Hopewell Township Postmasters

I continue with area postmaster lists and information about their small post offices, most of which no longer exist. Many of these post offices have names I had never heard of and were located in little hamlets that no longer exist. I find it is interesting to locate these places on a current map. Occasionally an old building that was once a general store still remains at a crossroad where there was once a little village.

Today, a list of postmasters in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, Ohio. Hopewell Township is the township in which we reside.

1888 Map, Hopewell Township, Mercer County, Ohio

Hopewell Township had three post offices at one time, Earley, Stedke, and Tama.

The Earley Post Office was located at Oregon Station, where Oregon Road and Weitz Road meet. The hamlet of Oregon Station was established about 1831 and, as is usually the case, had a train station. A tile mill, store, cream station, cider mill, and the Home Telephone Company were also located at Oregon Station.

Stedke, aka Shively’s Corner, had a post office and was located at the intersection of State Route 118 and Frahm Pike. The railroad did not go through Stedke but there was a store there. The corner is still widely known as Shively’s Corner.  

Hopewell’s third post office was at Tama/Tamah. Tama is still a recognizable village that had a post office by 1888, as well as a train station, tile mill, elevator, store, basket weaver, doctor, and a blacksmith shop.  

Hopewell Township Post Offices, 1900 map

The postmasters of Hopewell Township, Mercer County:

Earley: post office established by 1888 at the hamlet of Oregon Station. Oregon is cross-referenced as a railroad hamlet established about 1831 in the east part of the township, with Earley post office set up by 1888.
Thomas J. Earley, 1 Jun 1881
Clinton L. Bader, 4 Jun 1883
Jacob L. Crider, 15 Jan 1885
James Weaver, 9 Oct 1902
Charles S. Johnson, 5 May 1908
Post office discontinued 30 Sep 1912; mail sent to Celina

Stedke/Stedeke: hamlet with post office in the west central part of the township; also called Shively’s Corner. Shively’s Corner is cross-referenced as the local name for Stedke.
John W. Shively, 12 Mar 1890, 6 Mar 1901
Post office discontinued 17 Aug 1903; mail sent to Celina

Tama/Tamah: hamlet on the railroad, near the north edge of the township, with a post office set up by 1888.
James Higbee, 22 Jan 1884
John F.[?] Hill, 16 May 1884
Ulysses G. Ross, 25 May 1887
Sylvester N. Ross, 20 May 1889
Charles S. Behymer, 28 May 1890
Perry C. Miller, 26 Nov 1895
John W. Fetters, 13 May 1898
Frank Shambaugh, 29 Jan 1900
John F. Shambaugh, 20 Feb 1900
George W. Rutledge, 30 Nov 1900
William T.[?] Groves, 10 Nov 1902
Post office discontinued 31 May 1907; mail sent to Celina

1900 Map, Hopewell Township, Mercer County, Ohio

By 1912 all three post offices in Hopewell Township had closed and their mail was sent to Celina.

Sources:

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).

Julie Minot Overton, The Ohio Genealogical Society, Ohio Towns and Townships to 1900: A Location Guide, (Mansfield, Ohio : Penobscot Press, 2000).

Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, National Archives, Roll #100, Target 12, Vol. 38 (1873-1891), p.316-317, & Vol. 79 (1891-1930) p.367-368; digital image, Ancestry.com, viewed 2 Jan 2021.

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