A few weeks ago I wrote about the Chattanooga, Ohio, Post Office and included a list of the postmasters appointed to serve there around the turn of the century.
There were several other post offices in the area and not all were located in a town or village. Some were located out in the country, in a general store. There may have been a couple other buildings or a house or two near the general store. These little general stores were more prevalent years ago and those with post offices had names that have been long forgotten. Some of these old store structures still stand at country intersections.
It is interesting to learn where these area post offices were and who their postmasters were. The next few weeks I will mention some of them.
I will begin with my home township, Black Creek Township. Black Creek Township is interesting because there are no towns or villages in the township.
But Black Creek Township did have a post office around the turn of the century, Pond Post Office.
Pond Office was located in the center of the township. It is shown on the 1900 Black Creek plat map. The post office was located at the intersection of Wabash and Manley Roads.
A store was on the southwest corner, a township school was on the northeast corner, and the township house was on the southeast corner. In my younger days, when I lived at home, before I was married, I voted at that township house.
Pond is described as a “post office and crossroads hamlet at the center of the township.” [2] So Pond was a crossroads hamlet. What an interesting description.
Pond Post Office had two postmasters from 1896-1900. Jefferson Pond was appointed postmaster 1 April 1896. John H. Wiley was appointed postmaster 18 May 1898.
Wiley served until mid-1900, when the mail was sent to Rockford 31 May 1900, effective 15 June 1900. [3]
Finding a Pond postmark would really be something!
[1] Mercer County Chapter OGS, Mercer County, Ohio Combined 1888, 1900 Atlases and 1876 Map of Mercer County, Ohio, (Mt. Vernon, IN : Windmill Publication, Inc., 1999), p.7, 1900 Atlas.
[2] Julie Minot Overton, The Ohio Genealogical Society, Ohio Towns and Townships to 1900: A Location Guide, (Mansfield, OH : Penobscot Press, 2000) p.322.
[3] Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, National Archives, Roll #100, Mercer County, Ohio, Vol. 79 (1891-1930), p.369-370; digital image, Ancestry.com, viewed 3 Dec 2020.
2 comments
Karen, do you know if the land to construct a one-room schoolhouse every few miles in the township was willingly donated by the surrounding landowner, or was it an earlier version of “eminent domain” when the township was platted? Just curious, there seems to be a definite masterplan for the location of the country schools.
Author
Good question, but I do not know the answer. However, I may look into it and put some information in a future post. Thanks for writing!