| THE JASONVILLE STORY CONTINUED.... |
| Chapter XI THE HISTORY OF THE JASONVILLE POST OFFICE taken from THE JASONVILLE STORY, by Ben Sink In the pioneer days there were no postage stamps. If you received a letter you had to pay the postage, which was usually twenty-five cents. The same was true with newspapers, the recipient paying the postage, which was the same amount as a letter. The practice of pre paying postage on newspapers was not adopted until the early 1870s. In those days, due to paving on receipt of a letter, it was termed, �lifting a letter.� Money was hard to come by. A days hard toil on the farm from sunrise to sunset brought twenty-five cents, as would the sale of two and one half bushels of corn. After paying this price and lifting the letter if it was found to be from someone �back home or from some remote and almost forgotten relative opening with, �Dear Second Cousin: I take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and hope this will find you enjoying the same blessing.� Here my history paused as my publisher will not permit me to record the vehement ejaculations of the recipient after paying his quarter and scanning the contents of a letter of this sort. There were no envelopes in the early days of Jasonville, and long after they came, they had no glue but were sealed with the whites of an egg or a little flour and water. Postage stamps were not introduced in the United States until 1847, having been used in England as early as 1840. In 1863 the post office department experimented with the delivery of mail in a few selected larger cities. It proved so advantageous and popular that two years later 1865, they extended the service to all cities with a population in excess of 40,000. In the year of 1828, one hundred thirty years ago, postal receipts for Indianapolis were $369, Crawfordsville, $139, Fort Wayne $158, Terre Haute $235 and for all of Indiana $7,905. By way of comparison the annual receipts of the Jasonville post office are now approximately $20,000.00 and the receipts of the Indianapolis office has grown from $369 in 1828 to $14,722,350.00 in 1956. Unfortunately the fire of July 24, 1914 destroyed all the old local post office records, thus removing from our reach many interesting facts. In 1839 only two mail routes entered Greene County. One was from Sullivan to Bedford, the other from Washington to Point Commerce, near Worthington, both passing though Bloomfield. The nearest we can estimate from the information available is that the Jasonville post office was established shortly before the start of the civil war probably in 1859 or 1860. Jasonville�s first mail came by Star Route starting from Terre Haute, then to Riley, Lewis, Coffee, Howesville and Jasonville. The local office was the last one of these to be established and before this the people of the community had to call at Coffee or Howesville for mail, some perhaps going to Lewis. The star route carrier made his rounds twice a week on horseback and received as salary about $450 per year. After the railroad (now N.Y. Central) was built from Terre Haute to Riley the mail was carried that far by rail and the star route thus shortened. These early village postmasters received no more than $12 to $20 a year for their services and they had to furnish the office. This must have been the reason that many of the early doctors became postmasters; they could furnish the room without additional expense. As stated above there are no official records pertaining to the local office of the early days. This is compiled from the best information available. Dr. W. S. Squires, later and in the following order came, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Absalom Briley, elsewhere referred to as the first white child born in Lewis township, Greene Price, Dr. Kelshaw, Mrs. Kelshaw (widow of the doctor) Jesse Linthieum, Lucinda Watson, Jesse Linthieum (reappointed) R.P. Irwin, Josiah Worley, L.C. Bonham, John M. Adkins, Win. 0. Nash, M.A. Thomas, Ben H. Sink, Charles Wood, Thelma Wood (widow of Charles Wood) Ivan Conder, Herman Criss and the present incumbent Maurice Fougerousse. During my tenure as postmaster, 1921 to 1932, one of my favorite puns was. �That Jasonville enjoyed a distinction equaled by no other city in the United States�It was the only second class post office in the country with a first class postmaster.� According to Elmer Streets, one of the early rural carriers this service was established from the local office about 1904. Mr. Sheets says that other early carriers included Roy Bunger, Henry Saucerman, Morgan Sexton and Leroy Gregg. Delivery service was started in the city about the time of the First World War. Due to the war industrial wages began to zoom and men would not accept these carrier jobs at the meager wages paid, and it became necessary to employ women as carriers. No parcels were delivered but a notice left telling you to call at the office for a parcel. Mary Humphreys and Opal Everly were two very sufficient carriers, their services ending only when the delivery classification was changed and the delivery of parcels begun. HISTORY OF THE JASONVILLE POST OFFICE 1858 � 2000 BY MAX E. GRIFFITH, POSTMASTER The Jasonville Post office was established in the same year that Jasonville was founded, 1858. The first Postmaster was Dr. William B. Squires, who was appointed on June 23, 1858. Dr. Squires was co-owner of the tract of land, which consisted of 13 lots, for which he and Jason Rogers filed a plat. The title of this plat was, �Plat of the Original Town of Jasonville, Indiana.� They filed this plat on January 23, 1858, with the recorder of Greene County. This was Jasonville�s Heritage Block, located between south Meridian Street on the east and Lawton Street on the west, and Main Street on the north and Cooke Street on the south. The rest of the city is additions to this first plat. A postmaster�s salary in 1858, for a town the size Jasonville was then, was between 12 and 20 dollars per year. The postmaster was also required to furnish the room and pay any other expenses incurred while handling the mail, For this reason, the post office was first located in Dr. Squire�s office, which stood on the south side of Main Street, just west of Meridian Street. According to the records of the National Archives, in Washington, DC, the location of the post office changed quite frequently, for the first few years. The town first received mail from Terre Haute, carrier mostly by horseback, one day per week. The Star Route Carrier, as he was known then, also served four other post offices. Riley, Lewis, Coffee Post Office and Howesville made up the rest of the route. The volume of mail must have been very small for one horse to carry a rider, and a week�s mail, for five post offices. Jasonville was without a post office from September 23, 1875 to January 23, 1877, when John D. Shaw declined to continue as postmaster. Mrs. Elmira Kelshaw then accepted the appointment, and became our first lady postmaster. (In case you�re wondering, there is no such title as post- mistress). During the period when Jasonville was without a post office, local residents had to call for their mail at the Coffee Post Office; it was located approximately 3 to 4 miles due north of Jasonville. With the coming of the railroad in 1900, Jasonville was able to receive mail daily. This led to the establishment of the first rural routes here in 1903. Rural Free Delivery was first established nationally in 1896. The post office was located, prior to 1913, in the back portion of a building that stood on the corner of South Lawton and West Main Street. (Where the Peoples Trust Company was located for sixty years). In 1913, the post office was moved east, across Lawton Street, into a building that stood just north of the former Peoples Trust Company Drive-in bank. It was while the post office was in this location that it was completely destroyed by the terrible fire of 1914, The post office was located temporarily in the west portion of 124 Cooke Street, which later served as Dr. Carl Porter�s office, for many years. This structure was then known as the �Sample Room�. Rebuilding of Jasonville�s business section began almost immediately after the fire, and soon the post office was able to move to brand new quarters, in the Irwin Building. This building was located in the middle of the block, on the south side of Main Street, between south Meridian Street and Lawton Streets. Before the fire the Stark & Irwin General Store occupied this location. It was very near, if not the exact location, of the first post office 50 years earlier. Door to door or village delivery was established May 1, 1917, in Jasonville. The pay was so low that men could not be found to carry the mail. Miss Mary Humphreys and Mrs. Opal Everly agreed to accept the positions, thus becoming our first letter carriers. Regular city delivery was established July 1, 1925, thus ending the careers of the two village carriers. Orval Saucerman and Frank Hastings were hired as Jasonville�s first city carriers. On January 28, 1935 the post office was moved to the corner of South Lawton and West Main Street. The Peoples State Bank formerly occupied this building. The bank had become a casualty of the Great Depression. Poe & Krutt Drug Store then moved into the building vacated by the post office. The post office was relocated to a new modern structure, at 325 West Main Street, with the official dedication of the new facility being held on Sunday, September 16, 1962. Demco, Inc., of Greenwood, Indiana built this building to specifications of the United States Post Office Department. Postal employees in 1962 were: Maurice Fougerousse � Postmaster Charles Letsinger � Assistant Postmaster Herbert Hardin, Gerald Newby, Fern Shouse and Max Griffith � Clerks Lawrence Howard, Glen Wright, and Robert Coffey � City Carriers Frank Hastings, Clarence Metcalf and Wayne Mc Bride � Rural Carriers OFFICIAL LIST OF POSTMASTERS OF JASONVILLE Dr. William B. Squires�����..�..June 23, 1858 John S. O�Donald�������..�..Feb. 24, 1860 Dr. William B. Squires�����..�..Dec. 04, 1860 William W. Johnston������..�.Sept. 03, 1861 John D. Shaw���������..�.May 12, 1869 Henry T. Neal������.���..�.Apr. 20, 1874 John D. Shaw���������..�. Mar. 02, 1875 John D. Shaw declined and mail was transferred to the Coffee Post Office On September 23, 1875. Mrs. Elmira Kelshaw������.�..Jan. 23, 1877 Jessie F. Linthicum��������.July 14, 1888 Lucinda L. Watson������..��.Apr. 26, 1889 Jessie F. Linthicum��������.Mar. 30, 1893 Richard P. Irwin��������.�..June 08, 1895 Charles L. Bonham������.��.May 13, 1899 John M. Atkins�������.���June 02, 1904 William O. Nash������.���..Mar. 02, 1905 M.A. Thomas�������.��� July 11, 1913 Ben H. Sink��������......��Feb. 15, 1922 Charles W. Wood������..�.....Feb. 01, 1932 (Died May 09, 1932) Ivan Condor�����������May 14, 1933 Herman Criss (acting postmaster) June 20, 1941 Maurice Fougerousse����.� April 22, 1944 Robert W. Coffey�������.�April 07, 1978 (Died Nov. 27, 1981) Max E. Griffith����������April 16, 1982 |
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| Dean Terhune, an early Jasonville rural carrier |
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| SEPTEMBER 1962 Opening day of Jasonville's new post office at 325 W. Main Street. Left to Right: Clarence Metcalf, Herb Hardin, Max Griffith, Charles Letsinger, Lawrence Howard, Bob Coffey, Fern Shouse, Frank Hastings, Maurice Fougerousse and Gerald Newby. (Glen Wright is not in picture). |
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