps, quite a convenience for the people of that time, and since. In the Mechanicsville Press of August 8, 1870, we read of another added convenience. To quote, “The Post Office at this place has become a money order office, thus affording a great convenience to the business men of the town.”

    The coming of rural free delivery to this community in 1901 and 1902 has been a boon to the farmers. For many years there were three rural routes from this office, but with the coming of the automobile and hard roads, the three routes in 1932 were consolidated into two.

    In April 26, 1972 another consolidation took place which was to transfer John Mullan from the Mechanicsville post office to the Mt. Vernon post office. John C. Butler was transferred from Rural Route 2 to Rural Route 1 which was served by John Mullan before his transfer to Mt. Vernon. This resulted in many patrons changing their address from Rural Route 2 to Rural Route 1 and vice versa. Art Koering, rural carrier from Stanwood, was then assigned to Rural Route 2 in Mechanicsville in addition to his duties in Stanwood.

    J. C. Butler, rural carrier for over 32 years, now serves 163 families and covers 78.60 miles. Art Koering serves 125 families and covers 46.75 miles from this office. Together they serve 1043 patrons. The office serve nearly 1000 “in town” patrons through post office boxes and general delivery.

    The parcel post system began in the United States in 1913, and in 1918 air mail service was established, and both have added greatly to the income of the local office. This office began as a fourth class office and gradually increased its business until July 1, 1953 when it was declared a second class office. It is a second class post office today. On September 15, 1972, Wilbur Haley was named the 21st postmaster to serve this office. Mrs. Darlene Williams is the clerk.

    The following men have served the community as postmaster, first established as Pioneer Grove. Goodwin Taylor 1847, Nelson Rathburn 1849, Cornelius Howard 1853, Goodwin Taylor 1855, William Soesbe 1857, Daniel T. Comstock 1858 (Changed to Mechanicsville May 21, 1858), Zenas Brown 1861, James Dayton 1864, Garrett Onstott 1866, Whitney M. Wetherell 1866, Jacob W. Miller 1866, William Chapman 1869, F. H. Williams 1885, Jacob H. Onstott 1889, George W. Fall 1893, William L. Comstock 1897, Elbert H. Vary 1913, Harland J. Maurer 1923, Frank G. Ferguson 1936, J. C. Houle 1956, Merle Clifton 1962 and Wilbur Haley 1972.