(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
© Property of Min7th Productions 2012
Post Offices
Main Index
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
The
actual
Alderson
community
began
in
the
vicinity
of
Palestine.
All
of
the
community
was
served
by
a
post
office
there
established
April
3,
1839.
(How
postal
service
was
provided
prior
to
that
time
is
not
know.)
The
First
postmaster
of
Palestine
was
Thomas
C.
M.
Alderson,
and
seventeen
postmasters
served
until
the
office
was
discontinued
October
12,
1886.
The
last
Palestine
postmaster
was
Abram
O.
Baker.
Years
later
an
application
was
made
to
the
Post
Office
Department
to
reactivate
the
Palestine
post
office,
but
Palestine
in
Wirt
County
West
Virginia
had
been
established.
Advance
was
chosen
as
the
name
in
place
of
Palestine
and
on
March
1,
1909
the
Advance,
West
Virginia,
post
office
was
established
with
A.
J.
Jones
as
postmaster.
On
January
31,
1913
Advance
was
discontinued.
It
had
but
one
postmaster.
On
February
6,
1872,
Alderson,
Monroe
County,
West
Virginia,
post
office
was
established
with
Abraham
E.
T.
Scruggs
as
postmaster.
The
office
has
been
in
two
or
three
locations
on
the
Monroe
side.
The
present
attractive
building
was
finished
in
1936
at
a
cost
of
about
$50,000.00
including
land.
On
July
1,
1918,
the
Alderson
post
office
became
second-class,
its
present
class,
when
Joseph
N.
Alderson
was
postmaster.
The
present
postmaster
is
Duncan
M.
Johnston.
The
Alderson
post
office
serves
about
5000
people
including
the
Federal
Reformatory,
in
three
counties.
There
are
five
star
routes
and
two
RFD
routes.
Cash
receipts
in
1963
were
$22,392.65
and
the
office
is
credited
with
about
$8,700.00
additional
for
the
free
Government
mailing
for
the
Reformatory, which is about 30% of all mail handled. The post office has ten Civil Service employees plus star route contractors.
These
views
show
Postmaster
George
E.
Bare
and
the
Alderson
Post
Office
in
1901
(left)
and
about
1910
(right).
Mr.
Bare's
customers
in
the
right
picture
are
unidentified,
but
he
is
recognized
as
standing
with
C.
M.
Nelson
and
Charlie
Stanton
in
the
left
one.
The
Alderson
Post
Office
was
established
February
6,
1872.
Mr.
Bare
was
Postmaster
1901-
1914
and
1923-1935.
(Notice
the
manikin
in
the
store
to
the
left,
wearing ladies apparel).- Photo from Mrs. D. M. Johnson
.
Construction of the Alderson Post Office finished in 1936
Alderson Post Office as it is today.
(Click on photos for larger view)
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
