“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night...a history of the Post Office at Friona, Texas
by Darla Bracken
One of the most important aspects of life in any new place was the ability to send and receive mail. In Colonial times friends, merchants and native American Indians carried messages back and forth between the colonies. The first ‘postal service’ was in Massachusetts in 1639. Later, local authorities in each colony opened postal routes. William Penn established Pennsylvania’s first post office in 1683. The Post Office Department, as it was then known, was centralized in 1691.
Benjamin Franklin was appointed Postmaster by the British Crown in 1737 when he was just 31 years old. As a struggling printer and publisher, Ben Franklin was editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Under Franklin, the Postal Department operated ‘at a surplus’, a feat evidently equally difficult even in colonial times. By the time he left office in 1760, post roads extended from Maine to Florida and from New York to Canada. In July 1775 Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General of America by the Continental Congress. In fact, much of our current postal system stems from the early system he planned and put into action.
[Benjamin Franklin would have been 300 years old January 17, 2006.]
By the time the Post Office Department was established by the new President George Washington in 1789, there were 75 post offices and 2,000 miles of post roads. The department consisted of the Postmaster General, a Secretary Comptroller, 3 surveyors, one ‘inspector of dead letters and 26 riders. It operated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until it was moved to Washington D. C., the new capitol, in 1800 in its entirety in two horse-drawn wagons. The first Chief Postal Inspector position was created in 1830.
The U. S. Post Office in Friona, Texas was established March 16, 1907 just 4 months after Friona was surveyed, mapped and registered at the Deaf Smith County Clerk’s Office in November 1906 by George G. Wright.
If a town were fortunate enough to be established alongside the railroad as Friona was, the mail could come in by rail. Sarah D. Olson was appointed the first Postmaster. In fact, the first 3 postmasters were women, a testimony to the important role women played in early Friona.
As a cattle shipping point on the Pecos and Northern Valley Railroad, later the Sante Fe, Friona had that early advantage not only for mail, but for vital transportation to and from Friona. Many of you can remember the familiar mail bags and the outgoing mailbags that were ‘hooked’ by the moving trains.
Our first Post Office building (no pictures yet) may have been on Main, and the second building was on Main in a building shared by the Friona Star. The third location was where Prairie Insurance ( formerly Ethridge Spring Insurance) is now located. The West Wing of the Library encompasses the fourth location at 7th and Euclid, the Post Office from 1955 to 1975. The fifth and current location on North Main has been home to the post office since 1975. Home delivery was started in the 60s. Mail from the Parmerton Post Office was transferred to Friona in 1908 and from the Rhea Post Office to Friona in 1924 and from Black Post Office to Friona in (197?).
Postmasters who served at Friona and their dates appointed are:
Sarah D. Olson Postmaster 03/16/1907
Anna W. Dimond Postmaster 04/02/1908
Grace B. Little Postmaster 10/07/1909
Grace B. McCandlish Postmaster 05/02/1910
David W. Sutton Postmaster 12/27/1910
Lula E. Ernest Postmaster 10/26/1916
Lula E. Ballard Postmaster 11/20/1917
Mary A. Sutton Postmaster 12/04/1918
William H. Musick Acting Postmaster 04/01/1924
William H. Musick Postmaster 04/12/1924
John A. Guyer Acting Postmaster 11/19/1924
John A. Guyer Postmaster 12/02/1924
Dayton W. Hanson Acting Postmaster 05/01/1932
Dayton W. Hanson Postmaster 07/13/1932
Sloan H. Osborn Acting Postmaster 10/01/1953
Sloan H. Osborn Postmaster 01/25/1935
Stelma L. “Leo” McLellan Acting Postmaster 11/04/1953
James Paul Fortenberry (Declined) 06/04/1956
Mrs. Martha A. Clements Acting Postmaster 06/23/1961
Wright W. Williams Postmaster 12/16/1963
Robert E. Cornett Officer-in-Charge 07/30/1976
Richard A. Wilson Postmaster 03/26/1977
Evelyn E. Moore Officer-in-Charge 02/19/1982
William W. Wells Postmaster 05/29/1982
Floyd W. Wilkins Officer-in-Charge 01/03/1986
Larry R. Rogers Postmaster 06/21/1986
Cheri Maddox Officer-in-Charge 02/27/2003
Jack B. Glover Postmaster 07/12/2003
Dedicated to Martha A Clements whom we had hoped might be able to attend our Centennial Cancellation on March 16. Martha passed away February 28, 2006.
*”Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
Often misquoted, this quotation is from Herodotus describing the expedition of the Greeks against the Persians under Cyrus (Persia’s messengers) about 500 BC It was on the historic Farley Post Office in New York City built in 1912 that served as a backup location for postal service after the 911 attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
