Western Cover Society | Western Express - April 1970...R.ESEAR.CH JOUR.N AL OF EAR.LY WESTER.N MAILS...

R.ESEAR.CH JOUR.N AL OF EAR.LY WESTER.N MAILS

VOLUME XX NO. II Western Cover Society APRIL 1970

Express Terri to rial

Ocean Mail Statehood

Overland Postal Rates

Post Offices Post a l H istory

• CONTENTS

Editor's Corner ......................................... .

Addenda & Corrigenda .....•....••..•..•.•..•.....•.. . ....

Membership Changes .................................... .

Treasurer• s Reports ...•.•.......•.•..•..•..•.....••......

Early Mail From San Francisco - By W. Scott Polland 1 M.D.

Office of Wells Fargo & Co. -Courtesy of Mrs. Irene Simpson Neasham .....•.•........••...•..

Notes On The 19th Century Post Offices of Fall River County 1

South Dakota - By William F. Rapp .. •. •.............

A Letter Signed I "Sta ---- " From Fort Reno 1 Ind Ter. By Gaspare Signorelli .•......••.•..•. . ........•.•.•.

Phineas Banning' s Express - By Kenneth. S. Greenberg ....... .

Contents of An Alaskan Letter - By James W. Milgram 1 M.D ...

Nineteenth Century Oregon Post Offices 1 Part III -Columbia County - By Richard W. Helbock ..• . .........

Auction Action - By Robert Lewenthal • , •• , .. . ..•..••••••....

Advertisements ......................................... .

Pages

1

1

2

3

4 - 8

9- 11

12 - 15

16-17

18-19

20

21-36

37 - 42

43 - 45

PLEASE ADDRESS all communications intended "for WESTERN EXPRESS to the Editor, M. C. Nathan, 94 Biscayne Drive, San Rafael, California 94901. Advertising copy and payment therefore should also be sent to the editor, but inquiries regarding membership should be sent to M. C. Nathan, Jr., Room 1010, 9 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California 94104.

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970 Page 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDITOR'S CORNER

Election of officers and directors of Western Cover Society for 1971 and 1972 takes place in October. President Pearce has appointed the following nominating committee to select a slate of candidates: M.C. Nathan, Chairman, Everett Lampson, W. Scott Polland, M . D . , Everett Erie 1 Robert Hanson 1 Frank Burns 1 Fred Starr, Earl Oakley and David Jarrett. Suggestions by the membership to fill these positions are welcomed by the committee.

The New Mexico Philatelic Association is offering FREE a 12-page copyrighted booklet titled "A Guide For Amateur Writers. " Written by C. E. Foster, Editor of the NEW MEXICO PHILATELIST, it covers simplified article writing, illustrating I and preparing the final manuscript. Those desiring a copy should send 10 cents or a 6 x 9 self-addressed stamped envelope to Mr. Foster at 317-D 16th Street N.W, Albuquerque, NM 87104. Emphasis is placed on amateur writing for non-paying publications in the hobby fields. A strong case is made to encourage those who have never written for publication, and simplified instructions are provided to guide the writer from beginning to end. Those who use the brochure should produce articles of the type hobby editors are interested in.

From Pleasanton, California comes the following gratifying comment, "the subscription for Western Express is the biggest bargain in philately, to my mind . Thanks to all who have made it possible. " So, spread the word around-- it should tempt prospective members to join the Society.

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ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA

David L. Jarrett has requested that the following typographical errors be corrected in his article in the January issue:

Page 11 - "CORAVILL. K. T/ JUNE 17" Q"une should not be spelled out). "PAid 3" on a stampless - last two letters of paid should be small. "CORAVILLE K.T/ 17" O"une should not be spelled out).

*****************

The two missing pages of "Nineteenth Century Oregon Post Offices Part I (Tillamook County) that were inadvertently missing from the October 1969 issue of We stern Express are included as a supplement of this issue.

The index of towns in each issue should have been keyed to the page numbers of Western Express instead of those submitted with the articles. Please change your copies accordingly. Future indexes will be keyed to the Western Express page numbers.

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SEE YOU AT WESTPEX -APRIL 24 - 25 - 26 JACK TAR HOTEL, SAN FRANCISCO

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970

MEMBERSHIP CHANGES

#5 31 RobertE. Tyson, 869SanAntonioPlace, SanDiego, Ca. 92106

#260 Phil. Research Soc. #448 Ben A. Edwards

RESIGNATIONS

#2 85 Paul Berner #468 J. E. Weaver

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

#443 Robert H. Cunliffe #496 Robt. F. Danner

i 57 Harry Gray, 4210 Grove St., Oakland, Ca. 94609 # 99 Virginia Fox 1 153 Oak St. , Floral Park, N.Y. 11001 #293 J. L. Hargett, P.O. Box757, Okmulgee, Okla, 74447 #326 Seymour H. Kaplan, Box 337, Mohegan Lake, N.Y. 10547 #484 Marc Haas, 30 Broad St., New York 1 N.Y. 10021 #502 George E. Hargest, 1275- 46th Ave., VeroBeach, Fla. 32960

CORRECTIONS

#236 Robert Baughman, P. 0. Box 1356, Liberal, Kansas 67901 #33 7 Dr. Walter J. Jacobus, should be Englewood 41=482 Je rome Schwimmer , 629 S . Hill St. , Room 1017, Los Angeles, Ca. 90014 #499 Henry M. Spellman (only one n) #523 Philatelic Literature Assn . , Daniel W. Vooys, Sec. P . O. Box 187

Canajoharie, N.Y. 13317

NECROLOGY

#263 Waddell F. Smith

Page 2

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970 Page 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TREASURER'S ANNUAL REPORT

Cash on Hand I January 1 I 1969 •........... . ....•................ ·

Receipts January 1 - December 31, 1969: Dues (current).. . . • • • . . • $2 ,114. DO Dues Q970) .... .•. .•.•. 1,160.00 Advertising (current) . . • . $ 144.00 Advertising (1970) . . .. . . • 130.00 Donations ... . . . .................. . Sale of Western Express • .•• • • •••••.• Interest on short-term savings •. . .....

Total Funds Available

Expenditures Western Express publishing & mailing Treasurer's Expenses •.•.••.••.•.•. . Secretary's Expenses •..•••••••••.. . Executive Expense .. .....•.••..••. • Miscellaneous ......... . .......... .

$3,274.00

274.00 177.00 10.00 90 .45

$31220.26 95.50 30.00 52.11 42.00

Cash on Hand, December 31 1 1969 .... .......... ................. . Everett C. Erle 1 Treasurer

***************

$11 919 o 96

3,825.45

$51745.41

31439.87

$21305.54

Following is the list of Patron and Sustaining Members reported by the Treasurer as of March 15, 1970:

J. David Baker David Beale III Kenneth Greenberg Marc Haas

S. M. Arnold Dr. W. W. Bilyeu Frank C. Burns Gordon Fisk Robert Hanson Stanley Herbruck John C. Juhring A. Murl Kimmell Everett Lampson

ROY S. BLOSS MEL C • NATHAN

PATRON MEMBERS

Gerard P. Koch John Leutzinger M . C. Nathan I Jr. Henry H. Clifford

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

Robert Lewenthal William T. McGreer G. W. Magladry 1 M . D . Philip Manly Robert Myerson Frank Q. Newton 1 Jr . Ralzemond B. Parker N. Leonard Persson H. M. Pierce

HONORARY MEMBERS

Basil Pearce W. Scott Polland 1 M.D. E. Murray Todd Frank A. Zid

Oscar Salzar William H. Semsrott Tracy Simpson Gerald Smith 1 M.D. Jack E. Stucky 1 M.D. Elmer T. Tvedt Irwin R. Vogel C. A. Whittlesey

SHELDON H. GOODMAN DR. W. TERRENTINE JACKSON MRS. IRENE SIMPSON NEASHAM

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970 Page 4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

EARLY MAIL FROM SAN FRANCISCO By W. Scott Polland, M. D.

IUus tration #1 · Author's CoUeation

~·F.· I t4S' -. . I'

'. . ..... ~ llt•, ~~lj~·.-: ~:1~ £~,~

' .

•• ,: ,

,( . . . ,

Illustration #I is the earliest letter known to me from San Francisco. It is headed St. Francisco, October 19th, 1845. It was signed John C. Bull, who apparently was out here on a whaling expedition and who gave it to the mate of the whale ship Sarah, which was returning home. It went around the Horn and arrived in New Bedford on May 25th 1846, a voyage taking about seven months. William Heath Davis in his classic book "Seventy Five Years in California" Page 279, lists the Sarah as being at San Francisco in 1845.

At that time the present site of San Francisco was known as Yerba Buena, but actually the town of Yerba Buena, the Mission Dolores, and the Presidio, had always comprised a district under Mexican rule, known as San Francisco, and the bay on which they bordered, was always known as San Francisco bay.

The first Alcalde under American occupation, Lieutenant Washington A. Bartlett changed the dating of official documents from Yerba Buena to San Francisco in 1847. This was approved at that time by General Kearny, the military governor of California.

Illustration #II is the earliest known cover which went through the official post office in San Francisco and is dated March 15, 1849 . To my knowledge there is only one other known like it, and it is in the archives of the Oregon Historical Society. The letter of Illustration #II is headed Dec. 11th 1848, St. Francisco (see contents of the letter this issue of Western Express) and was from a miner. It was held over for three months, cause uncertain before being forwarded.

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970 Page 5

EARLY MAIL FROM SAN FRANCISCO (Continued)

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company had a contract to carry United States mail, and it would be assumed that the first mail sent from San Francisco would be by one of its steamers. William Van Voorhees, a special agent of the Post Office Department arrived on the steamer California on February 28 1 1849 with the purpose of installing the United States Postal Service in California.

Illustration #II Author's Collection

j.

The desertion of the crew of the California 1 as we ll as most of the people of San Francisco to the mines, forced him to send the first mail from San Francisco by a sailing vessel the Peruvian Barque Callao.

In the Alta, March IS, 184 9 I the following notice appeared: "The mail for the United States will close at 4 P.M. today . It will be dispatched by the Callao to Panama across the Isthmus to Chagres and then by regular steamers to New Orleans." In another part of the weekly paper the following is found "March 19, sailed per Bargue Callao, Southward, Master, for Panama."

The Steamer Oregon arrived in San Francisco on April 1, 1849. Fearing desertions I

her captain ran the ship under the United States Warship, Ohio. He landed his passengers in small boats. On April 12 1 1849 1 the Oregon sailed for Panama. This was the first steamship to sail from San Francisco . Illustration #III is from a letter which went on this sailing.

Having made the necessary repairs and obtained a new crew the S. S. California set sail from San Francisco on May 11 1849. Illustration #IV is from a letter carried on this sailing.


Illustration #III Present owner not known

·•.

' . · . • ~.-!·f ....... ·:~.

IUustration #IV Present owner not known

/~' ~A:~~ .~/:J~ . ss . c~~"" • •H\"''"' ~t::f-/ hu ·

~~ IUustration #V Author's CoZZeotion

, ~~/r~y, . " .

:';,·! . · .. . . ·.··.-· /. . . I .. . · .. ·. · · ~"'

' . ' . ~. ;·.-:


EARLY MAIL FROM SAN FRANCISCO (Continued)

Illustration #V shows an example of the first printed post mark used in San Francisco -a straight line cancellation of June 20, 1849. This was carried on the Steamer Panama which arrived in San Francisco on June 4, 1849. Following is a list of known examples of this rare mark:

40 Mss. Black

80 Mss. Red

40 Mss . Black

40 Mss . Red

80 Mss. Red

40 Mss. Red

40 Mss. Red

40 Mss. ?

ADDRESSED TO

Samuel T. Skidmore New York

Whiting & Bros. Boston

Courtney Augusta

Miss Anna C. Smith Philadelphia

Christn Heiser Castle Garden, N.Y. Y.

Hiram Deats , Quakertown, N .J.

Stephen H. Lathrop Oswego, N.Y.

Mrs . Elizabeth Kanes New Haven, Conn.

Two other sailings with straight line markings are known, that of the Oregon on July 2, 1849 and the California on August 2, 1849. On the latter date a circular handstamp was also used, see Illustration #VI. From this time on, only circular handstamps were used.

IUustration #Vl M. C. Nathan CoUection

..

I

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 197 0 Page 8

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CONTENTS OF LETTER SHOWN IN ILLUSTRATION #II

Deer 11th 1848 St.frisco California

Mr Thomas McMany Dear brother I have only a short time to give you a sketch of things and times here as the ship is about to start to oregon when I will leave this place. My family was well when I left home. I have been in the gold mines and am now in possession of near five thousand dollars in gold dust or 2 5 lbs of dust at 16· dolls perez - I have been at work one month but I have made near four times as much as is commonly made in the same time and I have moore than any other person made in the mines. 50 dolls pr day can be made by any person that will work lively by going to the best places the gold is in the canions in the California Mountains and cold and disagreeable in winter and when high water combs I think there will bee but little made though there fs some places they can work perhaps through the winter 1 from August own till Octb it is said to be sickly thoughout California except on the sea cost I expect to come back here in the spring and give the mines another short turn this town is as near Hell as I ever seed on Earth all sorts of gambling and drunckeness going on even on the sabbath. Oregon is my country I could not under any circumstances consent to live in California. prices of flour in the mines where I was at work 2 - 4 Dollars per pint Dried beef 2 Dolls per lb Coffee 2 Dollars per lb. sugar salt and almost everything else that is cost the same boots 40 Dolls pr pare shoes 20 Dolls perpr clothing inproportion things will come down in time T have made as much as 220 Dollars by my own work pr day Money will be very plenty in Oregon there is near they say 1500 men from oregon in the mines and most of the support for flour 1 pork 1 butter and cheese will come from there. I have never seen such a prospect a fortune as it appears to be open here and in Oregon . Now if you should come to this country pleas take up all that there is against me in Cincinnati if there is nay place that full satisfaction is not made and it shall be rite when.:you come here

Yours truly

Mathew Patton


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OFFICE OF WELLS 1 FARGO & CO .

·Courtesy of Mrs . Irene Simpson Neasham

The following pic tures of interesting documents relating to the Wells 1 Fargo & Co's San Francisco office in 1858 1 were obtained from the California State Library by Mrs. Irene Simpson Neasham 1 for the purpose of private study by our members . They are not to be further reproduced or distributed without permission of the Library . We are gratefu l to both parties for this privilege .

• SAN FR~ClSCo, NovENDER 12th, 1858.

TO OUR AGENTS :

We are nt present carrying a very large amount of Ncws

pnper matter throughout the State, at a very heavy expense to us and without receiv

ing compensation. Since the Alta Express have discontinued, this part of the Exprc:'ls

hn!:!incss has very largely increased, unfortunately for us. : w· e wish you, therefore, to

make weekly or monthly contracts with every one receiving papers at your place~ in

cluding your own, (if engaged in selling th~m.) You arc t<1 base such contract upon

the number forwarded, taking into consideration the cost of stage and steamboat freight.~

and nn addition for our charges. Report to this office all conti·acts, the name, what

papers-dailies and weeklies. .Make these contracts at once and report if pos~ible Ly

return Express. After such report is received we 1.oill not for,rard any other papers than

for those having contracts. The same will apply to those having papers from Sacra

mento and Stockton. Report the latter contracts to each of tltose offices nnd also to this

office. Atlantic States paper8 will not Le inclncled in these contracts but way-billed

and charged at usual rates.

WELLS, F'AltG 0 & CO •

•


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·OFFICE OF WELLS, FARGO & CO. Exohnnge Department.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 2~. 18~S.

io our ,9tnts tu~o itll ~ nbangr : The e~tnhli"luucnt of the Overland Mail Route ft-om this Cit~· to

:O:t .. l4fmi~ UJul Memphi", rill IH.-4 AngcleK, and the rapid transmission of the mail!i hy thnt I'Outc, t'OIUJlCI UK to mnkc li4ome clumgc in our mode of drawing Exchange on the Atlantic Stute:o~.

lle•·etofo1·c· nil our drnfts, dmwn " between Steamerl'!l," whether in thi~ dty or in the il)terior, hove been reported to the New York Office, und remittances made to covt.!l' them, hy the regulnr semi-monthly mail steamers. As there was no mode by which tlrnfts tlmwn in the intervals between the ~'!~ailing of the steamers could be trau~mitted fi>r payment with grenter speed, this arrangement enabled us fully to protect all our clraftl'l by om· regular semi-monthly shipments of treasure.

Uut we now· find that by the Overland Mail, our drafts drawn between the regular .;; Stcnnwr-dnys," are liable to be forwa,rded, and to be presented for payment long Lefi.•re our remittances can arrive at New York. And if we continue to draw on St. Loui~, Chicagn, and other Western Cities, drafts are liable to Le presented in advance, 1wt onl!J of our ?'emitta~ces, hut al.so if our adt•ices, ns these have to be sent through the New York . Office. .

}~or these reasons we have determined to restrict the drawing of Atlantic drafts to our own offices in NEw YoRK, BosTO~ and PHILAI>ELPHIA, except for two or three day:;:. previous to the clo:3ing of the mails and the making up of exchange advices for the regular mail steamers. Therefore, you will hereafter (until further notice,) decline drawing any draft:<; except upon the three cities above named, until two or three dayt' before the time of making up your usual semi-monthly exchange reports. The exact time at which drafts can safely be drawn payable at other. points, will differ, according to the location of the different office~. The general rule will be, that no such draft must he drawn at such a time as to admit of the possibilitll of its being forwarded to t he place of payment, before our regular ndvices can reach there, via New York. The precise time when it is ~afc to draw on these places, must be left to the discretion of each agent.

Draft~ on New York, Boston and Philadelphia, can be drawn at a1w time, as heretofore~ but dail!J adi•ices of all such drnfts must be sent to this office, so as to enable us to make up injormal1·eporltt for each semi-weekly overland mail. New blankfl for this purpose will be furnished as soon a.s they cnn be printed ; meantime you will use ~uch a . .;; 5·ou have on hand.

The Overland Mail leaves this City every Monday and Frida)· morning. at one ' o'clock~ a.ml is clo:icd at the San Frnuci~co Post Offic~ at ten o'clock on the cYening of

the day }lrcceding its departure.

'VELLS, FARGO & CO.

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970 Page 11

---- ---.

OFFICE OF WELLS -FARGO & -{}0~ · -' . SAN FRAN"<JISCd,· D~~1/~~·! 1858.

. 1 . ; .... , . . . I l. 0 • • "

TO OUR. AGENTS · : ' · . '

,_ , - - We · hav6.;t~ request a· more strict observance to stamping -letters. ·All! letters· (except for Atlantic States,) M~ST have o~ office stamp over the-Government stam1>, so as ~o destroy.J _ an.d: thereby preventing the possibility of the envel?pe b~fn used the second thne; also write the date of receipt of lett r across same stamp. _ -

Be sure that h avy letters are fully covered by stamps.

We are called upon by tbe mail agent, who assures -us that fines will b imposed fora--wg infringement of postal laws. This is a - atter, therefore, of too much importance -to be disregarded. Do not stamp letters for Atlantic States at all.

SA~IUEL KNIGHT, Superintendent.

... .... ~ -- ·-·· · ---- ----- . -----.


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NOTES ON THE 19TH CENTURY POST OFFICES of

FALL RIVER COUNTY 1 SOUTH DAKOTA

by William F . Rapp

~ustQ'f Cou"r\r7, S.D.

·o tfoT . 5pY1'Y\~

OE_ ra.'Y\!o ~v a.'r<c/

°Ch~'rl11~ oc~~ca.Je. f;_lls

SpY·,.,_~

Nob Yd.:'> k a. Fig. I 19th Century FaZZ River County Post Offices

Fall River County history, like that of other Black Hills Counties 1 dates back to the discovery of gold. Most of the early visitors of what is now Fall River County stopped while enroute to their search of gold at Custer City and Deadwood Gulch. Gold seekers and explorers who visited the warm springs and creeks in the southern Black Hills looking for strikes found none 1 but they saw and told others how Indians were being healed in the medicated waters. Thus 1 the city of Hot Springs 1 stepchild of gold hunters 1 became a noted health resort.

The area south of the south fork of~the. Cheyenne River was originally called Forsythe in 1875 but became part of Custer County in 1881. Fall River's present boundaries were fixed by the 1883 Legislature and were organized on November 17 1 1883. The original plan to make Fall River a separate county was sponsored by a group who desired to publicize the warm springs and creeks in the area and thereby build up a fine summer resort in the southern Black Hrils.


NOTES ON THE 19TH CENTURY POST OFFICES (Continued)

Figure 1 i s a map showing most of the post offices which were in operation between 1883 and 1900 . Today, many of these communities are ghost towns or at best simply wide spots in the road. For the most part the e conomy of Fall River County is confined to agriculture. There is a limited tourist trade at Hot Springs and some bentonite mining in the Edgemont area.

ARDMORE

CASCADE

Established: April 3. 1891

Postmasters: A. L. Baumgartner, 1891 George Moore, 1895 David Anderson, 1897 - 99

Postmasters: G . F . Parker, 188 5 - 89 Joel W . Fargo, 1891 - 93

CASCADE SPRINGS

Postmasters: Joel W . Fargo, 1893 - 95 S. B. Sherman, 1897 - 99

Cascade and Cascade Springs are the same community . The name was changed to Cascade Springs in order to attract tourists to the hotel. The post office was originally served by the Sidney & Deadwood Stage Route. When railroads were built in Fall River County they missed Cascade Springs and the community soon died . All that remains of Cascade Springs is the spring and a few abandoned buildings .

CHEYENNE FALLS

Postmaster: Alex Patterson, 1895 W . C . Thompson, 1897 James S. Shepard, 1899

Cheyenne Falls was a small inland community located south of Hot Springs. The area is now covered by the Angosture Reservoir .

ECKARD

Established: October ll, 1890

Postmasters : Alexander H . Wallace , 1891 - 1896 D . M . Wallace, 1897 - 1899

The Eckard post offi ce was located on a ranch located near the Eckard School in the southwest part of the County approximately 8 miles east of the Wyoming line and about 1 1/2 miles north of Nebraska .


NOTES ON THE 19TH CENTURY POST OFFICES (Continued)

EDGEMONT

Established: approximately 1893 Postmasters: Mason Miller, 1893 - 1897

James A. Steward, 1899 -

Page 14

The Edgemont community was established during the construction of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad . For a while it was the end of the line and when the railroad pushed on towards Montana it became an important division point.

EVANS QUARRY

Postmaster:. Frederick Schuler, 1895 - 1897

This post office was established to serve the camp which was established in hills south of Hot Springs. Evans Quarry supplied the building stone for many of the buildings built during the 1890's in Hot Springs .

HAT CREEK

Postmaster: Leonard D . Powell, 1891 - 1893

This short lived post office was located on the Bar T Ranch, Township 10, Range 4, Section 26.

HOT SPRINGS

Postmasters: J . M. Henton, 1885 F . Callahan, 1887-1893 W . R. Morgan, 1895 . E • S. Arne s, 18 97 John A. Stanley, 1899

The Hot Springs area was settled about 1881, but no post office records are available until 1885. Before the railroads came into Hot Springs the mail was received from the Sidney - Deadwood Stage Route .

MAITLAND

MINNEKAHATA

Established: December 29, 1888

Postmasters: Maria Williams, 1888 - 1897 James M. Brady , 18'99

Postmasters : James Wrigley, 1891 W . J. De1ahoyde, 1899

The Official Register lists this post office from 1891 to 18991

but does not name a postmaster between 1893 and 1897 . The community was originally called Steward

1

but there is no record of a post office by this name .


NOTES ON THE 19TH CENTURY POST OFFICES (Continued}

OELRICHS

Postmasters: Frank Bull, 1887 John W. Jones, 1889 Cyrus Wilson, 1891 - 93 Alfred M . McCarty, 1895 ArthurJ. Colgan, 1897-1899

Oelrichs was a community established along the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad in the late 1880's .

ORAL

· · Postmasters: Samuel R. Henderson, 1895 - 1897 Clark S . Isham, 1899

A small community established along the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad .

SANDSTONE

Postmaster: Emmett: B. Cook, 1891

Sandstone was established at a stone quarry in the hills south of Hot Springs. It may be the same quarry as Evans Quarry as it appears that they were in the same general area .

SMITHWICK

Postmaster: Benj . 0. Avery, 1887 - 1889 Charles W. Betts, 1891 - 1899

A small community established along the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad.

SOLDIERS HOME

Postmaster: David G. Grippen, 1891

A state home for Civil War and IndianWar Veterans was established just west of Hot Springs and for a short time it had its own post office.


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A LETTER SIGNED "STA-----" FROM FORT RENO 1 IND . TER.

By Gaspare Signorelli

After reading the following letter from Fort Reno 1 Indian Territory, some might have the urge, as we had, to ask some questions as portions of the message does arouse ones curiosity . But before dealing with these questions, let us include the contents of this letter here. The letter was enclosed in a cover postmarked 1 "FORT RENO, IND . T . , AUG . 8" (C-26mm-Blk-Type #2) and addressed to; "S. A. Mason, Windsor, Broome Co . , N.Y. "

Fort Reno Indian Territory August-6th 1881

My Dear Mother

I started last Monday with Captain Thompson on a trip up the Canadian River to a fort about fifty five miles from here 1 Monday night we stopped at the camp of crews of my regement about forty miles from here and on Tuesday we rode into the post. We had a very pleasant trip of it; There are five companies stationed there and they are living in log buildings but we arranged to have a very pleasant time, Thompson went to see a young lady who is visiting the wife of the Commanding Officer there and I went along to bother him, they gave us a hop which was quite (?) a pleasant affair. And yesterday afternoon we started back again. We stopped last night at Crews camp again and today rode into the post. There is no news of any account here except real near Sill they have discovered some silver mines which appear to be quite valuable I am interested to the extent of a few dollars in three of them, and should this create such an excitement as the Black Hills 1 there will be such a rush as will force the opening of the country to settlement and make the mines salable . I sent a check for twenty dollars here to Mollie, thi s is her birthday and I intended to send before, will write soon again love to all

affectionally your Son Sta------

Returning to the remarks 1 preceeding the above letter 1 here 1 for example , were some of the questions we wanted the answers to;

(1) Who was the composer of this letter who merely signed it Sta----?

(2) What was the post on the Canadian River 1 55 miles from Fort Reno, that the writer and Captain Thompson rode to ?

(3) What about the discovery of silver near Sill ?

With a little pleasant research we were able to gain the answers that satisfied our curiosity .

(1) Since the cover is addressed to an "S .A. Mason", and the letter opens with the words·, "My Dear Mother 1 it is assumed that the writer's name was Mason.

A check of a microfilm of the Fort Reno post return for June, 187 9 1 revealed that a Stanton A. Mason I 1st Lt . , 4th Cavalry H was stationed there and he was on detached service. The microfilm does associate Lt . Mason with Fort Reno until November 1 1881 when he was transferred to the District of New Mexico Territory.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------A LETTER SIGNED "STA----" FROM FORT RENO 1 IND. TERR . (Continued)

(2) Approximately 55 miles northwest of Fort Reno was an army post named Cantonment. It was to this installation that Lt. Mason and Captain Thomp~30n rode to.

Established in 1879 and located in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation (near present day Canton, Oklahoma) , Cantonment's original buildings were constructed of logs as Lt. Mason wrote.

(3) Below the vast Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation (Fort Reno was located there) was the Kiowa-Comanche & Apache Reservation . This three million acre reserve was bounded on the east by the ninety-eighth meridian, on the north by the Washita River, on the west by the North Fork of the Red River , and the Red River on the south . During the late 1870s and 1880s, before the government had opened this region for settlement, free land seekers continuously entered the Kiowa -Comanche & Apache Reservation illegally . Most of these people believed that if the soil was not worked or planted it was free for the taking. This was the case especially along the Washita River which was later referred to as the "Strip. " Despite the efforts of the Indian Agents and their Indian police to evict the trespassers, it took a ruling by the Oklahoma Territorial Supreme Court, during the 1890s favoring the Indian Agent • s protest, before the settlers moved out of the "Strip. "

Among those who invaded the Kiowa-Comanche & Apache Reservation, at the turn of the 1880s, were prospectors who camped in the Wichita Mountains. While there they dug for many types of minerals and it was from those mines 1 that Lt. Mason wrote of I where silver had been discovered . Apparently 1 however 1 the amount of silver removed was so small that another stampede, not unlike the Black Hill's rush, never occurred. It is likely tha t Mason's investments in the mines were poor ones.

In describing the location of the silver discovery, Lt. Mason wrote that it was found near Sill. Of course he was referring to Fort Sill which stands, even today, in the shadow of the Wichita Mountains .

RELATED NOTES OF POSSIBLE INTEREST.

Cantonment, located on the North Canadian River, was established in 1879 and it remained garrisoned until 1885. During its occupation stone buildings were construced to replace the original log structures . Soon after its abandonment the buildings were used for a Government Indian School. On July 17, 1879, a post office was established at Cantonment with William Hershey as postmaster.

After the Kiowas, Comanches and Kiowa-Apaches received their 160 acre allotments, and the balance of their former re servation opened for settlement in 1901, many people settled near the Wichita Mountains and proceeded to dig for minerals. Many of these prospector's famifies lived ·in tents at a location called' C.amp Meers . Later the name WJ3S changed to Meers for Frank Meer an· .early miner in this region .

The Fort Reno report on microfilm mentioned in this article, is in the collection of the Oklahoma Historical Society Library and is illegible for several reports just before June of 187 9. .

In de scribing the Fort Reno postmark, on the cover containing Lt . Mason's letter, the type number given is from "INDIAN TERRITORY MAIL . "


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHINEAS BANNING 1 S EXPRESS By Kenneth S. Greenberg .. ·~ ... :•.; . .. ,

. .... ... . ~ ~ ....... ... ·.

.

~~-~ ··

Two of the most exciting names in early Southern California history are Phineas Banning and Benj amin Davis Wilson, more familiarly known as "Don Benito. " Banning arrived in Los Angeles in 1851,· and shortly thereafter was operating a freighting and staging business between San Pedro and Los Angeles, and within three years was freighting and staging to Salt Lake and Fort Yuma on the Colorado River. A great deal has been written about the wild six-horse Concord stage races to Los Angeles after the arrival at San Pedro of the weekly steamer from San Francisco. These exciting races were between the stages of Banning and those of John J. Tomlinson .

As late as 1869 Banning had a stage line between Los Angeles and Yuma 1 carrying mail and passengers in competition with Wells Fargo and Company 1 owners of the last contract for carrying the Overland mail. While Banning was never to my knowledge known as an expressman , the illustration above may very well be considered a legitimate example of a private express cover I which was delivered about 1858. The handstamp is in blue 1 the cover buff.

Don Benito I the addressee, a native of Tennessee , came to . . Los Angeles in 1841 after a career as a trapper and trader in New Mexico. In 1852 he purchased the Lake Vd.neyard property and made his home there . He was elected first Clerk of Los Angeles County I was Los Angeles 1 second mayor , served a term in the state senate and was otherwise very active in public life. He and Banning were close friends 1 and together they erected a barracks, known as Drum Barracks I during the Civil War.


PHINEAS BANNING'S EXPRESS (Continued)

"Phineas Banning could drive a stage, six-in-hand, faster and over rougher roads and over places where no roads existed than any drive r who ever cracked whip or pulled the ribbons. When Fort Tejon was established, the firm of Alexander and Banning wished to run a six-horse stage over an old Mexican pack trail, and when the whole country declared the impossibility of such an enterprise, and when no driver could be found with sufficient hardihood to assume such responsibility, Banning willed the thing to be done, and mounted the box in person and drove the first stage that ever went out of the Valley of the Angels to astonish the aborigines in the mountain fa stne sse s beyond. At the time, the trail going over the San Fernando pass was a rocky acclivity, difficult of ascent by even a packmule, and . descending to the valley beyond was a descent of equal abruptness . Standing on the summit and looking northward a precipice of many hundred feet lay before you. By facing about you dizzily marvel at how you reached the rocky summit.

"In December ' 54 Phineas Banning sat on the box of his Concord stage to which were harnessed a half dozen well fed, panting and foaming mustangs. He had succeeded in reaching the summit of the San Fernando, and the question among his nine wondering passengers who had toiled up the mountain on foot was, how the stage could ever descend, all declaring it an act of madness to attempt it. Banning laughingly assured them that it "was all right; that a man who couldn't drive a stage safely down the hill was no driver at all, and should confine himself to oxteaming in the valley. "

"Now he cracks his whip, tightens his lines, whistles to his trembling mustangs, and urges them to the brink of the precipice, and in a moment they are going down! down! down ! racketty c latter bang! Sometimes the horses ahead of the stage, and sometimes the stage ahead of the horses, all, however, going down! down with a crash. Finally I the conglomeration of chains, harness, coach I mustangs and Banning were found by the pursuing passengers in an inextricable mass of confusioncontusions 1 scratches, bruises, batters, cracks and breaks, forming a general smash and pile up in a thicket of chaparral at the foot of the mountain.

"Didn't I tell you so," said Banning, "a beautiful descent, far less difficult than . I anticipated. I intended that staging to Fort Tejon and Kern River should be a success. Gentlemen, you see my judgment is good.' "(The foregoing account was taken from Major Horace Bell's "Reminiscences of a Ranger.")

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 197 0

CONTENTS OF AN ALASKAN LETTER

By James W. Milgram, M.D .

Page 20

Dear Pereril Nov 11th 97 Dawson N . W . ·r. Perhaps you will excuse me writing on a whisky bottle wrapper when I say it is the best I could obtain in town . It is so long since I have written you I hardly know what to write. It took me 45 days to bring myself and outfit to this city- 3 5 days packing it on my back 28 miles over the Alyea Pass and 10 coming down rivers and lakes at from 4 to 10 miles an hour . Of the perils, hardships I had I w ill not burden the letter- suffice it to say I would not go through the same again for all the wealth on earth . I have been here now about three months and have not had ·a letter since my arrival although there are several papers in town dated as late as Sept. 7 . Dawson City numbers about 8000 men and 150 women- there being about 5000 men in the mines within a radius of 30 miles. All the buildings are log cabins. We have a theatre, 60 saloons 3 churches 1 hospital. We are now having what the pioneers call warm weather zoo below which perhaps it is when one considers that for a month at a time it never crosses above 600 below . A young fellow Norman Abrams is my partner. We have a log cabi n together and live on the daily routine of beans, bacon, flapjacks, no fresh meat , or meat. •Of any kind for over three months . We lived in a tent for a week while i t was thirty below while up Bonanza but it was not pleasant. I have two claims now on Moose Hide, whether they are worth anything or not I don't know.

I intend to come out next summer and you may see me next winter if things turn out favorably here. There is a shortage of grub and many w ill starve . All food, even horse meat, is from $1 to $3 a lb . candles $1.50 a piece beer SO¢ whiskey $1 and everything in proportion. It is a great place to gamble, every saloon has faro roulette, black jack, poker, craps, pools, stud, !otter, keynote and the miners gamble day & night no one thinks anything of winning or loosing $1000 dollars and I have seen one man pass $20,000 over the faro table without a twitch . Although in Canadian Territory, they are mostly Americans . The country is greatly overrated while there are a few mines that are almost pure gold there are thousands it would not pay to work . I can give you this pointer- don't believe a newspaper report- reporters here are all under pay- don't invest in any stock (for its intrinsic value) don't grub stake anybody . The Yukon i s now blocked with walls of ice . If you have any friends who would think of leaving a position to come here, advise them not too , with the rush next summer the country will be spoilt. Two yEBrs up here will ruin most peoples health . There is a Canadian mail now . Write me old man you can't imagine how one longs for outside news, put in some newspaper clippings and tell me of your trip to S . B . Merry Xmas and Happy New Year Arthur

Dawson City , N. W . T . , Canada

Cover-3 cents Pink smudge cancel and manuscript Dawson Z2 6 97

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES- III

By Richard W. Helbock

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Post Office Page ft Post Office Page :Jt

Apiary 29 Mist 29

Beaver Landing 26 Natal 30

Bradbury 27 Neer 28

Brauns port 32 Pebble 32

Carfco 30 Peris 32

Clatskanie 24 Pittsburg 33

Clear Creek 25 Pittsburgh 26

Columbia 23 Pivot 34

Columbia City 23 Plymouth 21

Deer Island 28 Quincy 34

De lena 32 Quinn 25 Dent 33 Rainier 22

Eminence 22 Reuben 31

Fishhawk 31 Riverside 25 Gill ton 30 Saint Helen (s) 22 Goble 35 Sauvies Island 23 Houlton 31 Scappoose 24

Hudson 33 Tryon 27 Hunters 29 Valley 35 Keasey 31 Vernonia 26 Kist 36 Vesper 27 Kyser 34 Warren (1) 28 Marshland 24 Warren (2) 35 Mayger 29 Yankton 34

Columbia County was created January 16, 1854, from territory which had formerly constituted the northeastern portion of Washington County. The county was named for the Columbia River 1 its northern and eastern boundary . Columbia County has a land area of 646 square miles 1 and St. Helens serves as the seat of county govern-ment. · ·

PLYMOUTH . Established April 9 1 1850. The Plymouth post office was apparently named for Plymouth, Massachusetts . Its first postmaster, Henry M. Knighton, was a former sailing captain and a New Englander by birth. This short-lived office was located on the west bank of the Columbia River in the vicinity of present-day St. Helens.

19th Century Postmasters: Henry M . Knighton.

Status: The name of this office was changed to St. Helen on November 4, 1850.

Relative Scarcity of Plymouth Postmark Dates: . . · 1850T ...;. _____ **


NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POSTOFFICES - III (Continued)

SAINT HELEN (S). Established November 4 1 1850, by change of name from Plymouth. The name of this office was changed to St. Helen, but the alternate form Saint Helens has prevailed. Postal handstamps from the territorial period with both forms are known. The new name was brought on by the fine view and proximity of Mount Saint Helens in Washington. This post office is on the west bank of the Columbia River in the Northern part of township 4 north, range 1 west.

19th Century Postmasters: William H. Tappan; Nathaniel P . Cartland, Jan. 6, 1852; Benjamin M. Dukell, Nov. 2, 1853; Seth Pope, July 29, 1856; Thomas H. Smith, Sept. 3, 1859; Benjamin M. Watts, Jan. 29, 1862; Benjamin F. Giltner 1 Aug. 27, 1866; John W. Woodward, Jan. 31, 1867; William B. Daniels, Dec. 21, 1867; Benjamin F. Giltner, May 2:, 1870; George W. McBride, June 29, 1876; Benjamin F. Giltner, April 15, 1878; George W. McBride, June 24, 1878; Benjamin F. Giltner, March 30, 1881; William H. Dolman, May 13 1 1887; Mrs. Nancy E. Dolman 1 April 9, 1890.

Status: The Saint Helen spelling gave way to St. Helens at an early date, but postal records do not record any formal name change. This post office is currently operating; ZIP code - 97051.

Relative Scarcity of Saint Helen (s) Postmark Dates:

1850-1853T ---- ** 1854 -1859T ---- 140.0 1859-1865 48.5 1866-1869 29.5 1870-1877 17.5

1878-1879' 1880-1881 1882-1887 1888-1895 1896-1899

13.5 ll.5 8.5 5.5 3.0

EMINENCE. Established June 5, 1851. The highly optimistic name of Eminence was bestowed upon Columbia County's second post office, but the name did not endure. Eminence means a high or lofty place 1 and it must be assumed that the town founders were expressing their desire for the community's future, for there is little in the physical setting of the townsite to suggest such a name. The Eminence post office was located at present-day Rainier on the southwest bank of the Columbia opposite the mouth of Cowlitz River.

19th Century Postmasters: Charles E. Fox. l .

Status: The name of this office was chang'ed to Rainier on January 6, 1852. Relative Scarcity of Eminence Postmark Dates:

1B5l-l852T ---- ** .

RAINIER. Established January 6 , 1852, by change of name from Eminence. This name change created a curious symmetry in the post offices of Columbia County. With the Rainier office named for Mount Rainier 1 this county had two offices named for mountain peaks in Washington. In addition, these two offices served Columbia County's postal needs without assistance for almost two decades. The Rainier post office is located on the southwest bank of the Columbia River in section 16, township 7 north, range 2 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Charles E. Fox; Marshall B. Millard, Aug. 16, 1854; William C. Moody, Sept. 17, 1855; Ashley P. Minear, March 4, 1858; Dean Blanchard, Feb. 24, 1864; Henry Addis, Jan. 4, 1895; George F. Moeck I April 10 I 1895; Andrew L. Clark, Dec. 11, 1897.

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970 Page 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES - III (Continued)

Status: The Rainier post office was not in service from March 17 1 1863 I to February 24 1 1864 . This office is currently operating; ZIP code - 97048.

Relative Scarcity of Rainier Postmark Dates: 1852-1853T ** 1854-1859T 175 . 0 1859-1865 65 . 0 1866-1871 55 . 0 1872-1873 38 . 0 1874-1875 25 . 0

1876-1879 1880-1883 1884-1887 1888- 1889 1890-1 895 1896-1899

18 . 5 15 . 0 11.5

9.5 7 . 0 4.0

SAUVIES ISLAND. Transferred from Multnomah County September 2 5 I 1869. The site of the Sauvies Island post office was temporarily moved to southeastern Columbia County while Samuel T. Gosa was postmaster. During its short stay in Columbia County I the Sauvies Island post office was apparently located at or near the place now known as Johnson Landing . See SAUVIES ISLAND 1 Multnomah County for additiona! information about this office .

19th Century Postmasters: Samuel T. Gosa .

Status : On December 12 1 1870, the site of the Sauvie s Island post office was moved back to Multnomah County.

Relative Scarcity of Sauvies Island Postmark Dates: 1869-1870 - - -- 65 . 0

COLUMBIA. Established December 14 1 1870 . The Columbia post office was located at or near Johnson Landing a few miles east of present-day Scappoose. It is interesting that this office was established with Samuel T . Gosa postmaster just 2 d ays after the Sauvies Island post office was returned to Multnomah County. Gosa had been postmaster of this office while it was in Columbia County . The Columbia office was named for the river .

19th Century Postmasters : Samuel T. Gosa .

Status: The name of this office was changed to Scappoose on April 25 1 1872 .

Relative Scarcity of Columbia Postmark Dates:

1870-1872 ---- 60 . 0

COLUMBIA CITY . Established August 16, 1871 . This office was also named for the Columbia River I but the town founders expressed an amount of optimism by attaching the 'city' to the name of their community . The Columbia City post office is located about 2 miles north of St . Helens on the west bank of the Columbia

1 and in section

2 8 , township 5 north 1 range 1 west .

19th Century Postmasters : Devereaux J . Yeargain; Mrs . Mi nerva J. Caples, Dec. 181

187 4; Moses McGrew, Dec . 10 1 1889; Elijah McVey 1

April 13 1

1891.

Status : The Columbia City post office was not in service briefly from Oct. 31, to Dec . 10 I 1889 . This office is currently operating; ZIP code - 97018 .


NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES - III (Continued)

Relative Scarcity of Columbia City Postmark Dates:

1871-1873 1874-1875 1876-1879

60 . 0 ---- 55 . 0 ---- 44 . 0

1880-1881 1882-1887 1888-1899

35.5 19.0 21.5

Page 24

CLATSKANIE. Established December 1 1 1871. The Clatskanie post office was named for the Clatskanie River which flows into the Columbia near the townsite. This name is a corruption of the Indian place name Tlats-kani. This office is located on Conyers Creek near its junction with Clatskanie River, and in section 8, township 7 north 1

range 4 west.

19th Century Postmasters : Enoch W . Conyer; Wilson K. Tichenor, Jan . 31, 1881; William A. Edgerton, Oct. 20, 1885; Nathan Nichols, Oct. 30, 1891; Albert M . Tichenor 1 June 12, 1893; Henry I. Warren, March 14, 1899.

Status: The Clatskanie post office is currently operating; ZIP code - 97016.

Relative Scarcity of Clatskanie Postmark Dates: 1871-1873 60 . 0 1886-1887 1874-1875 55 . 0 1888-1889 1876-1881 43 . 5 1890-1897 1882-1883 29 . 0 1898-1899 1884-1885 24 . 5

13.5 8.5 5.5 3.5

SCAPPOOSE. Established April 25, 1872, by change of name from Columbia. The name of this office is reported to have been taken from an Indian word meaning gravelly plain. As the successor to the Columbia office, the Scappoose post office was initially located at Johnson Landing. It was moved to its present location when William West became postmaster in 1886. The Scappoose office is near Scappoose Creek on U . S. Route 30 in section 12 1 township 3 north, range 2 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Samuel T. Gosa; Henry Sharringhousen, April 91

1879; William W. West, Dec. 2 1 1886; James G. Watts, March 19, 1888; De William Price, April 10 1 1899.

Status: The Scappoose post office is currently operating; ZIP code - 97056.

Relative Scarcity of Scappoose Postmark Dates:

1872-1873 1874-1881 1882-1883 1884-1887

60 . 0 55 . 0 35.0 19.0

1888-1889 1890-1895 1896-1899

10.5 8.0 6.0

MARSHLAND. Established May 27 1 1873. The original name of this community was Skunk Cabbage Flat, but when the post office was obtained it was decided to name it Marshland, which expresses roughly the same idea in a more pleasant way. Both names were descriptive of the locality. Marshland post office was in the northwestern part of the county on U.S. Route 30, and in section 10, township 7 north

1 range 5 west.


NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES - Ill {Continued)

19th Century Postmasters: Zephaniah S. Bryant; Albert M. Tichenor, Dec . 2 9, 188 0, Samuel M. Graham, March 7, 1882; George A. Graham, May 8, 1899.

Status: The Marshland post office was converted to a rural branch of Clatskanie in 1961 and discontinued a couple years later.

Relative Scarcity of Marshland Postmark Dates:

1873-1881 1882-1885 1886 -1887

60.0 ---- 55.0 ---- 41.0

1888- 1895 1896-1899

32.0 18.5

RIVERSIDE. Established March 9, 1874. The Riverside post office bore a name descriptive of its location on the bank of Nehalem River. This office was located in the west central part of the county in the vicinity of the present-day community of Mist.

19th Century Postmasters: Joseph Bawzer; John W. Jones, Dec. 19, 1877; Charles F. Knowles, Jan. 6, 1879; Mrs. Matilda G. Lindgren, March 12, 1883; John G. Lindgren, Jan. 2 I 1885.

Status : The name of this office was changed to Mist on April 10, 1888.

Relative Scarcity of Riverside Postmark Dates:

1874-1877 1878-1881 1882-1883

65.0 55.0 42.5

1884- 1885 1886- 1888

34.0 23 . 0

QUINN. Established May 4 , 1876. This post office was given the family name of its first and only postmaster, James Quinn . The Quinn office was located near the south bank of the Columbia River a m'ile or two northwest of Quincy, and in the south central part of township 8 north, range 4 west.

19th Century Postmasters: James Quinn .

Status: The Quinn post office was discontinued June 1, 1909, papers to Quincy.

Relative Scarcity of Quinn Postmark Dates:

1876-1889 1890-1897 1898'-11899

55 ·. o ---- 32.0 ---- 24.0

CLEAR CREEK. Established January 11, 1878. The Clear Creek post office was named for Clear Creek, a descriptively named tributary of Nehalem River. This short-lived office was located in the extreme southwestern corner of Columbia County, at or near the mouth of Clear Creek, and in section 2 7 I township 4 north, range 5 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Henry D. Sluter.

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970


Status : The Clear Creek post office was discontinued January 22, 1879.

Relative Scarcity of Clear Creek Postmark Dates : 1878-1879 ---- 70 . 0

Page 26

VERNONIA. Established January 11 , 187 8. This post office was named for the daughter of Ozias Cherrington. Cherrington was one of the pioneer settlers of the community, and he had left his family in Ohio when he migrated to Oregon. McArthur reports that the daughter's real. .name was Vernona, but the variation in names could easily have resulted from confusion in communications. The Vernonia post office is located near the junction of Rock Creek and Nehalem River !about 19 miles due west of St . Helens, and in the northern part of township 4 north, range 4 west.

19th Century Postmasters: David F. Baker; William Mellinger, July 19, 1887; Robert U. McNutt, Aug . 8, 1888; John Pringle, July 19 , 1893; Caroll S . McNutt, June 17, 1897.

Status: The Vernonia post office is currently operating; ZIP code - 97064.

Relative Scarcity of Vernonia Postmark Dates : 1878-1879 65 . 0 1886-1887 1880-1881 60 . 0 1888-1889 1882-1883 55 . 0 1890-1899 1884-1885 41 . 5

27 . 5 18.0

8 . 5

BEAVER LANDING. Established March 21, 1879 . The short-lived Beaver Landing post office was apparently so named because the site provided a convenient way of getting from the Columbia River to the headwaters of Beaver Creek in the hills above . This office was located a few miles northwest of Rainier on or near Rinearson Slough on the south bank of the Columbia River.

19th Century Postmasters: Jacob S . Rinearson .

Status : The Beaver Landing post office was discontinued May 1, 1879.

Relative Scarcity of Beaver Landing Postmark Dates: 1879 -------- **

PITTSBURGH.. Established April 17 , 187 9 : The Pittsburgh post office was named for Pittsburgh 1 Pennsylvania, by Peter Brous who was a former resident of the Keystone State. This office was located at the junction of the Nehalem River and its East Fork 1 about 4 miles northeast of Vernonia, and in section 23

1 township 5 north,

range 4 west .

19th Century Postmasters: Peter Brous; George Price, March 6, 1888; Edwin 0 . Darling, Aug . 8 1 1889 .

Status : The name of this office was changed to Pittsburg on April 26 I 1892.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES - III (Continued)

Relative Scarcity of Pittsburgh Postmark Dates: 1879-1881 65 . 0 1.888-1889 40.5 1882-1883 ---- 60 . 0 1890-1892 32.5 1884-1887 ---- 54 . 0

VESPER. Transferred from Clatsop County April 11 1880 . The site of this office was in the NehalAm River Valley 1 and during the 1880's it was shifted between Clatsop and Columbia counties. See VESPER, Clatsop County for additional information about this office .

19th Century Postmasters : George W . Carr; Horace H . Hayward, Jan. 2, 1885.

Status : The Vesper post office operated in Columbia County for two periods: April l 1 1880 - July 10 1 1884; and 1 Jan . 2 1 1885 - April 11 1886 . On the last date listed the office was returned to Clatsop County where it continued to operate until discontinued on tNovember 2 0 1 1919.

Relative Scarcity of Ves·per Postmark Dates.: 1880-1886 ---- 65.0

BRADBURY. Established December 3 0 1 1881. The Bradbury post office was named in honor of C . A. Bradbury 1 a pioneer settler in the locality. This postal installation was located about 2 miles west of Mayger 1 near the southbank of the Columbia 1 and opposite Crims Island in section 23 1 township 8 north 1 range 4 west.

19th Century Postmasters: William Symons; Arthur McGraw 1 July 8 1 1886.

Status : The Bradbury post office was discontinued July 28 1 1890 1 papers to Mayger.

Relative Scarcity of Bradbury Postmark Dates: 1881-1890 ---- 28 . 0

TRYON. Established December 11 1884 . This office was named for its first and only postmaster 1 Socrates Hotchkiss Tryon 1 Jr . The Tryon post office was on the south bank of the Columbia River between Rainier and Mayger, and about a mile and a half south of Walker Island .

19th q entury Postmasters : Socrates H. Tryon .

Status : The Tryon post office was discontinued September 51

1894, papers to Stella 1 Cowlitz. County 1 Washington .

Relative Scarcity of Tryon Postmark Dates: 1884-1885 54 . 0 1890-1891 22 . 5 1886-1887 41 . 0 1892-1894 35 . 0 1888-1889 ---- 33 . 0


NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES - Ill (Continued)

WARREN (1). · Established February 19, 1885. The Warren office was named by its first postmaster for his former home in Massachusetts . This early-day office was located at or near the modern community of Warren about 3 miles southwest of Scappoose on U.S. Route 30, and in section 20, township 4 north, range 1 west.

19th Century Postmasters: James Gill; Henry Larsen, Jan . 4, 1886 .

Status: The first Warren post office was discontinued November 3 , 1888, mail to Scappoose.

Relative Scarcity of Warren (1) Postmark Dates : 1885-1888 ---- 24 . 5

NEER. Established June 8, 1886. This office was named for Abe Neer, an early settler, who plotted the townsite.in August, 1883. The Neer post office was on the Columbia River Highway at the junction of a county road about half a mile north of Goble, and in section 2, township 6 north, range 2 west.

19th Century Postmasters : William A. Makinster; Michael D . Link, Feb. 13, 1888; Isaac Makinster, March 12, 1888; Michael D. Link, May 2, 1891 .

Status: The Neer post office was discontinued October 17, 1894, papers to Goble .

Relative Scarcity of Neer Postmark Dates : 1886-1887 60.0 1888-1889 40 . 5 1890-1894 ---- 22.5

DEER ISLAND. Established October 24, 1887 . The Deer Island post office was named for the large island in the Columbia River, which lies just north of the site of the office . Deer Island was visited by Lewis and Clark as early as November , 1805. The expedition reported a good catch of venison on the island

1 and stated that the

Indians called the place E-lal-lar 1 meaning Deer Island . The name was maintained by the early settlers . This post office was located on the Columbia River Highway about 6 road miles ·north of St . Helens, and in section 8, township 5 north

1 range 1

west .

19th Century Postmasters : Nelson Pinckney; Elzy George 1

Nov . 161

1887; Charles English, Dec . 19, 1891; Mattie M . English, July 11, 1895 .

Status : The Deer Island office was converted to a rural station of the Saint Helens post office on April 1, 1959. It is currently operating as such.

Relative Scarcity of Deer Island Postmark Dates: 1887-1889 27 . 0 1890-1891 ·17.5 1892-1899 12 . 0



MIST. Established April 10, 1888, by change of name from Riverside. The new name of this office represents an accurate reflection of the prevailing atmospheric conditions in the Nehalem Valley. The Mist post office was located on the Nehalem River Highway in section 14, township 6 north, range 5 west .

19th Century Postmasters: CharlesF. Knowles; Charles Jones, Dec . 30 , 1889; Nathanfel C. Dale, March 1, 1892; HenryBrauning, March 19, 1896; Flora A. Turner, Aprill4, 1897; Gus F. Lindgren, April21, 1898 .

Status: The Mist office was converted to a rural station of the Clatskanie post office on July 31, 1958. It is currently operating as such.

Relative Scarcity of Mist Postmark Dates : 1888-1889 18.0 1890-1899 ---- 11.0

HUNTERS. Established May 29, 1888 . The Hunters post office was named for the Hunter family, who were early settlers in the locality . This office was on the southwest bank of the Columbia, opposite Sandy Island, and a mile or so south of Goble .

19th Century Postmasters: Stephen H . Walker; Shelmuiel F . Hunter , May 27, 1892 .

Status: The Hunters post office was discontinued October 30, 1893, papers to Reuben.

Relative Scarcity of Hunters 1888-1889 1890-1891 1892-1893

Postmark Dates: 13.0 10.0 55.0

MAYGER. Established August 22, 1889. This office was named for Charles W. Mayger, who settled at Oak Point, Washington in 1865,, and later served as the first postmaster of this Columbia County office . The Mayger post office was on the south bank of the Columbia River about I mile east of the east end of Crims Island

1 and in

section 19 I township 8 north, range 3 west .

19th Century Postmasters : Charles W. Mayger .

Status : The Mayger office was converted to a rural station of the Clatskanie post office· in 195 7 and was fimally closed out in 1966.

Relative Scarcity of Mayger Postmark Dates: 1889-1891 11 . 5 1892-1899 ---- 9.0

APIARY. Established August 28, 1889. The name of the Apiary post office commemorated the fact that its first postmaster, David M. Dorsey, operated a bee farm. This office was located about 7 miles southwest of Rainier, and in section 10, township 6 north

1 range 3 west .

19th Century Postmasters: David M . Dorsey; Charles A. Buck, Dec . 12 1

1892; William L. Brown, July 2 8, 18 93 .



Status: The Apiary post office was discontinued March 24 1 1924 1 papers to Rainier.

Relative Scarcity of Apiary Postmark Dates: 1889-1891 26 . 5 1892-1893 39.5 1894- 1899 ---- 50 . 0

NATAL. Established October 2 1 1889. This short-lived office was named for Nathaniel C . Dale

1 an early resident of the Nehalem Valley who assisted his neighbors by bring

ing their mail from the Mist/Riverside post office to his home . Natal appears to be an arbitrary contraction of Dale •s first name . The Natal post office was located on Nehalem River between Mist and Pittsburg in the southwestern part of township 6 north, range 4 west.

19th Century Postmasters : Roderick D . Cole .

Status: The Natal post office was discontinued January 26 I 1891, papers to Mist .

Relative Scarcity of Natal Postmark Dates: 1889-1891 ---- 70 . 0

CARICO. Established December 4 , 1889 . The Carico post office was named for John Carico, who settled a land claim in the wooded area west of Deer Island in the early 1880 •s. This office was located about 6 miles west of Deer Island, and not far from Milton Creek in section 8, township 5 north 1 range 2 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Mrs . Lydia Pinckney .

Status: The Carico post office was closed October 16, 1899, but re-opened on March 25, 1904. This office was finally discontinued April 23, 1913, papers to Deer Island .

Relative Scarcity of Carico Postmark Dates : 1889- 1895 65 . 0 1896-1899 --- - 60.0

GILLTON . Established January 14 1 1890 . This office was a successor to the first Warren post office. The new name was made necessary by the existence of a Warren office in Umatilla County which operated from 1888 to 1895. Gillton honored James Gill, who was the first postmaster of the old Warren office and a founding father of the community. See WARREN (1) for locational information.

19th Century Postmasters : William J . Fullerton; James S . Bacon 1 Aug. 26, 1891 .

Status : The name of this office was changed to Warren (2) on July 11 1 1895 .

Relative Scarcity of Gillton Postmark Dates : 1890- 1895 ---- ll.5



FISHHAWK. Established January 17, 1890. The Fishhawk post office was named for Fishhawk Creek which flows through the mountains along the Columbia-Clatsop County line. The fishhawk is common to this and other parts of Oregon. This office was located near the mouth of Fishhawk Creek, a mile or so north of the present-day community of Birkenfeld. ·

19th Century Postmasters: Ernest E. Hogberg.

Status: The Fishhawk post office was discontinued August 15, 1910, papers to Vesper. Another office with this ·name, but using the form Fish Hawk, was in service from February 14th to September 22nd, 1917. This office was in the ea s tern part of Columbia County.

Relative Scarcity of Fishhawk Postmark Dates: 1890-1891 40.0 1894-1897 25.0 1892-1893 ---- 32.0 1898-1899 21.5

HOULTON. Established March 5, 1890. This office was named for Houlton, Maine, which was the former home of Burnham W. Plummer, the first postmaster. The Houlton post office was at the Saint Helens railroad station, about a mile from the town.

19th Century Postmasters: Burnham W. Plummer; Newton A. Perry, Jan. 9, 1892.

Status: The Houlton post office was converted to Station A of the Saint Helens post office during the summer of 1946.

Relative Scarcity of Houlton Postmark Dates: 1890-1891 17.5 1896-i897 1892-1895 ---- 11.5 1898-1899

8.5 5.5

KEASEY. Established August 5, 1890. The Keasey post office was given the family name of its first postmaster, Eden W. Keasey. This office was located in the extreme southwest corner of the county on Rock Creek and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad in section 5, township 4 north, range 5 west.

19th Century Postmasters: EdenW. Keasey.

Status: The Keasey post office was closed February 21, 1923, papers to Winona. The office was re-established October 21, 1924, and continued to operate until 1955.

Relative Scarcity of Keasey Postmark Dates: 1890-1891 60.0 1892-1899 ---- 38.5

REUBEN. Established September 5, 1890. This office was named for Reuben R. Foster, who served as the second postmaster, and was a relative of the first postmaster. The Reuben post office was located about a mile south of Goble on the west bank of the Columbia River, and in section 13, township 6 north, range 2 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Eli G. Foster; Reuben R. Foster, May 10, 1893.


NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES - Ill (Continued)

Status: The Reuben post office was not in service from October 171 18941 to January 2 5 1 1901. This office was discontinued October 2 5 1 1923 1 papers to Goble.

Relative Scarcity of Reuben Postmark Dates: 1890-1891 12.5 1892-1894 - --- 8. 5

PEBBLE. Established January 31 1 1891. The Pebble post office was named for Pebble Creek I a stream which flows near the site of the installation. This office was located about 3 miles south of Vernonia on the old Pebble Creek Road 1 and in section 21 1 township 4 north 1 range 4 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Richard' J. Tyacke; Eben Roberts 1 July 30 1 1894.

Status: The Pebble post office was discontinued December 5 1 1895 1 mail to Vernonia.

Relative Scarcity of Pebble Postmark Dates: 1891-1895 ---- 60.0

BRAUNSPORT. Established November 10 1 1891 . This office which functioned for one decade 1 was named for its first and only postmaster 1 Johann B. Braun. The Braunsport post office was located on Beaver Creek about 5 miles southwest of Vernonia

1 and

in section 2 9 1 township 4 north 1 range 4 west. It was about 1 mile Southwest of the place called Braun on present-day maps.

19th Century Postmasters : Johann B. Braun .

Status: The Brauns port post office was discontinued November 91

19011

papers to Kist.

Relative Scarcity of Braunsport Postmark Dates: 1891-1893 ----52.0 1894-1899 ---- 21.5

PERIS. Established November 19 1 1891. The Peris post office was 8 to 10 miles west of Saint Helens in the mountains. The compiler has been unable to find reference to the origin of the name of this office.

19th CenturY' Postmasters: Christopher Sanervein; Emily E. Hoover 1

Nov. 23 1

1893.

Status: The Peris post office was discontinued May 9 1 1901 1

papers to Valley .

Relative Scarcity of Peris Postmark Dates: 1891-1893 65.0 1894-1897 ---- 51.0 1898-1899 - - -- 37 .5

DELENA. Established April 22 1 1892. The Delena office was apparently given a name found in a classical dictionary or mythology by its first postmaster

1 Lincoln

J. Meserve. This office was located about 7 miles west of Rainier on the Columbia River Highway, and near Beaver Creek in Section 17

1 township 7 north

1 range· 3 west.

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970 Page 33.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES - III (Continued)

19th Century Postmasters: Lincoln J. Meserve; Harry E. Meserve, June 12, 1897; Ellender M. Wonderly, May 5, 1899.

Status : The Delena post office was not in service from October 3, 1905, to March 16, 1920 . This office was discontinued February 23, 1922, pqpers to Clatskanie.

Relative Scarcity of Delena Postmark Dates: 1892-1893 39.5 1894-1899 ---- 27.5

PITTSBURG . Established April 26, 1892, by change of name from Pittsburgh. In the interests of modernization, the "h" was dropped from the name of this post office. Interestingly enough, the city for which this office was named has never changed the style of its name. See PITTSBURGH for locational information.

19th Century Postmasters: Mary E. Detrick; Warren D. Case, May 2, 1897.

Status: The Pittsburg post office was discontinued November 30, 1908.

Relative Scarcity of Pittsburg Postmark Dates: 1892-1895 ---- 25.5 1896-1899 ---- 20.5

DENT. Established June 20, 1892, but not operational until July 21, 1892. It has been reported that the Dent post office was named with the maiden name of Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, but the local significance of the name is not known. This office was located 3 or 4 miles west of Rainier on Beaver Creek, and in the eastern part of township 7 north, range 3 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Frances M . Fowler

Status: The Dent post office was discontinued October 31, 1898, papers to Delena.

Relative Scarcity of Dent Postmark Dates: 1892-1893 ---- 65.0 1894-1898 ---- 38.0

HUDSON. Established June 20, 1892. The Hudson post office was given the family name of its first postmaster, Susan A. Hudson. This office was located about 5 miles west of Rainier on Beaver Creek in Section 15,, township 7 north, range 3 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Susan A. Hudson; Susan A. Everman, Jan. 19,1895.

Status: The Hudson post office was discontinued September 25, 1913, mail to Rainier.

Relative · Scarcity of Hudson Postmark Dates: 1892-1893 60.0 1896-1897 24.5 1894-1895 ---- 46.0 1898-1899 18.0



KYSER. Established June 20, 1892 . This office was located about 2 miles south of Delena 1 and near Lost Creek in section 20 1 township 7 north 1 range 3 west. The Kyser post office was named for its first postmaster 1 William H. Kyser.

19th Century Postmasters: William H. Kyser.

Status: The Kyser post office was discontinued March 16 1 1918 1 papers to Rainier.

Relative Scarcity of Kyser Postmark Dates: 1892-1893 52.0 1894-1895 60.0 1896-1899 ---- 50.5

QUINCY. Established October 8 1 1892. The Quincy post office was named for Quincy 1 Illinois 1 the former home of J. W. Barnes who founded the community. This office was located about 4 miles northeast of Clatskanie 1 and on the Spokane I Portland & Seattle Railroad in section 27 1 township 8 north 1 range 4 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Lottie Rutter; De Forest J. Barnes 1 July 25 1 1893; Kate M. Jones I Nov . 7 I 1895; John Hendrickson, June 20 1 1899 .

Status: The Quincy post office was converted to a rural station of Clatskanie in 1959 and finally discontinued in 1966 .

Relative Scarcity of Quincy Postmark Dates: 1892-1893 39.5 1894-1899 ---- 8.5

PIVOT. Established April 2 6 1 1894. The Pivot post office was in operation for only about one year. It was located in the extreme south we stern corner of Columbia County, in the vicinity of Keasey. The origin of the name of this office is not known, but it may have been named for a local geographic feature about which a road or railroad pivoted.

19th Century Postmasters: Nancy Davison; Rebecca Webster 1 Dec. 171

1894.

Status: The Pivot post office was discontinued May 16 1 1895 1 papers to Keasey.

Relative Scarcity of Pivot Postmark Dates: 1894-1895 ---- 70.0

YANKTON. Established August 15 1 1894. This community was settled by a group of families from Maine I and went by the name Yankeetown during its early years. When the post office was established the name was shortened to Yankton for convenience. The Yankton post office was located a few miles west of Saint Helens

1 and in the

northeastern corner of township 4 north 1

range 2 we.st •.

19th Century Postmasters: Lizzie Sherman; Lizzie Faxon 1

April 12 1

1898.



Status : The Yankton post office was discontinued January 15 , 1931 , papers to Houlton.

Relative Scarcity of Yankton Postmark Dates: 1894-1895 38.5 1896-1897 ---- 30 . 5 1898-1899 ---- 24 . 0

GOBLE. Established September 14, 1894, but not in actual operation until October 5, 1894 . The Goble post office was named in honor of Daniel B. Goble, the first settler in the communi ty. This office was located on the Columbia River Highway, about 7 road miles south of Rainier , and in section 12, township 6 north, range 2 west.

19th Century Postmasters : Flora A. Fowler .

Status : The Goble office was converted to an independent rural station of the Rainier post office in 1959. It is currently operating with that status .

Relative Scarcity of Goble Postmark Dates: 1894-1895 11.0 1896-1897 6.5 1898-1899 5 . 0

VALLEY. Established April 23, 1895. This office was descriptively named . The Valley post office was on the road from Pittsburg to Saint Helens at the point where it crossed the Clatskanie River in section 25, township 5 north , range 3 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Catherine Dupont .

Status : The Valley post office was discontinued March 20, 1905, papers to Yankton .

Relative Scarcity of Valley Postmark Dates: 1895-1897 ---- 38 . 0 1898-1899 ---- 20.0

WARREN(2} . Established Ju ly 11 , 1895, by change of name from Gillton . With the closing of the Warren post office i n Umatilla County on March 26th, 1895, the citizens of this community acted to change the name of this office back to Warren . The Warren post office was located about 4 miles north of Scappoose on the Columbia River Highway .

19th Century Postmasters : James I. Bacon .

Status : The Warren office was converted to a rural s tation of the Saint Helens post office on September 1, 1961 . It is currently operating as such .

Relative Scarcity of Warren (2) Postmark Dates : 1895-1899 ---- 10 . 5


NINETEENTH CENTURY OREGON POST OFFICES ". III (Continued)

KIST . Established January 21 1 1899 . The Kist post office was apparently name d in commemoration of a local homesteader who was frozen to death prior to the establishment of the office . This facility was located in the southwest part of Co lumbia County on Clear Creek a few miles upstream from its junction with Nehalem River.

19th Ce ntury Pa;tmasters: James H. Turk .

Status : The Kist post office was discontinued May 10 1 1912 1 papers to Timber 1

Washington County.

Relative Scarcity of Kist Postmark Dates:

1899 _.;______ 60.0

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 197 0 Page 37

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

AUCTION ACTION

By Robert Lewenthal

During the last three months there was only one sale with any "Westerns" of importance. This was the Robert A. Siegel auction of Dec. 9-12, 1969. All items following are from this sale.

NOGALES, ARIZ. Clear pmk. on 5¢ (U222) to Paris. Pictorial corner card. Printed "Via New York/France". V.F.

W. F. NOGALES, ARIZ. 1892. Per.fect strike on U312. V. F. AUBURN, CAL. Clear strike in blue on 1852 cover to France. Ms. '29'

rate, British '19', and French '16 decimes' due mark. Fine BANTA, CAL. Small, neat pmk. 3¢ green (147) tied . Fine. BENICIA, Clear strike. 3¢ (11) pair, 4 margins cane "Sunburst" of

V's. Fine CAMPTONVILLE. Clear strike on small embossed Lady's env. 10¢ (15),

pen cane. Attractive. DOWNIEVILLE, MAR. 2, 1859.

large star in circl e. Clear strike 10¢ 1857 (32), V.F. tiedby V.F.

ELK GROVE, CAL. in M.S . on Ul6. Least bit reduced , yet V.F. EVERTS, DAVIS & CO'S. EXPRESS, ST. LOUIS. Bold green circle. Matching

"Paid" in oval on neatly rebacked front to Rabbit Creek. V.F. app. FORBESTOWN, CAL. in clear red circle. Horiz. pair 5¢ red brown, Ty. I,

(28), S.E. at top, tied by blotted M.S. cancels. Fresh. Fine FORBESTOWN, CAL. in clear red circle . Horiz. pair 5¢ brown, Ty II,

(30a), sheet centerline at R, M.S. cancels on fresh, V.F. cover. GREENHOOD & NEWBAUER frank on UlO. Blue Weaverville Co. Oval

to S. F. V. F. GREENHOOD & NEWBAUER frank on UlO. 'Newbauer' error. V.F . GREENWOOD, CAL in clear rimless arc ties 3¢ (11). Choice strike

of very scarce postmark. GREGORY'S EXPRESS, MARYSVILLE. Perfect strike in three· straight lines

in blue. "Not Paid" in matching oval on 1852 cover to S.F. Extremely Fine.

GREGORY'S EXPRESS, MARYSVILLE. Similar strike. "Not" of "Not Paid" obliterated. Blue "Paid" in opposite corner. Also "Paid, F. Rumrill" in M.S. Slight aging, still V.F.

GREGORY'S POCKET LETTER BOOK in unusually nice condition with excellent letter headed "S.F., June 29, '54, filling 15 of the pages. Fine .

MARTINEZ, CAL . in large, clear circle. 3¢ (11) tied by M.S. on fresh cover to Sacramento. Attractive.

NEVADA CITY, CAL. in M.S . Matching 12 1/2 on large part of cover to Vallejo, "Missent & Forwarded" to San Jose. Rare use,

OPHIRVILLE, CAL. in clear red circle. Sheet margin 3¢ (11) pen cane. on fresh cover. V.F.

PACIFIC EXPRESS CO. SONORA in red oval. Matching Paid in oval. 3¢ (11), 4 marg., uncancelled on fresh cover. V.F.

62.50 47.50

18.00 14.00

52.50

17.00

70.00

60.00

26.00

40.00

52.50

21.00 26.00

26.00

115.00

80.00

62 .50

12 . 00

40.00

57.50

32.50

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970 Page 38 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------AUCTION ACTION (Continued)

PLUM VALLEY, CAL. 1856 in M.S. on UlO. Scarce and fine. RATTLESNAKE, CAL. Bold strike in D/L circle ties 10¢ (35). V.F. F. RUMRILL & CO. EXPRESS, Connecting at Marysville with Wells, Fargo

& Co. All in clear blue circle, tieing V.F. 3¢ (11) which has the scarce W.F. & Co. handstamped pre-cancel in blue. Also "W F & Co, San Francisco" and "W. F. & Co, Marysville" ovals. 1855 use from S. F. , addressed to "Ph.unvalley Ranch, Sierra Co. , on the stage road from Nevada to Forest City." V.F. & Choice

SACRAMENTO CITY, CAL. in bright red. Matching "Paid & 40" on neat cover to Maine. Least bit stained. Fine

SACRAMENTO RIVER EXPRESS frank on U83. Unused. V.F. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. AND BOXED 40. Clear strikes on 1849 folded

letter. Unusually interesting contents. Fine. SAN FRANCISCO NEWS LETTER, Vol. I, No. 3 for steamers Caroiina · &

Panama, Sept. 1851. Light, readable 'San Francisco 6' pmk in orange, matching 'Paid'. Earliest known S.F. News letter. V.F.

SAN FRANCISCO NEWS LETTER "P.M.S.S. per California", Sept 5 (1857) Damaged 1¢ Ty II (7) paying circular rate to New Orleans. Few faults. Rare. Ex West, Wiltsee.

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 1861 ties 10¢, 3¢, 1¢, two (24, 26,35) on neat cover to Paris. Stamps partly overlapping & some creases. Fine & attractive Overland Mail cover.

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. Clear matching 'ship 5' on 1860 cover. London to Folsom, Cal. Original postage paid by two G.B. 6d lilac (27) Bold Liverpool ship letter & crown on back. Fine.

SONORA, CALIFORNIA, DEC. 2, 1851. Bold strike in two straight lines in blue on pair 3¢ O.B. (10), tied on small piece. V.F. with note by Dr. Chase stating "The only known example of an 1851 year date on a 3¢ 1851.".

SONORA, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 27, 1852. Two straight lines in blue. Excellent strike, matching 10 in circle on cover to N.H. V.F.

TABLE ROCK, CAL. Bold strike. Matching PAID in box and 10 on cover to Maine. Minor tear. Scarce town. Fine.

TRUMAN & CHAPMAN'S EXPRESS, S.F. & San Jose Rail Road. Printed frank on U35, uncancelled. Minor soiling. V.F.

VIA NICARAGUA IN ADVANCE OF THE MAILS, SULLIVAN. Clear oval. 3¢ (11), horiz. pair tied bold New York Ship. Cover somewhat restored, stamps & markings V.F. P.F. certificate.

WEAVERVILLE, CAL. Clear oval, M.S. date, matching 10 on cover to Maine. Fine.

WELLS FARGO & CO. EXPRESS STEAMBOAT in fancy frame . (Leutzinger 2-4). Clear strike on UlO. Closed tears at left. Very scarce. Fine.

WELLS FARGO. RED "COAST TO COAST" FRANKo~ 10¢ (Ul7). Red W.F. oval. Sacramento and postal New York. Addressed to Conn. V.F.

WELLS FARGO. FIVE COVERS.. U34, U35, two each, U82. Includes Napa & Los Angeles cancels. V.F. lot

35.00 70.00

850 . 00

26 . 00 20 . 00

80.00

300 . 00

300 . 00

28.00

28.00

550.00

250 . 00

40.00 .

35.00

190.00

32 . 50

85.00

40.00

32 . 00


AUCTION ACTION (Continued)

WELLS FARGO FRANK ON U82 . PORTLAND, ORE . Postal cane. Straight line ''Steamer' in red . Red handstamped corner card. V.F.

WELLS FARGO FRANK on legal size 24¢ blue on buff (U71) . Blurry Virginia City, Nev. in purple oval. Fine .

WELLS FARGO PUBLISHER'S STAMP (143 LPlO) . Margins except in at left bottom, tied "W.F. & Co . San Diego' on clean newspaper wrapper . Very scarce .

YANKEE JIM'S, CAL . Clear strike ties 10¢ (14) to small "lady's" cover . Fine and attractive .

BOSTON, MASS . RED PMK, matching bold 80 on 1850 folded letter to S. F. Scarce & Fine .

PANAMA AND WESTERN FORWARDERS

FORWARDED BY FREDERICK W. BYRNE , PANAMA. Three lines in frame . Bold strike on back of 1846 folded cover to LeHavre. 'Colonies & c . Art . 13' in red box & french due mark. V. F .

COVA & CO., PANAMA in tiny o/1 oval . Sharp strike on 1853 folded letter, Valparaiso to Boston . Bold 'Steam Ship & italic 40 . V.F.

COVA & CO., PANAMA. Similar to above, Bold ' Steamship 20' in circle. V. F.

FORWARDED BY I.P. FERAUD, PANAMA in bold double circle on 1837 folded letter . Interesting contents re . Panic of 1837. Faint 'Callao' straight line & 'Franco.' V. F .

FORWARDED BY GEO . N. SHAW & CO . SAN FRANCISCO. Bold strike in red oval on 1852 prices current to Canton, China. V. F .

FORWARDED BY SMITH & LEWIS, PANAMA in ovaL on back of 1852 folded cover to Boston . Bold ' Steamship 20' . V. F .

NEW YORK 80 . Early type Ocean Mail pmk. Matching 80 in circle on 1851 cover to S . F. Trifle worn . Score

NEW YORK 40. Two covers, one 28 mm red early ocean mail pmk, 40 in circle, other large pmk with 40 with pmk F/VF

NEW YORK OCEAN MAIL . Intermediate type pmk ties single 12¢ black (17), 4 margins to 1852 double rate covers to S.F. Very scarce . V.F.

NEW YORK OCEAN MAIL . Eleven covers . Ten with two 3¢ (11), one . with pair 30¢, O. B. (10) . Fine study lot.

COLORADO (FROM THE H. PARKER JOHNSON COLLECTION

AURARIA K.T., July 28, 1859 . Clear pmk . in two straight lines on off cover 3¢ (26) . Excessively rare .

BIG THOMPSON, CQL. Light readable pmk . on U59 . Bit reduced at left Fine .

BLACK HAWK POINT, COL. T. Clear, sharp pmk. 3¢ (65) tied by target V.F .

COLORADO CITY, COL . 1861 in M. S . Three 1¢ (24), pen cane. Tiny cover fault . Fine

Page 39

16.00

29 . 00

32.50

37.50

37.50

72.50

65.00

55 . 00

90 . 00

62 . 50

42 . 50

62.50

50.00

240.00

200.00

110.00

20.00

35 . 00

75 . 00

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970 Page 40 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------AUCTION ACTION (Continued)

CONEJOS, COLORADO 1864 in red D/L circle. Clear pmk. 3¢ (65) pen cane. Fine. Rare.

DENVER CITY, K.T. 1860 in rimless arc. Small sharp 'Paid'. On the first mail out of Denver. Very few known. Choice.

FORT SEDGWICK, CAL. Clear pmk. 3¢ (65) tied. In irregularly at right, otherwise fine.

GEORGETOWN, C.T. 1867 in MS. Ties 3¢ (65) to neat cover. Interesting letter. Fine

GOLD DIRT, COL. TY. 1861 in MS. ties 3¢ pink (64). Neatly mended V.F. appearance.

HAMILTON, C.T. 1861. Mostly clear pmk . 3¢ (26) not tied. Interesting letter encl. Very scarce. Fine

HUGHES, COL. 1871 in MS on U84. V.F. One of two known. MOUNTAIN CITY, C.T. 1861 in D/L circle on multicolor Patriotic. 3¢

(65) tied. Bold 'Dues'. Flap Missing. Fine NEVADA, COL. TERR. Clear to light strike on U35. Negligible mended

cover tear. V.F. PUEBLO, C.T. Jan. 16 in MS. 3¢ (26) pen cane. ''Due 3' in pencil.

Reduced at left just into pmk. Earliest Pueblo cover known. CENTRAL OVERLAND, CALIFORNIA & PIKE'S PEAK EXPRESS CO. , DENVER CITY, K.T. Light, clear oval on cover to N.Y. 3¢ (25) tied blue 'St.

Joseph, Mo', 1860. Small corner nick in cover. Fine CENTRAL OVERLAND, CALIFORNIA & PIKE'S PEAK EXPRESS CO., DENVER CITY, K.T. Clear oval on neat, fresh cover to Iowa. 30(26) tied bold blue

St. Joseph, Mo. 1860. Interesting letter enclosed. V.F. CENTRAL OVERLAND, CALIFORNIA & PIKE'S PEAK CO., DENVER CITY, K.T.

Clear ov~l on UlO, with another company oval, 'St. Joseph, Mo. Dec. 10 ~St. Joseph, Mo. pmk; Dec. 11 to New York. Ms. 'Due 3 cts'. Another Co. oval of Denver, applied as a frank on the flap. M1or cover faults, mended. Ex Barkhausen

COLORADO AND OMING STAGE MAIL AND EXPRESS CO. Magenta handstamp frank on 1¢ postal card (UxS). V.F. & scarce.

HINCKLEY & CO.rs EXPRESS, DENVER CITY, 1860. Clear handstamp on cover witr defective 3¢ (26) tied Anamosa, loa. to Denver, Jefferson Ty. Mended, interesting letter. V.G.

HINCKLEY & CO'S. EXPRESS 1860 . Light, readable circle. Also "Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Co. Denver City, K. T." on U9. Extensively mended. Fine appearance. Very scarce with handstamps of both companies.

HINCKLEY & CO. EXPRESS MAIL. Printed scroll type frank on 3¢ star die (U27). Central Overland, California & Pikes Peak Express in oval. Another Central Overland oval on back. Slightly reduced at R. into stamp, otherwise V.F.

JONES & RUSSELL'S PIKES PEAK EXPRESS CO. DENVER CITY. Unusual ly clear strike. 3¢ (25) tied 'Leavenworth City, K.T.' Flap missing. Attractive.

ANIMAS FORKS, COLO. Clear pmk. on Ul63. BALD MOUNTAIN, COLO. Clear pmk. 3¢ (147) BONANZA, COLO. Clear pmk. ties 2¢ (213). DEER TRAIL, COLO. CLEAR 1878 pmk. in blue,

matching X. V.F.

1883 letter tied. V.F. V.F.

3¢ (158)

encl. V.F.

tied by

72 . 50

300.00

32.50

32.50

80 . 00

65 . 00 57.50

35.00

57. so

42.50

140.00

425.00

320.00

65 .00

52 . 50

57 .so

140.00

270.00 26.00 13.00 24.00

28.00


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------AUCTION ACTION (Continued)

FRASER, COLO. JUNE 2. Two bold straight lines on U231, Cane by two strikes of crude star. V.F.

HORTENSE, COLORADO. Clear purple 1884 pmk. 2¢ (210) tied by maltese cross. V.F.

LAKE CITY, COLO in D/L circle ties 3¢ (158) to handsome pictorial env. showing Banker, Covered Wagon, Miners & Smelters at work. Leadville, Colo. imprint on back. Very attractive. Fine.

LEFT HAND, COLO. Clear pmk. in ultramarine. Ul63 cane matching star. Corner card. Fine

NIEGOLDSTOWN, COLO. 1879 in MS on Ux5. Only one known. Fine ST. JOHN COLORADO 1877. in blue oval on Ul63. Mining Co. C. Card.

Fine. TELLURIUM, COLO. 1878 in MS. 3¢ green pen cane. on slightly reduced

cover. Scarce. Fine YAMPA, COLORADO 1886 in purplish horseshoe. 2¢ (210) tied by match

ing target. Hotel corner card. Scarce. V.F. KASKASKIA (ILL) 1809, 1811. Two covers, MS towns on fine covers

Brought 130. 00 WESTERN MAIL & STAGE CO., CHICKASHA, I.T. Printed four horse stage

co. corner card on cover to Independence, Mo. 2¢ (213) not tied Clear 'Whicita & Fort Worth R.P.O' pmk. Very scarce. Fine

LEAVENWORTH CITY, K.T. 1860 ties 10¢, 12¢ and two 1¢ (35, 36, 24) to make 24¢ rate to England. Scarce & very attractive.

MANHATTAN, M.T. SHARP, clear strike, · 25 rate on 1836 cover. One of two known. Interesting letter. V.F.

PORT LAWRENCE, MIC. (T) in MS & MS 25 on 1832 cover to N.Y. Small hole, otherwise fine.

TOLDEO, M.T. JAN 24 in clear straight line on free-franked 1836 cover. Letter headed 'Manhattan, M.T. 1 V.F.

DUBUQUES MINES, MIC.T, Bold blue circle, Red 'Free' on 1836 legal size cover. Earliest known. Fine

FORT DES MOINES, 12th June in red MS on 1836 cover, V.F. FORT WINNEBAGO M.T. Bold straight line pmk on 1831 cover. Ms 25

rate on military letcer to Detroit, M.T. V.F. GREEN BAY M.T. Bold straight line. Ms date ~ 50 on 1833 cover

to Philadelphia. Scarce & V.F. W.F. & CO. 25¢ BLUE PONY EXPRESS ~143L8) Large to huge margins,

V.F. tied blue W.F. oval 'Virginia City~ij.T.' on U35 to S.F. Merchant's corner card at L.L. Right edge of cover restored affecting stamp. Attractive.

SALT LAKE CITY, U.T. CLEAR PMK. 3¢ (65) not tied. Corner card of 'Overland Mail Co . , Salt Lake City.' Fine.

SOUTH PASS CITY, WY. TY. June 30, 1 69. Sharp, clear pmk. 3¢ 1869 tied by target to Mass. Forwarded with another 3¢ 1869. Choice.

32.00

37.50

160.00

25.00 60.00

37.50

45.00

62.50

& 160.00

72.50

135.00

525.00

375.00

600.00

290.00 425.00

850.00

700.00

575.00

62.50

55.00

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970

AUCTION ACTION (Continued)

HAWAII

OAHU, SAND. IS. DEC . 8, 1836, Heading on neat folded cover to Boston . Fwd . to Marble head with red 'Bristol, R.I . , matching 'Ship' over ' Paid' . 'Ship Balance' in MS . V. F.

HONOLULU, APR. 22, 1847 HEADING on neat folded letter to Boston with clear orange 'Sag Harbor, N.Y.', Matching 'Ship,22, and Via Mexico in M.S. V.F.

HONOLULU JUNE 2d. 1850 . Heading on neat folded letter to Boston with bold orange San Francisco , Cal . pmk . and 'Ship 42' in MS. Extremely fine.

HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS in clear red circle . Clear San Francisco Cal. pmk . , matching '12' . "Ship A. Gibbs off Sandwich Is . Apr. 13, 1852" in MS . on buff cover to New Bedford. Piece skinned from center, not affecting markings .

HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN IS., NOV . 16, 1850 in two bold deep blue straight lines on fresh buff cover to Bostonq Clear orange San Francisco PMK and clear matching "80" . Negligible sealed tear , otherwise extremely fine .

FROM H. R. HARMER'S SALE OF FEB 17, 1970. We have two lots : FOUR HORSE STAGE COACH Cove:t in colors "OVERLAND, VIA LOS ANGELES:

10¢ (35) tied 'Benicia, Cal' to Neponsett, Mass . A beautiful cover - sold for

and 12¢ BLACK, DIGONAL BISECT USED AS 6¢ ON SMALL, NEAT COVER , evidently

from Calif. to Boston . Red "Via Nicaragua Ahead of the mails in octagon Bisect tied by "New York Ship 12 cts" . Ex Caspary

Page 42

90 . 00

90.00

145.00

45 . 00

2900.00

900.00

3000.00


----------------------------------------------------------------------------**************** * * ADVERTISEMENTS * * * **************** *

W A N T E D

MATERIAL FOR MY AUCTIONS

OR

WILL BUY OUTRIGHT

ROBERT LEWENTHAL

1700 Broadway

San Francisco, Calif. 94109

Telephone (415) 776-4767

ALWAYS WANT TO BUY

Choice u.s. stamps and covers

Autograph letters and documents of importance .

Old maps, broadsides, political, philatelic and numismatic items .

Regular auctions in New York City

FREE AMERICANA AND AUCTION LISTS TO MEMBERS OF WESTERN COVER SOC.

BRUCE GIMELSON FORT WASHINGTON INDUSTRIAL PARK

FORT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA 19034

Rates per issue are as follows: Full page $30.00; half page $15.00 quarter page $7.50; one7eighth page $4.00. Net. Mail Direct to: M. C. Nathan, Editor 94 Biscayne Drive San Rafael, Cali f .

STILL WANT TO BUY

WESTERNS - TERRITORIALS - RAILROAD COVERS

Particularly want California, all periods

Nevada, all periods

Oregon - Early through 1890's Plus Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Colo. Also fancy cancels, on or off cover.

WILL TRADE covers or older ·s.tamps of U.S . and

British Empire

Box 98

THIS

ROSS

Oakdale, Calif. 95361

SPACE FOR

SALE


----------------------------------------------------------------------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * : ADVERTISEMENTS :

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OLD U. S. COVERS ARE MY SPECIALTY WHAT DO YOU NEED

WRITE FOR

MY FREE

SPECIAL LISTS

* E. N. S A M P S 0 N

P. 0. Box 592 Bath, N. Y. 14810

OLD and RARE

BOOKS and PRINTS

BOUGHT SOLD

You are sure to find something in our large stock

of western material

Visic us when in San Fr~ncisco

J 0 H N H·o W· ELL 434 Post Street

San Francisco, California

"THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING"

For immediate action and

everlast ing satisfa·ction sell

your collection to us or through us.

* Over thirty years

of Happy Relationship with clients

is our best testimonial

ROBERT A. SIEGEL 10 East 52nd St .

New York, N. Y. , 10022

WANTED TO BUY - FOREIGN COVERS

We are especially interested in 19th century & early 20th century of the entire world , but will also buy 1st flight & first day covers of the more modern period.

We carry one of the largest stock of foreign covers and stamps in the U. S. Approvals sent per want lists .

UNITED STATES

We are also interested in buying worthwhile U. S. stamps and covers. Want lists also filled on these from our large stock.

WILLIAM 0 . BILDEN 801 Hennepin Avenue

Minneapolis, Minn. 55403

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THIS SPACE

FOR

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* ADVERTISEMENTS *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

U. S. COVERS

My stock of covers is strong

in all periods from stampless

to modern, Alabama to Wyoming.

What would you like to see ?

SALE References, please.

HENRY M. SPELMAN III

P.O. BOX 488

Lexington, Mass. 02173

WANTED CLASSIC 19th CENTURY - U. S. COVERS

FIRST DAYS STAMPLESS - TERRITORIAL - WESTERN - LOCALS

CONFEDERATES- CIVIL WAR PATRIOTICS- EXPRESSES

For My Outright Purchase, Consignment, or for My Public AUCTION Sales

AL ZIMMERMAN 843 Van Nest Ave. Bronx, N. Y. 10462

WESTERN EXPRESS -APRIL 1970 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

TILLAMOOK COUNTY

ILLINGWORTH. Established July 7 1 1896. This office was named for the Illingworth family, prominent local settlers. Illingworth post office was located on the Wilson River about 14 miles east of Tillamook.

19th Century Postmasters: James R. Harris 1 Earl Stanley, July 3, 1890.

Status: Illingworth post office was discontinued December 8 1 1899 I papers to Wilson .

Relative Scarcity of Illingworth Postmark Dates: 1896-1 899 - ----- 60.0

EMMA. Established December 16, 1896. Emma post office was named for Emma Chitwood, a local resident. The office was located on Neskowin Creek a bout 5 miles southeast of Neskowin in township 6 south, range 10 west.

19th Century Postmasters: John D. Chitwood.

Status: Emma post office was discontinued February 26, 1903 1 mail to Nesk owin.

Relative Scarcity of Emma Postmark Dates: 1896-1899 ------ 50.0

BALM. Established May 24 1 1897. Balm is reported to have been named for a variety of cottonwood tree sometimes called balm. The office was located on Foley Creek, not far from the mouth of that stream in township 3 north 1 range 10 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Everett R. Bales; Clay Daniel, Nov. 17 1 1898.

Status: The name of this office was changed to Mohler December 6, 1911.

Relative Scarcity of Balm Postmark Dates: 1897-1899-----37.5

SANDLAKE. Established January 18, 1898., by change of name from Hembree. The name of this office was changed to call attention to nearby Sand Lake, a small body of water near the Pacific shore. Sandlake post office was located near Sand Creek in township 3 south, range 10 west .

19th Century Postmasters:· Charles H. Colton; William C. King 1

May 9, 1898.

Status: Sandlake post office was discontinued in 1953.

Relative Scarcity of Sandlake Postmark Dates: 1898-1899 ----- 37.5

WESTERN EXPRESS - APRIL 1970 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

TILLAMOOK COUNTY (Continued)

SPRUCE. Established November 13 1 1894. Spruce post office was named for the Sitka spruce trees in the vicinity. This office was located about 12 miles south of Tillamook on the Coast Highway not far from the point where Beaver Creek branches into its East and West Forks .

19th Century Postmasters: Henry Peters.

Status: Spruce post office was discontinued May 3 I 19071 mail to Hemlock.

Re lative Scarcity of Spruce Postmark Dates: 1894-1895 - - - -- 50.0 1896-1899 - ---- 3 0. 0

FOLEY. Established December 27 1 1894 1 by change of name from Folley. This change was made to adjust the spelling of the post office name to that of the creek. See FOLEY for locational information.

19th Century Postmasters: Lydia J. Hoskins.

Status: Foley post office was discontinued July 13 I 1906~ mail to Balm.

Re lative Scarcity of Foley Postmark Dates: 1894- 1895 ----- 4 7. 5 1896-1897----- 30.0 1898-1899- ----- 20.0

RESORT. Established January 10 1 1896. Lula V. Mauritzen was appoi nted the first postmaster of Resort post office 1 but the order authorizing the office was rescinded March 24 I 1896 1 before it began actual operations.

WILSON. Established July 2 1 1896. Wilson post office was named for the Wilson River I which in turn was named for the pioneer who brought the first cows into Tillamook County and thus began the dairy industry there. This office was located some 25 miles upstream from Tillamook near the mouth of the North Fork of Wilson River in township 1 north 1 range 7 west.

19th Century Postmasters: Walter J. Smith; James F. Reeher 1 May 2 9 1 1899.

Status: Wilson post office was discontinued November 30 1 1917 I mail to Gales Creek.

Relative Scarity of Wilson Postmark Dates: 1896-1899 ----- 50.0

Western Cover Society | Western Express - April 1970...R.ESEAR.CH JOUR.N AL OF EAR.LY WESTER.N MAILS...

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Transcript of Western Cover Society | Western Express - April 1970...R.ESEAR.CH JOUR.N AL OF EAR.LY WESTER.N MAILS...