October is Stamp Collecting Month and did you know that one of the best ways to study history is stamp collecting? Almost every major event in this country�s history has been honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a stamp. Even the State of Indiana and the towns of Marengo, Leavenworth, English, and Milltown have been honored in one way or another.
Indiana has been recognized several times with stamps on the state bird, flower, flag, territory, and statehood. The post office in Corydon was given the distinction of being the first post office in the United States to issue the Indiana Statehood Sesquicentennial Stamp on April 16, 1966.
Crawford County has had its share of postal service honors, too. On September 4, 1983, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Marengo Cave, the Crawford County Saddle Club with the cooperation of the Marengo Post Office staged a pony express run, complete with and Indian attack, from Wyandotte Cave near Leavenworth to Marengo Cave. The Marengo post office hand cancelled the special mail when it arrived at Marengo Cave. Many pieces of mail carried were post cards that explained the trip the cards had just made.
The English post office, during Founder�s Weekend May 19, 20 and 21, 1989, was given permission by the postal service for a special cancellation to honor English�s Sesquicentennial. The cancellation, designed by Nathan Montgomery of Taswell, was of the old Crawford County Courthouse in English that was torn down in 1958.
During Milltown�s Sesquicentennial celebration on May 11, 12 and 13, 1989, a special cancellation depicting the old mill was used to cancel special mail.
On September 9, 1991, the Louisville Courier Journal published a story that the postal service will be issuing a Kentucky Statehood Stamp in 1992. This stamp will possibly feature My Old Kentucky Home in Bardstown.
Stamp Collecting, an excellent way to learn history without even trying. For more information on stamp collecting, contact your local library or your post office.