Rose Lodge, Taft, Oceanlake, Cutler City – when you learn the stories about how these towns came to be, the Post Office plays a central role. In the early 1900s, there were only two methods of communicating long distance: by telegraph and the U.S. Postal Service. When our rural townsites had enough residents, they would petition their congressperson to establish a postal route in their community. Once approved, they would open a post office. It took more time for home delivery to reach rural residents of North Lincoln County, making the post office an important community hub. People would make their daily trek to check their mail, and catch up with their neighbors, which fostered a strong sense of community identity.
First post office in Oceanlake, L to R Arthur Deuel, H. E. Warren, & E. M. Feynolds, c. 1927
Our next rotating exhibit in our main hall will walk us through the history of the U.S. Postal Service in North Lincoln County. We’ll look at the lives of rural mail carriers like Archie Stephens, who traversed mud, sand, forests, and rivers, usually in the rain, to keep residents connected with family and friends from near and far. The exhibit will contain some of the letters that people wrote, showing examples of how people communicated before text messages and phones. We will explore how towns from Depoe Bay up to Otis and Rose Lodge got their post office, and sometimes their name.
As part of the exhibit we will be partnering with Oregon Humanities Dear Stranger program. “Dear Stranger is a recurring letter-exchange project that connects Oregonians through the mail to share experiences, beliefs, and ideas.” All while supporting the USPS! There will be prompts, letter writing supplies, and a drop box available throughout the year. Learn more HERE.
Come to the opening reception and Letter Night on April 3rd, from 5:00PM – 7PM. Bring a letter to share, or read one from NLCHM’s collection.
