Post Offices In Bedford County

The carrying and delivering of written messages was first done by early explorers between trading posts. Then it was up to the trading post to find someone who knew the person to whom it was addressed, or might carry it on to the next post.

The receipt of a letter was quite an event to those who lived back in the wilderness. Many times the neighbors for miles would gather together to hear the contents read by those who could read. This would be a basis for community gossip for days.

Iater, when military posts were established, carriers or messengers on horseback provided the means of communication between points. The trading and military posts generally grew into towns as the settlers moved westward. This meant building roads and highways. From the weary way of walking, we moved to the horseback rider to the stagecoach. Each method carried letters.

To provide a central point for these letters to be sent or picked up by the owner, our post offices were established. We found that times have changed in the postage process. Before 1847 ,which was the date of the first postage stamp, the receiver of the letter was the one who paid the fee for delivery of the letter. We noted in our search of this material that one Jacob Nagle had to pay three shillings and nine pence for two letters from Philadelphia. Thus it definitely appears that postage rates were much higher back in those days than they are today, (but no slower).

The stage coaches, when space was available, carried mail and sometimes newsprint. We noted with interest the Bedford Gazette editor in December 16, 1806, wrote 'so long as the stages remain in town over night, this paper will be published on Tuesday morning'. It was also amusing that the editor must have been an economical man as he wrote the following notice to all contributors—'We must again repeat that persons writing to the editor must pay the postage'.

We must not forget that there were no envelopes in which to send a letter. The letter was folded several times and then a drop of hot wax was placed on the edges and pressed flat with a round metal stamp. Many times these were engraved with the initial of the sender thus when pressed into the hot wax the initial was imbedded in the wax.

Generally the places where several families settled together in rural areas, a store and then a post office was to become a part of this place. As the villages of Bedford County sprang up, the problem of getting mail to and from the communities was an important factor, particularly over the ridges and mountains.

The Bedford Gazette in the past year published a picture and a story about Thomas Coulter in 1781 building a fort or haven for local residents of Cumberland Valley Township to seek protection in the event of an Indian raid. Mr. Coulter was one of the men who carried mail sacks on his back between Fort Bedford and Fort Cumberland, Md. This method was especially used between Rainsburg, Bedford Valley and Hyndman. The terraine between these post offices was too rough for a horse to travel, thus it meant carrying it on foot. These trips were usually made twice a week. Mail was carried weekly from Yellow Springs, Huntingdon County to Bloody Run.

As the years passed, we found many small post offices were discontinued and a RFD (rural free delivery) system was put into practice. Today, there are only twenty-six post offices remaining.

Before we go into the location and a short history of the post offices in the county, we would like to challenge the readers to locate the following towns as they were originally named: Raystown, Milltown, Buckstown, Pattonville, Fairplay, Rattletown, Waynesburg and Bloody Run, Steeltown, Bridgeport and New Bridgeport, Lewistown, Henrietta, Beards Crossroads, Allensport, Cherry Grove, Nine Mile Town, Alaquippa, Mowry's Mill, Speelman, Oak-Shade and Six Roads. Also Croyle, Foreman or Aliquippa.

The answers will be found by reading the full story of each Post Office that existed in yesteryear. The post offices prior to or during 1900 were:

BEDFORD, Martin Reiley was first Postmaster. He came here from Winchester, Va. in 1771. He operated a trading post here. The ground on which Eugene Davidson now lives, "became vested in Martin Reiley, who by his deed, in which his wife joined, dated 13th day of September 1796. Conveyed same to Nicholas Mout who by deed of himself and wife dated the 11th October 1811 conveyed same to John Reisinger who by deed of himself and wife dated 13th September 1814 conveyed same to Daniel Sills." On November 9, 1789, Hugh Barclay was appointed postmaster of Bedford. In 1832, John Hofius was postmaster. The first free delivery mail service was inaugurated June 15, 1908. Bedford's new post office building was dedicated October 6, 1915.

The first settlement here was about 1750 by a man named Ray, who started a trading post with three cabins. This spot and nearby stream became Raystown. In 1758, a fort was built on the banks of this small river to provide safety from the Indians. The Borough was incorporated March 11, 1795.

This town was one of the most substantially built in the state. Nearly all the business section was of brick or stone. Many of these were centers of activity during the Conestoga and stage coach days. The county Court House was built in 1828. The first bank west of the Susquehanna was opened in 1815. A number of other important buildings were also erected.

A railroad from Altoona was built which connected this community with large cities. Two banks were established. A keg factory, handle factory, two roller mills, a foundry, steam laundry, shirt factory, three coach shops, six hotels, a good grade school, and a high grade academy for higher learning, four livery stables two newspapers, blacksmith shops and about fifty stores as well as many small industries made up the county seat.

Bedford Township contained six post offices:

BELDEN, located about five miles north of Bedford. This post of fice served residents in what is known as the lower section of Dutch Corner.

BURNING BUSH post office was established in the residence of David Miller in 1878. Two years later it was moved to the home of S.M. Boor. Residents of lower Bedford Township and northern Cumberland Valley came here for their mail.

CESSNA was located six miles north of Bedford. It served the residents of Northern section and the lower part of East St. Clair township.

IMLERTOWN, about seven miles north of Bedford was located in the center of Dutch Corner area.

OPPENHEIMER post office was named for the Oppenheimer iron ore quarry which was operated by a Bedford family by the same name. This served the residents of this settlement and those who resided in the extreme north section of Dutch Corner.

WOLFSBURG was located about three miles west of Bedford. The town was named in honor of Reverand David Wolf. The largest cigar factory in the county was located here. Nearly all the cigars sold in the county were made here.

In Bloomfield Township there were two post offices.

BAKER'S SUMMIT was twenty six miles north of Bedford and contained a post office, twenty residences, a wagon maker shop, blacksmith shop, school and two stores.

MARIA was located about midway between Baker's Summit and Brumbaugh Distillery. About a half dozen homes, a chopping mill, a small store and a blacksmith shop made up the village.

Five post offices were located in Broad Top Township.

COALDALE, first called Fairplay, and later Six Mile Run was laid out in 1855. It became a Borough on September 9, 1865. James Davis, a Civil War veteran was appointed postmaster in 1871.

DEFIANCE had about seventy dwellings, a good coal mine, hotel and two stores.

KEARNEY, about four miles east of Hopewell had over four hundred inhabitants. About half were employed at the coal mines and its 158 coke works owned by Joseph E. Thropp. A large company store known as the Kearney Supply Store provided the needs of all residents. This town no longer exists.

LANGDONDALE was located about two miles east of Hopewell. U had one store, forty residents and one hotel. The largest coal operations on Broad Top were located here.

RIDDLESBURG, prior to 1800 was called Allensport. Here were located the furnaces and coke ovens of the Colonial Iron Company. Practically all the residents were employed here. Samuel Riddle shipped coal from here by barges on the river.

Colerain Township also had five post offices:

BEEGLETON was a small hamlet located about two miles north of Rainsburg containing a store, flour mill and about seven houses.

CHARLESVILLE was originally called Rattletown. It had a store, wagon shop, two blacksmith shops, a school and a dozen buildings. One of them was the home of the Friend's Cove Farmers Mutual Insurance Company which was incorporated in 1878. A church, planing mill and a wood factory made up the village. The store was built in 1854. Samuel Hunt was the postmaster in 1871.

KOONTZVILLE was about four miles from Rainsburg. It had a grist mill, a store and several dwellings.

OTT TOWN is five miles east of Bedford and eight miles north of Rainsburg. It had a grist mill, blacksmith shop and a few farm buildings.

RAINSBURG is located in the southern section of Friend's Cove. It had two hotels, two stores, two schools and three churches. A tannery was established here before 1800. For many years it supported a very progressive Academy. Many successful business and professional men came out of this school. John Foulke Jr. was postmaster in 1832.

Cumberland Valley Township residents were provided mail service from five post offices.

CRUSE served the families in a small section south of Centerville.

CUMBERLAND VALLEY post office took the name of the township in which it was located, but the village retained the name of Centerville. Later the post office was changed to Bedford Valley.

EVITTS was located in the lower part of the township. It took the name of the small stream which flows through here.

HALE was another small post office located on the road from Bedford to Cumberland.

PATIENCE was about three miles below Burning Bush. It served the farm families who Lived in the area. It, too, was on the same road as Hale.

Six post offices existed in East Providence Township:

GAPSVILLE, located near the Fulton County line had a store, flour mill, blacksmith shop, church, school and four private homes.

GRACEVILLE, north of Breezewood, in 1900 had a store, church, several houses. The people living in the northern part of this township had to obtain their mail from this small post office.

JACKSON'S MILL had several residences, a large saw mill and a flour mill which was built by John Nycum in 1839. It is about five miles east of Everett.

MATTIE is located in the southern part of the township. This community was formerly called Cherry Grove. A store, P.O.S. of A hall, church, school and several dwellings made up the village.

RAY'S HILL was once an active community. It was located on the ChambersburgBedford Turnpike nine miles east of Everett. John Nycum settled here in 1820 and opened the first store in 1835. He was appointed postmaster in 1836. It had two stores, two churches, P.O.S of A hall and more than twenty dwellings.

JUNIATA CROSSINGS had a post office in the late 1800's. This area was once an important stage coach station. More licensed taverns were located in this area than any other Bedford County community. Here too, was located the longest double lane covered bridge, built in 1818.

East St. Clair Township had four post offices:

FISHERTOWN had two stores, one of which was the wholesale business of A.C. Blackburn and Company. A grade school, five churches and about two hundred residents. It is ten miles northwest of Bedford.

SPRING HOPE is about five miles north of Schellsburg. It had one large store, two churches, a grist mill, saw mill, blacksmith shop, chopping mill and a cider press.

SPRING MEADOW had a large water powered flour mill. A large spring issuing from the northern end of Chestnut Ridge is located here. Mail service was provided to farm homes in the immediate area.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE post office was established in 1832. Peter Amick was commissioned postmaster June 5, 1832. This office remained in this family for years.

Harrison Township had three post offices:

BARD'S post office was established in 1867. Z.T. Carpenter was the postmaster. It had a store, blacksmith shop, wagon shop, school and about a dozen houses. After the railroad from Bedford to Cumberland, Md. was built, a station was erected. It was a typical small country village.

BUFFALO MILLS, about two miles north of Bard, also had a railroad station, two stores, a grist mill, Odd Fellows hall, several shops, a hotel and about twenty dwellings.

MANN'S CHOICE post office was named after Hon. Job Mann. It was opened about 1848. In the stage coach days it was known as Two Taverns, which was located at the foot of Dry Ridge. The Wheeling Turnpike passed through here. Later it was changed to the Glade Pike. John McVicker, an Ex-Deputy Sheriff was the first postmaster. The village grew after the railroad was built in 1871. The town had the second largest tannery in the county. It provided employment to many of the residents. Large stacks of Oak bark occupied several acres of land. Selling bark to the tannery provided a source of income to land owners for a distance of ten to fifteen miles. A flour mill, a lumber yard where thousands of feet of lumber were shipped by rail each year, three stores, a hotel, school, three churches, and a railroad station with more than a hundred residences made up the town. It was incorporated as a Borough November 29, 1886.

Hopewell Township contained four post offices:

CYPHER was a small community made up of a saw. mill, store, carpenter shop, church, and several residences.

HOPEWELL The post office was first known as Alaquippa, but later was changed to Hopewell. It was laid out as a town in 1855. Isaiah Davis was postmaster in 1832.

TATESVILLE was named after Samuel Tate who came here in 1816. The village was laid out in 1857 by Thomas Ritchey. He was probably the first postmaster here. An old Indian trail from Fort Louden to Fort Bedford passed through here. A station for the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad was built here.

YELLOW CREEK was the name of the post office, but the name of the village was Steeltown. It was about midway between Hopewell and Loysburg. There were two stores, flour mills, blacksmith shops and about twenty five residents. In the neighborhood were five churches and two schools. J.W. Smith was postmaster in 1869.

Juniata Township had six post offices:

BURNS MILL was located in the northern section of the township. It was named affer James Burns who erected a grist mill in 1800. From this point mail was distributed to the residents in the area.

FYAN was named affer N.L. Fyan who built a distillery and grist mill on his farm in 1857. This place was about one and a half miles from New Baltimore.

KEGG post office was about two miles northeast of Fyan. The road from New Baltimore to Mann's Choice passed through here.

NEW BUENA VISTA was established about 1842. It had three blacksmith shops, wagon maker, three stores, cooper shop, a rustic chair factory, an undertaking and cabinet establishment, one church, school, a hotel and a telephone exchange between Schellsburg and Shanksville. A saddler shop, tailor shop and planing mill. Mail was carried here from Mann's Choice. On this same route were Kegg, Fyan and New Baltimore.

STRAUB post office was located about four miles from Bard. A few residences made up this hamlet.

WEST END was at the extreme end of Dry Ridge and about a mile from the Somerset county line. This community consisted of a few farm homes, a store and hotel. The first settler here was Casper Statler Jr., in 1790, who operated a tavern on the Wheeling Turnpike.

QUEEN was the only post of fice in Kimmel township. It was first known as Lewistown. It had two stores, two blacksmith shops. Blair county is a mile away.

King Township had four post offices:

IMLER had a general store, jewelry shop, two blacksmiths, a church and a grade school as well as a dozen houses.

OSTERBURG The village is divided between King and East St. Clair townships. It was laid out in 1876 and was named after John Oster who came here from Hagerstown, Md., in 1771. It had three stores, two blacksmith shops, a planing mill, two churches and three flour mills. The lodge of the Golden Eagle was quite active. The town had also a famous band.

WEYANT, formerly known as Mowry's Mill, was started by Simon Hershman in 1868. The post office was established soon thereafter. It had a roller flour mill, blacksmith shop, church, cigar factory, an iron shed, school, two stores and a dozen residences.

Two post offices were located in Liberty Township.

SAXTON was incorporated in 1867. It began as a village, but with the H&B.T. RR in 185556 it began to grow rapidly. There were four churches, a six room school building, an Odd Fellows lodge, twelve stores and some small industries as well as a large flour mill.

STONERSTOWN was one of the oldest villages in northern Bedford County. It was founded about 1809 George Roads was postmaster in 1832 The building of the railroad to Saxton saw most of the people moving into that town.

The village of LOVELY had the only post office in Lincoln Township. A dozen residences in the village as well as farmers living in the hills and valleys around the town were serviced by two stores.

Down in I,ondonderry Township there were six post offices.

COOK'S MILLS in the extreme southern section of this township had one store, a grist mill and about a dozen dwellings. The Bedford Division of the PRR and the B & O ran through the village.

FOSSILVILLE post office was four miles north of Hyndman. It was also located on the Bedford section of the PRR, and had a freight and ticket station. There were two stores, a chopping mill and approximately a dozen houses.

HOBLITZELL was two miles west of Hyndman. Here were the Savage Fire Brick Works, a coal and clay mine and a coaling station for the B & O RR line. This section was also called Gooseberry.

HYNDMAN, When the first post office was established it was changed from Birdgeport to Newbridgeport. John Wesley Madore was postmaster from 1873 to 1886. The borough was incorporated as Newbridgeport, but by court order on December 3, 1878 the name was changed to Hyndman. This town provided the best railroad facilities in the county Travelers who wanted to go to Baltimore, Md., Washington, Pittsburgh or other points west could take the PRR to Hyndman and then transfer to the B & O to complete his trip. A large tannery owned by the Elk Tanning Company was located here, also a furniture factory of the Hyndman Wood Working Company, a flour mill, planing mill. Each spring boats and log rafts were launched from here and floated down to the Potomac and then to Washington and Georgetown. Large quantities of lime were shipped out by rail. Hyndman had three large stores, two jewelry shops, hardware, drug and clothing stores. Three good hotels were available for the travelers. Also there were five churches, a white brick Borough building and an excelient two story seven room school building. The population in 1900 was over thirteen hundred people.

SPEELMAN post office was located at Madley station on the Bedford division of the PRR. It was six miles north of Hyndman. Although it contained a small store and several dwellings this place was a very busy one. This was a loading place for lumber and bark for the tanneries.

PALO ALTO. We saw one old reference to a post office being here, but we have been unable to verify this fact.

The small Township of Mann had four post offices:

ARTEMAS was named in honor of Artemas Benett, who was the first resident of this place. It had two churches, one school, two stores, a chopping mill, sawmill, blacksmith and a repair shop as well as about twelve dwellings.

PINEY CREEK post office was located beside a small stream by the same name. Four residences, one store, a grist mill and sawmill made up this community.

PURCELL post office served one store, a repair shop, planing mill, blacksmith shop, a church and a school. This village had a population of about thirty people.

SILVER MILLS was located in the far corner of the township near the Fulton County line and the Maryland border. A P.O.S of A hall, grist mill, a blacksmith shop and a store were here. Monroe Township had at least five and perhaps a sixth post office:

CHAPMAN'S RUN was four miles from Clearville. It was also located on the stream by the same name. Only a few buildings were here.

CLEARVILLE post office had Ray's mountain in the east and Warrior's ridge on the west. The town had a hotel, flour mill, wagon shop, two blacksmith shops, two churches, two stores, two schools and over thirty residences. The first house was built here about 1823. James Marshall was the first merchant.

EMERSON'S post office was ten miles southeast of Everett. Several dwellings, a general store and a blacksmith operated by Sanson Mearkle and Son made up the community.

PINE RIDGE post office was located on the west branch of Sideling Hill Creek, about 4 _ miles from Clearville. One or two dwellings and a store were here.

ROBINSONVILLE'S first postmaster was William Robinson. He settled here about 1847. This village had a school house, store, two shops and about twenty residents.

STECKMAN was located about six miles south of Everett in Black Valley. Tussey's Mountain was on the west and Warrior's ridge in the east. The Black Valley Central railroad, which was a branch extending from Everett Furnace passed through this community. There were fifteen dwellings, a church, school, blacksmith shop, jewelry shop, two lumber mills and a large sand bank located here.

Napier Township contained five post offices:

HELIXVILLE, located at the eastern base of the Allegheny Mountain, had one store owned by J.H. Wonder, a school, three churches. Two country stores were destroyed by fire in this village after 1900.

NAPIER was at the eastern border of the township at the base of Will's Mountain. It was the only village in this township to have a railroad. Several residences made up the place. According to an atlas of Bedford County published in 1877, Napier Station had a post office called Stuckeyville. Also, in the map of school districts of each township, the map of Napier Township School District H1 shows Stuckeyville post office at the junction of Forbes Road and Wheeling Turnpike. We wonder why the two listings.

NEW PARIS The first house was built here in 1846. A blacksmith, Daniel Raffensparger gave the village its name. It was incorporated as a Borough September 7, 1882. There were four churches, four stores, two saw mills, planing mill, grist mill, rustic chair factory. The name of the first postmaster is not listed.

POINT was located on the road from Bedford to New Paris. This postal center comprised of one store, chopping mill, shoemaker and saddler shop, one church and ten residences.

SCHELLSBURG. This post office was located nine miles west of Bedford. Land about the village was patented to James Anderson June 15, 1776, and named Nine Mile Town. John Schell for whom the town was renamed, obtained an Inn keepers license in 1803. The town was laid out in lots by Mr. Schell November 9, 1808. In 1846, J.E. Colvin was.postmaster. Many of the homes were built in the days of the conestoga wagon and stage coaches. The hostelries of this village were well and favorably known to the teamsters and drivers who traveled this Turnpike. It had six general stores, hardware store, a large hotel, two marble shops, a blacksmith shop and four brick churches.

Snakespring Township had three post offices:

A few miles east of Bedford was the community of FOREMAN. It had two other names in previous years—Croyle and Aliquippa. Here was a store, blacksmith shop, weaver shop, two churches and a school building.

LUTZVILLE was a small station on the H & B T RR between Bedford and Everett. A small store and a few dwellings made up this area.

VALLEY MILLS post office was a small hamlet on the lower valley road in the southern part of the township. It was about three miles from Everett and seven to Bedford. Mail service was provided to the farm homes around it.

Southampton Township, organized in 1799, had four widely scattered post of fices:

BEAN'S COVE derived its name from the first family who settled here. This community had its first school in a log church in 1816. It is located in a beautiful valley. Tussey's Mountain is on the east, Evitts on the west and Martin Hill on the north. The first brick house was built about 1858.

CHANEYSVILLE was named after the first settler, Thomas Chaney Jr., who moved here about 1830. It grew into a flourishing little village. It had two churches, two stores, two grist mills, two blacksmith shops, two wagon maker shops, a saw mill, school, shoemaker's shop, public hall, a hotel and a doctor's of fice.

ELBINSVILLE post office served the sparcely settled section of this township.

HEWITT was another small hamlet eight miles south of Chaneysville. A general store, a flour mill and a few dwellings existed here.

South Woodbury Township had the following post offices:

BRUMBAUGH was at the eastern foot of Dunning's Mountain on the road from St. Clairsville to New Enterprise. Here was the famous distillery of S.S. Brumbaugh. He also had a store with a small line of groceries for the citizens of the area.

LOYSBURG This town was first called Pattonville. The first postmaster was Martin I,oy Jr. In 1838, John F. Loy replaced him. J.S. Brown and Son had a large flouring mill. J.B. Fluck owned a lumber and planing mill. A hotel, three stores, two churches and an excellent grade school, an I.O.O.F. hall, an active grange organization, and about forty residences made up this community. Plans had been made to establish an electric rail road to this community.

NEW ENTERPRISE had the reputation of being the wealthiest settlement in the county. Here was a small stream called 'Three Springs'. The first house was built in 1844. David F. Buck was the first postmaster in 1863. When the town was first formed, prior to 1863, this community was called Beard's Crossroads.

SALEMVILLE, also lies on the east side of Dunning's Mountain. The road from Snakespring mountain to New Enterprise passed by this village. It had one store, three churches and a number of farm dwellings.

WATERSIDE is located on what was once called the Paton-ville-Woodberry Turnpike. A large woolen mill of Woodcock and Curry, a general store and about a dozen houses were located here.

An old directory lists MORRIS COVE post office as 132 miles from Washington City and 110 miles from Harrisburg.

The small Township of Union had only one post office to provide mail service to its residents. It was located at PAVIA. In 1849 it was founded by John Corl who named the place Marietta after his wife. In 1861, a post office was established and the town's name was changed to Pavia. Here were two churches, a flouring mill, a blacksmith shop, wagon maker's shop, two stores, two schools and about thirty buildings.

Two post offices were located in West Providence Township:

EVERETT Michael Barndollar Sr. laid out plans for a small village June 15, 1795, and was named Waynesburg. Later it took the name of Bloody Run. In 1873 the town changed to Everett. Early records show that one Robert Culbertson carried mail from Everett to Shippensburg, a distance of sixty miles, going and returning on foot. Later Jacob Barndollar took this of fice followed by David Mann Jr. who was postmaster in 1832.

Everett, second in population held the distinction of being first in manufacturing and business advantages. The H & BT RR provided rail service. A large iron furnace, glass works, tannery, foundry, planing mills, machine shops, flour mill, two newspapers, two wagon shops, five blacksmith shops, three livery stables, three undertaking establishments, three large hotels, eight churches, one bank, two large school buildings and about four-hundred and fifty residences made up the village. The Chambersburg-Bedford Turnpike passed through this town.

MENCH was five miles southeast of Everett. It was on the road to Mattie. Here were a store, blacksmith shop, school, church and a dozen houses.

Two post offices were located in West St. Clair Township:

ALUM BANK. This is the name applied to several dwellings in East St. Clair township where natural deposits of alum were found. A post office was established here about 1812, with Thomas Vickroy as the postmaster. This was the only post of fice between Bedford and what is now known as Johnstown. After Mr. Vickroy's death, the post office was moved to Chestnut Ridge in 1843 where Joseph Sleek became postmaster. In 1855, the post office was moved to West St. Clair township, in the village of Pleasantville. The post of fice retained the name of Alum Bank. The town had two tanneries, a foundry, machine shop, steam flour mill, steam operated saw mill, shingle and lath mill, two saddlery and harness shops, cigar factory, weave shop, two blacksmith shops, wagon maker shop, five churches, six stores, two schools, an I.O.O.F. hall, hotel and about seventy five residences.

RYOT, had two other names. It was known as ‘Oak Shade and Six Roads", and located midway between Pleasantville and New Paris. Here were two stores, blacksmith shop, saw and planing mill, a church, school and about seventy five residents.

There was only one post office in WOODBERRY Township. (This township is also spelled WOODBURY).

WOODBERRY post office was near the center of Morrison's Cove. Near here were found iron ore and lime stone deposits. The characteristic thrift of the Dunkards who settled in this community had an influence on the financial and moral condition of the people. Woodberry had two hotels, three churches, an I.O.O.F hall, flour mill, water power creamery, a coach shop. It was well known for its pure water.

NOTE: We were unable to obtain many dates when the post offices were first established in numerous communities nor the name of the first postmaster.

We also found two instances in which apparently post offices did not exist prior to 1900. They were KING and BREEZEWOOD. These two towns were located on important highways of the county.

Mail Routes

According to the 'Supplement to the Reporter', published in Harrisburg, Pa., July 12, 1839, the Post Office Department on May 29, 1839 sent out proposals for delivering mail, beginning January 1840. The contract was to run until June 30,1844. They covered most of Pennsylvania. However, several extended into Hagerstown, Cumberland, Maryland and Wheeling West Virginia.

One of the contracts in the proposal was a mail route to run daily from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh, a distance of 154 miles. Stops were to be made in every town on the route. The mail coach was to leave Chambersburg at 4 p.m. and arrive in Pittsburgh in 35 hours. The mail coming east would leave that city at 1 p.m., with the same number of hours limit to reach Chambersburg.

Another mail route up for contract was from Bedford to Cumberland, Maryland every Wednesday and Saturday. The mail was to leave Bedford at 6 A.M. and arrive in the Maryland town at 6 P.M. Return mail would leave Cumberland Thursdays and Sundays at 6 A.M. and arrive here by 6 P.M.

Fulton County was created from Bedford on April 19, 1851. Therefore the mail routes from McConnelsburg were then part of Bedford County. A route from McConnelsburg to (.reencastle would carry mail three times weekly, leaving that town Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at I p.m. and arrive at 5 p.m., a distance of about 20 miles. The mail coming north would leave Greencastle at 6 a.m. on the same days and arrive in McConnelsburg by l l a.m. A route from Ray's Hill, through Brush Creek, Warfordsburg to Hancock, Maryland would operate once a week.

There were many other contracts up for bid in the State. However, the ones mentioned previously are those in which we are most interested.

Every person who submitted a bid had to meet certain strict requirements. His bid had to he accompanied by a statement from his local Postmaster or from another prominent individual who could certify that the applicant was a responsible man who would abide by his contract. The bidder was also advised in the advertisement that the Postmaster C.eneral reserved the right to alter the routes or the schedule. He could also discontinue mail service when he found it expedient to do so. The bidder was also aware that the Postmaster-General could impose fines for failure to haul or deliver mail at a Post Office. He was further subject to a fine if he permitted the mail to become wet, lost or destroyed in transit. If the bidder decided to operate a stage coach line more often than his contract, or if he was able to reach his destination in less time than specified, he would not be reimbursed.

The bidder also understood that he had to provide transportation free to any postal agent who produced his valid credentials.

In areas where transportation of the mails was difficult, (we assume it was meant that there were times when the roads became impassable due to the snow drifts or deep ruts filled with mud, etc. ) the bidder could specify that he would carry the mail by horseback for a specified number of weeks or days in a year. However, it was specifically emphasized that mail, rather than passengers, must receive first priority at all times. Failure to abide by these stipulations or violating of the Post Office Laws meant withdrawl or cancellation of said contract.

We can see from this announcement that the Post Office Department was beginning to be quite concerned with the problem of getting the mail delivered between the cities and towns the quickest possible way.

We have no way of knowing who were the successful bidders of carrying the mail to and from Bedford. We have mentioned in other chapters how the mail was delivered in the early years from Post Office to Post Office by men who packed bundles of mail on their backs over hills, ridges and mountains, through areas where it was impossible for a horse to travel. Some of these men have been recorded in the County's history. Many others have long been forgotten.

We found an announcement in the Bedford Gazette published in February 1903 stating "RFD" is no longer an experiment, but has been accepted as a permanent feature of the Postal Service. The Postal Department issued notices as to the official size, composition and placement of all rural mailboxes. A warning was also given about any vandalism or malicious mischief.

Later, another announcement stated that occupants of houses where contagious diseases prevail should not be allowed to send mail until the same has been fumigated. It also stated there was no apparatus for this purpose at the local Post Office at present, but one was expected shortly.