US State Postal History - Minnesota

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.