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Post by smauggie on Apr 16, 2021 19:40:05 GMT
I am someone who collects postage stamps, but the truth is the greater amount of my time and resources have been in pursuit of postal history. Chief among these is my interest in the postal history of Minnesota. My ancestor's on my mother's side of the family settled in Minnesota in the antebellum period. My great grandfather was a Minnesota Volunteer during the US Civil War. Exploring the postal history of Minnesota has a personal interest for me, as well as giving me a chance to learn more about the state in which I have chosen to live. Just as aside note I will continue to post my Minnesota National Air Mail Week covers at: thestampforum.boards.net/thread/4979/national-mail-week-covers-cachets. Neville, Winona County, Minnesota Mailed April 5, 1871 Post Office in Service 1870-1872 Postmaster: Jepe P. Neville Neville is a bit of a mystery to me as I have not been able to discover the location of the town as yet (aside from being in Winona County). Since postmaster's were required to pay for their own cancelling devices, it is not surprising to find this cover cancelled with a manuscript cancel. The cover was sent to the city of Winona, the namesake of the county.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 16, 2021 19:48:21 GMT
Northome, Koochiching County Mailed December 7, 1904 Post Office in Service 1903-Date Cancel Type: Doane Type 2 This is possibly the earliest known use of a Northome Doane Type 2 cancel. It is also a fun cover featuring a closely cropped postal stationary franking as postage. I find it strangely endearing that it was also used as a coaster for a coffee cup.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 16, 2021 19:55:44 GMT
Lake Addie, McLeod County Mailed November 3, 187x Post Office in Service 1868-1879 First Postmaster: John Ford As I understand the story, it was the visit of a beautiful young woman named Addie Hong to the area that inspired the naming of the nearby lake as Lake Addie. A nearby settlement was established at the time also called lake Addie. Two brothers who were neighbors to them with the last name of Brown and created the town of Brownton. Eventually the town of Brownton grew to envelop Lake Addie which is now just the name of a neighborhood in Brownton.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 17, 2021 14:56:21 GMT
Stillwater, Washington County Mailed January 21, 1862 Post Office in Service 1846 to Date Cancel: Rosette fancy killer The name Stillwater refers to a particularly wide, deep and placid section of the Saint Croix River. Stillwater first served the fur trade routes up the St. Croix River in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Joseph Renshaw Brown was the first to build on the site in 1840. The first convention to propose the statehood of Minnesota also took place in Stillwater, and Minnesota became a state in the spring of 1858. The circular date cancel is typical of the early Minnesota statehood cancels which include the year. Stillwater and Lake Saint Croix today. The lift bridge you see was one of two bridges that gave access to Wisconsin from the Twin Cities. It has since been replaced and is no longer in service (except for pedestrians I think).
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Post by smauggie on Apr 17, 2021 15:27:52 GMT
Plain View, Wabasha County Mailed October 22, 1865 Post Office in Service 1857-1879 The city was named from its location on a plain at a lofty elevation, where a "plain view" can be had of the surrounding area (or so says Wikipedia). The city was settled in 1857 and incorporated in 1875. Just four years later, the residents decided to change the name of their fair city from Plain View to Plainview. Hence, the Plain View post office is considered a DPO (Dead Post Office). One thing that I find curious about this cover is that whoever addressed this cover put a pair of commas in all the space between the words. Perhaps this was an antiquarian form of writing etiquette, though I have never seen it before.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 17, 2021 15:39:21 GMT
Aldal, Polk County Mailed November 1, 1884 Post Office in Service 1881-1887 Postmaster: Knute Nelson From the Polk County, MN Historical Society: In 1887, rails were laid for a railway through Polk County. They missed Aldal by a few miles. The city of Fertile was then founded on the rail line, replacing Aldal, and thus closing the post office.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 18, 2021 12:08:20 GMT
Hastings, Dakota County Mailed November 30, 1890 Post Office in Service 1854-Date Fancy "H" Killer Hastings, Minnesota is named after the first elected governor of the state of Minnesota, Henry Hastings Sibley (literally drawn from a hat full of various proposed name). The city is the county seat for Dakota county. The city sits at the confluence of the Mississippi, Saint Croix and Vermillion Rivers, the former two being navigable. From the start then, Hastings was a riverboat port town. In the 1860's rail transport came to Hastings which continued to be a hub of commerce for the county.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 18, 2021 13:04:09 GMT
Wild Rice, Norman County Mailed March 31, 1882 Post Office in Service 1874-1892 Cancel: Fancy duplex cancel with five-pointed star in circle killer Wild Rice was a town in Wild Rice township in Norman County. The sender of this postal card, Jonas Homelvig, unsurprisingly was an immigrant from Norway. His residence is recorded as being in Home Lake township, just south of Wild Rice, though apparently he went to Church on Sundays in Wild Rice. The addressee of this postal card was a prominent lawyer and businessman James Buel Power, whose family records were combined in a volume and provide an interesting history of the development of the West. The town of Wild Rice is no longer, though farmers can still be found residing in the environs of the old town.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 19, 2021 20:04:05 GMT
Gunflint, Cook County Mailed July 31, 1950 (Last day of service) Post Office in Service: May 16, 1950 to July 31, 1950 Postmaster: George W. Stapleton A post office was opened somewhere along the Gunflint Trail in the Gunflint Trail National Scenic Byway which extends from Grand Marais up to Gunflint Lake which straddles the border between the USA and Canada. The Gunflint Trail was originally a winter trail for trappers and Indians, from Gunflint Lake to Grand Marais, with the summer trail along the Pigeon River. The Gunflint post office was built by George Stapleton, it's first and only postmaster. The post office likely sold postcards and offered the ability for folks vacationing there to mail postcards to friends and family. After one summer of operation, the postmaster decided Gunflint Trail, Cook County Mailed August 1, 1950 (First day of service) Post Office in Service August 1, 1950 to October 31, 1953 Postmaster: George W. Stapleton My guess is that Mr. Stapleton, the postmaster, decided on a name change to match the name of the trail. Once the post office closed, Mr. Stapleton sold the post office building. To my knowledge the old post office is still standing, though I was unable to find an image of it.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 20, 2021 19:12:24 GMT
Farmington, Dakota County Mailed November 6, (1869-1870) Post Office in Service 1856 to Date F Grill on Cover To start, a pet peeve, don't you just love when people write on covers? Then again, Post-It notes had not yet been invented. Still, I have not found (perhaps because I have not searched enough) information on how grilled stamps were distributed in the country, or even just in Minnesota.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 21, 2021 16:31:46 GMT
Howard, Wright County Mailed March 15, 1887 Post Office in Service 1870 to 1892 Aside from being a DPO (Dead Post Office) what fascinates me about this cover is the cancel. The large circle with a large font must have been a custom-made cancel ordered specially by the postmaster. I am assuming it was made large enough to fit a separate date stamp inside it. Thus it is my conclusion that the town mark and the date are separate markings. The Howard post office closed as a result of a name change as Howard changed it's name to Howard Lake. In 1890, the city had a population of 610. 130 years later the population has ballooned to just shy of 2000. The lake the city is named after is not a particularly large or deep lake, but it no doubt provided a source of food for early settlers.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 22, 2021 16:19:41 GMT
Downer, Clay County Mailed June 30, 1954 Post Office in Service 1886 to June 30, 1954 Last day of operation cancel I have not been able to glean much information regarding Downer. I know it was named by the railroad and was obviously a railroad town.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 23, 2021 18:14:54 GMT
Burntside, Saint Louis County Mailed July 18, 1924 Post Office in Service 1923-1925 Postmaster: Lyman S. Alden Lyman Alden was in the lumber business in Minneapolis at the time. His brother William eventually came to be manager of the Burntside Lodge, cabin resort in the area. William ended up buying the lodge, and I think it was Lyman's idea to run a post office. The town of Burntside is named after the local lake, by which the Lodge also resides. My guess is that the post office did not as successful as expected. It was never replace or moved once it was closed. There remains a small unincorporated town called Burntside as well. Burntside Lodge is still in operation today.
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Post by smauggie on Apr 27, 2021 15:24:47 GMT
Inver Grove, Dakota County Mailed February 28, 1955 Post Office in Service 1950-1960 When it comes to name changes Inver Grove has seen likely more than any other city in Minnesota. It started off as Inver Grove in the 1870's. In 1891, it changed it's name to Invergrove (one word). In 1950 it changed back to Inver Grove (two words). In 1965 the village of Inver Grove was merged with the township of Inver Grove and the combined municipality took on the name Inver Grove Heights, which it retains to this day. One remarkable event during the operation of this post office was a gas leak during a city council meeting. One council member and former mayor, Ted Piekarski realized he was becoming drowsy, but had the presence to clear the council chambers, including removing a few members who were already unconscious.
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