MISCELLANEOUS. List of Post Offices
Perhaps the humble entry titled 'Miscellaneous. List of Post Offices,' which appeared in the “Trinity Times”- scarcely the stuff of a riveting page-turner, might not seem to inspire much thought beyond its listings of postmasters scattered throughout the state. In our ever-accelerating digital age, with its barrage of emails, texts, and instant messages, one might easily pass over this seemingly mundane record. Yet, beneath this simple facade hides a rich tapestry of connections, highlighting the crucial role of the post office in the fabric of society and how it anchored communities and fostered communication in the mid-nineteenth century.
Through names such as B.F. Whitten of Agua Frio, J.M. Jones of Alamo, and Wm Lane of Cottonwood, each one endlessly succeeding the other, we glimpse earnest individuals tasked with the responsibility of maintaining the artery of communication pulsating in their respective locales – each one a vital cog in the greater machinery of the United States Postal Service. One can almost feel the pulse of an earlier America, and by extension, a vastly different global age.
In context, the simple listing of names weaves a narrative capturing the spirit of an era and life in once thriving settlements, some of which have since vanished from today's maps. The post office was a cultural nucleus around which communities spun–a place to acquire news, connect with far-flung loved ones, and often played the role of the town square where ideas were exchanged and debated, relationships built, and towns united.
Let's consider a representative listing: "Mormon Island....D. A. Kneass." This evokes the brief, golden history of Mormon Island bursting to life in the Gold Rush years. Once a bustling town with hotels, stores, and saloons, today the island is submerged under the waters of Folsom Lake. For residents of Mormon Island in 1856, undoubtedly, the mail brought by D.A. Kneass was the lifeline to the world beyond their immediate environs.
Interestingly, mixed within this list of officeholders, we encounter times' advertisements. As if to emphasize the bustling hub the post office represented, we see adverts for The Western House in Marysville, representing itself as a "comfortable home for the traveling public."
The advertisement states, "It will be the constant desire of the Proprietor to render the WESTERN HOUSE a comfortable home for the traveling public, to whom he will devote especial care — and a quiet and pleasant retreat to all our citizens who may favor it with their presence." This certainly paints a vivid picture of the times when post offices served as the nuclei of social, economic, and communications networks.
Coming across entries for long-vanished services such as a proprietor offering '40 head of HOGS -- cheap,' or advertising the availability of thorough 'JOB WORK,' we are privy to a singular slice of an era otherwise largely lost to us.
Seen through the lens of our hyper-integrated digital age, this list serves as a firm reminder of the long history of information dissemination and the enduring human need for connection and communication, highlighting a simpler yet vibrant epoch resting on the pillars of community and communication. As such, even the most straightforward listing of postmasters can stand as tribute to public service, to the carefully maintained network of people connecting people, and a sentinel of the past that shaped our present-day vastly interconnected world.
It is in considering these very archival materials that we can better appreciate our whirlwind transition from handwritten letters shepherded across states by individuals such as F. Cooper of Santa Clara or Thomas J. Henley of San Francisco, to our present day immediate digital communication – a transformative journey in human interaction, all within the span of a couple of centuries.
Thus, this simple list of names can take us on a much larger voyage – into our collective past, highlighting the enduring need for connection, the transformation in our communication technologies, and the timeless value of community and service. It remains a testament to the hearts and hands keeping the lines of community and communication strong.
**Citation**:
- Trinity Journal, [MISCELLANEOUS. List of Post Offices, 1855-01-20]
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/
Original Article:
and Postmasters in the State. Corrected for the Trinity Times. Names of Offices, | Postmasters. | Agua Frio.....B. F. Whitten | Alamo.....J. M. Jones | Alvarado.....H. C. Smith | Angel.....P. W. Scribner | Auburn..... J. F. Bailey | Aurum City..... C. L. Frost | Ashland..... E. Lott | Benicia..... James Miller | Bidwell's Bar.....P. W. Worstrum | Big Oak Flat.....J. W. Butler | Bodega.....J. W. Miller | Big Bar..... --- Bunker | Carson Valley....J. C. Fain | Chico.....J. Bidwell | Columbia.....A. A. Hunnewell | Golusa.....W Vincent | Cold Springs.....J. M. Goetschiss | Cosumnes.....W. D. Wilson | Cottonwood.....Wm Lane | Coloma...P. L. Wimmer | Curtisville.....J. M. Root | Diamond Springs.....C. B. Noteware | Dobbin's Ranch.....O. B. Baldwin | Double Springs..... A. R. Wheat | Downieville.....Jas Gernon | Drytown.....A. G. Sneth | Eureka.....H. W. Beau | Fremont.....W. G. Brown | Foster's Bar.....J. B. Whitcomb | Garrote.....J. F. Watts | Grass Valley.....E. Mathewson | Georgetown.....T. M. Read | Greenwood.....S. B. Jaynes | Green Springs.....J. D. Taber | Gilroy.....L. C. Everett | Goodyear's Bar.....A. C. Johnson | Hamilton.....C. C. Callet | Horr's Ranch.....G. D. Dickinson | Ione Valley....J. H. Alvard | Illinoistown.....B. Brickell | Johnson's Ranch.....N. E. O'Reor | Jamestown.....Wm. Donovan | Jackson.....Bruce Husband | Jacksonville.....G. B. Keyes | Knights's Ferrry.....G. W. Dent | Kelna..... Wm Potter | Lassen's.....W. P. Mayhew | Los Angeles W. T. B. Sandford | Mountain View....J. Shumway | Marysville....P. W. Keyser | Mariposa.....J. F. McNamara | Martinez....G. W. Jones | Marsh's Landing.....G. Kimball | Maxwell's Creek.....G. W. Coulter | Mission San Jase.....J. J. Vallejo | Mokelumne Hill.....J. B. McKinnie | Moore's Ranch.....W. Vincent | Monterey.....E. Randall | Mormon Island....D. A. Kneass | Mud Springs.....H. A. Hendee | Murphy's..... A. H. Stevens | Mt. Ophir.....J. H. Miller | Montezuma....E. Conway | Monroeville.....R. F. Pratt | Napa.....J. B. Eaton | Nashville.....J. P. Thurston | Nevada.....R. A. Davidge | Nicholaus....F. H. Russell | North Branch.....E. T. Lake | Ophirville.....D. B. Curtis | Park's Bar.....E. Y. Gaver | Placerville.....W. D. Williams | Petaluma....S. W. Brown | Pleasant Grove....A. Kenyon | Ringold.....J. L. Sargent | Rough and Ready.....J. R. Little | [line missing] Red Bluffs.....Samuel H. Bishop | Sacramento.....Ferris Forman | San Francisco.....Thos J. Henley | San Diego.....George Lyons | San Juan.....Patrick Brien | San Louis Obispo.....T. J. Harvey | San Bernadino.....D. M. Thomas | San Roman.....S. Russell | San Jose.....J. W. Patrick | Santa Barbara.....Samuel Barnes | Santa Clara.....F. Cooper | Santa Cruz.....E. Anthony | Santa Rosa.....F. G. Hahmann | Salmon Falls.....Thomas R. Brown | Shasta.....D. D. Harroll | Staple's Ranch....D. J. Staples | Snelling's.....John Snelling | Stockton.....John S. Evans | Sonoma.....J. N. Randolph | Sonora.....J. W. Theall | Sutter Creek.....D. Crandall | Spanish Flat.....James Muncey | Suisun.....H. C. Morse | Tehama.....Newell Hall | Weaverville.....Dr. J. Barry | WESTERN HOUSE. AND GENERAL STAGE OFFICE BRICK BLOCK, On the corner of D and Second streets, Marysville, is now open for the accomodation of the traveling public, where will be found at all hours of day or night, every convenience connected with a first class hotel. The house being entirely fire-proof, the rooms airy and comfortable, with an elegant Reading Room, supplied with all the foreign and domestic newspapers of the day. It will be the constant desire of the Proprietor to render the WESTERN HOUSE a comfortable home for the traveling public, to whom he will devote especial care — and a quiet and pleasant retreat to all our citizens who may favor it with their presence. RATES OF CHARGES. Board $12 per week, with Lodging 15 to 18 per week; single Meals, 75 cents ; Lodging 75 cents ; single front rooms, $1 50 to $2 per day. R. J. MURRAY, d9 tf Proprietor. TOWER HOUSE. At the Junction of the Yreka and Weaverville Roads, 12 miles from Shasta. THE undersigned would announce to the public, and particularly to persons travelling to and from Yreka and Weaverville, that, having leased this long established stand, formerly known as the "Free Bridge House," he is prepared to entertain customers in a style not surpassed by any hotel in Northern California. Having completed his commodious building, and furnished it in the best possible manner, he is enabled to promise the very best accommodations. The table, as heretofore, will always be supplied with the best viands the market furnishes; while from the large garden attached to the premises, all the vegetables grown in this part of the State will be furnished in the greatest abundance. He has also a secure corral connected with his establishment, always supplied with an abundance of barley and hay. JASON TOWER. Dec. 1854. d9 tf FOR SALE, 40 head of HOGS -- cheap. Enquire of d9 tf E.A. ROWE. JOB WORK OF EVERY DESCRIPTION EXECUTED with neatness and despatch at the TIMES office. d9 tf
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