The Vidette-Messenger Centennial EditionThe 1936 special edition celebrating Porter County's centennial year . . . .
The following article has been transcribed from the August 18, 1936, issue of The Vidette-Messenger, published in Valparaiso, Indiana. This particular special edition focuses on Porter County's centennial celebration and contains a 94-page compendium of Porter County history up to that time.
Return to the index of articles from The Vidette-Messenger's Porter County Centennial special edition.
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso,
Porter County, Indiana; August 18, 1936; Volume 10, Section 2, Page 22.
Valparaiso Postal Service Dates Back To '37; Benjamin McCarthy First
Postmaster; J. C. Ball, Deputy
Valparaiso
postal service was inaugurated in 1837, or nearly one hundred years ago.
Benjamin McCarty was the first postmaster of the Valparaiso, then called
Portersville. For a time John C. Ball was his deputy.
There was some dissatisfaction growing out of the fact that Mr. McCarty did not
reside in the village, and in 1839, T. A. E. Campbell was appointed. During his
term the office was kept in the southeast corner of the court house and behind
that Mr. Campbell kept bachelor's hall. He was at the same time deputy clerk of
the court for George W. Turner.
In 1841, Mr. Campbell was elected treasurer and collector of Porter county, and
G. W. Salisbury was appointed postmaster. He held the office during the
administration of Harrison and Tyler. The office then was maintained in his
house on the south side of the public square.
From 1845 to 1849, during Polk's administration, Joseph Lomax held the office,
and it was kept where his business was, being for the most part on Main street,
north side, and west of Washington.
When the Whigs came into power in 1849, George W. Salisbury was again appointed,
and held the office for a time, until he left Valparaiso for Oregon, when John
Dunning was appointed, and held the office until the accession of Franklin
Pierce in 1853.
Then S. R. Bryant was appointed, and kept the office through the administrations
of both Pierce and Buchanan, until the accession of Abraham Lincoln in 1861.
M. A. Salisbury was then appointed and held the office until 1866. The office
was then "Johnsonized," as it was called, and J. Beekman Marshall, now of
Kansas, became postmaster, and held the office until he was succeeded by C. C.
S. Keech on April 20, 1867.
Mr. Keech held the office for a very short time, but was a most efficient
officer, giving general satisfaction. He had not sufficient influence to retain
the position, but gracefully yielded it on June 17, the same year, to Dr. J. F.
McCarthy.
On April 24, 1882, Dr. McCarthy was succeeded by Colonel I. C. B. Suman, after
having held it for fourteen years and eleven months, being by far the longest
incumbent since the establishment of the office.
According to the tendency of the postal service, many improvements took place
during Dr. McCarthy's term. In the increasing duties of the office, he was ably
assisted by Mrs. McCarthy and by James R. Drapier.
Judge Jesse Johnston received the first letter ever delivered at the
Portersville postoffice. The name of the village and postoffice was changed in
the winter of 1837-38 to Valparaiso.
In the early days rates charged for letters ranged all the way from thirty-seven
cents on a single letter from Madison, Ind., to Valparaiso, which sum was
prepaid July 19, 1841, by Jesse D. Bright on a letter addressed by him to T. A.
E. Campbell, concerning the compensation of the latter for taking the census of
the county the preceding year, down to six cents for a letter dispatched a
medium distance.
Colonel I. C. B. Suman was succeeded as postmaster in 1886 by Englebert
Zimmerman, editor of The Valparaiso Messenger. He was an appointee of President
Grover Cleveland.
When Benjamin Harrison was elected president Mark L. DeMotte was named
postmaster. During his term the city mail carrier service was established with
Arthur B. Christy, James Gray and J. Herschel Arnold as carriers. Mr. Christy
later transferred to the railway mail service and is now retired. Mr. Gray and
Mr. Arnold are deceased.
Mr. DeMotte was succeeded by James Brodie, a democrat, who was an appointee of
Grover Cleveland. Aaron W. Lytle was successor of Mr. Brodie. During his term
the rural mail delivery service was established. That was in October, 1898. Mark
McNay, now of Los Angeles, Cal., and now visiting in Valparaiso, was the first
rural carrier.
Mr. McNay's route covered 24 miles and he was paid $600 per annum, and horse
hire. Several years later two more routes were added, with Emerson L. Bowser and
William N. Muster as carriers. Mr. Bowser resigned from the service soon after,
and Mr. Muster died. Mr. McNay continued in the service after leaving here for
Colorado, and finally going to California. He was retired a few years ago on
pension.
Other postmasters in order of their service were: John W. Elam, Arthur A.
Finney, M. J. Stinchfield, John W. Scott, A. N. Worstell, F. W. Alpen, and the
present postmaster, John D. Stoner.
Ben F. Smith, who retired from the service in 1930, holds the record of service
in the local postoffice. Mr. Smith began work as a general delivery clerk on
January 1, 1892, under Postmaster Mark L. DeMotte. He worked at nearly every job
in the office until appointed deputy postmaster in 1913, and served in this
position until May 15, 1930, when he was succeeded by Lynn V. Allenbrand.
The present postoffice building was started late in 1917 by the Clark
Construction Company, of Danville, Ill., the contract price being $70,111. An
Omaha, Neb., firm was the lowest bidder, but the bid of the winning firm, though
higher, was more acceptable to the treasury department.
A big fight was precipitated when the government selected the site for the
postoffice. There were the Louis Gast petitioners, who favored the site which
was selected, and the Salyer petitioners, who wanted the postoffice built where
the Meagher drug store is located.
The Gast petitioners did not sleep when they found opposition. They went to work
to win it over. The city hall interests agreed to ---?--- it for the Gast crowd
when the latter agreed to reciprocate by urging a new municipal building at
Michigan and Main (now Lincolnway). The university interests were won over when
the Gast interests assured them that a postal substation would be established on
College Hill. Some opposition developed against the promise made to the city
hall interests by citizens who declared that such a course would, if carried
out, postpone the date when the city could take over the water works. They
asserted that injunctions would follow if any attempt was made to build a city
hall.
The new building was completed in 1919, and the postoffice was moved from the
Sievers building on East Lincolnway, now occupied by the A. and P. store, on
June 1, 1919. Previous to moving to the Sievers building, the postoffice was
located in the Armory building, and prior to that in the building on Washington
street, now occupied by William Schleman.
At one time the postoffice maintained three substations, one on College Hill,
now the Varisty Shop, and the others at Erie and Garfield, in the Chris Kane
grocery, and the other at the Specht-Finney company. The two latter substations
have been discontinued.
About a ton and a quarter of mail is cleared through the local postoffice each
day. The seven city carriers average about sixty pounds each; the five rural
carriers, one hundred pounds each; the parcel post, 1,000 pounds, and box and
general delivery, 100 pounds.
Business at the local office is showing a marked increase during the last three
or four years. Back in 1924 and 1925 the total gross business for the year was
in excess of $100,000. This was when the L. E. Myers and Company was at the peak
of its operations. When business slumped with that firm the postal revenues went
down. Later they have been increasing due to business provided by the McGill
companies and the Continental Diamond Fibre company.
In 1935 revenues totaled $54,514.55 compared with $44,967.68 in 1932, indicating
a healthy increase.
Postal money orders are issued during the yeat at the local office in the amount
of $35,000, while money orders are cashed to the extent of $15,000.
On July 31, 1911, a postal savings bank was opened at the Valparaiso postoffice
with A. L. Brown being the first depositer. For many years the deposits did not
amount to much. With the bank crisis in 1932, deposits began to climb. Now the
total deposits are in the neighborhood of $400,000, representing nearly 900
accounts.
Within the last six years seven employes of the local office have been retired
on pension. They are J. A. Longshore, Roy Pierce and John R. Hall, carriers;
Milan Sergeant and Harry Albery, clerks; Elmer J. Gay, rural route carrier, and
Ben Smith, deputy postmaster.
The present personnel of the local postoffice comprises the following:
John D. Storey, postmaster; Lynn V. Allenbrand, asssistant postmaster; W. J.
Alcorn, C. O. Dye, C. L. Basinger, Roscoe C. Gaston, R. R. Weiler, Harry Steppel
and John R. Palmer, clerks; A. D. Burns, superintendent of mail; L. H. Pierce,
Charles O'Connor, Allen Brown, R. A. Masterson, J. L. Forney, J. K. burns, Frank
Decko and F. M. Reibly, city carriers; E. B. Lembke, Andrew Collins, P. W.
Lindholm, substitute city carriers; Warren Wright, temporary substitute carrier;
K. Sundin and Charles O'connor, custodians; Charles Magnuson, E. K. Brigham, E.
A. Mitzner, A. M. Sheppard and Fred L. Kinzie, rural delivery carriers. Sheppard
and Mitzner will retire on pension on January 1, 1937.
On March 25, 1925, the safe at the postoffice was blown and $68,246 in stamps
and money was taken by the robbery. As far as is known the robbery was never
solved. The robbery was carried out so successfully that persons living in the
neighborhood were unaware that the postoffice had been looted. The actual loss
was not made public by the government until 1930 when congress authorized
payment to the account of A. N. Worstell, then postmaster.
Article transcribed by Steven R. Shook