"A History of the Post Offices of Jamestown, NY," Fenton Historical Society of Jamestown, NY, 1966.
Fenton Historical Society:  http://www.fentonhistorycenter.org/

A History of the Post Offices of

Jamestown, New York

Jamestown's First Post Office

On Dec. 30, 1816, as reported in the USPO records, and when, as Spofford says "the settlement at Jamestown consisted of thirty houses, two stores and a few mills", the first Post Office was established. (McMahon says, "There were less than a dozen families"; Young says the date is Dec. 13 and Hatch puts it on the 15th.)

    No photographs of the first location have been found, but this clear description is set out by Dr. Hazeltine:

"Dr. Jediah and Martin Prendergast, in the spring of 1814 bought of their brother James a lot on the northwest corner of Main and First streets and erected thereon a store 20 by 45 feet, one and a half stories in height, covered with clapboards on the outside. There was in the east end facing Main street a stout battened door in the south corner, and in the center a large window and a smaller one above; and on the south side facing First street two large windows with a door between...on pine blocks, never painted, but was substantial and large for the purpose intended."

In this, the first store in Jamestown, the first Post Office was established.  The first quarter's business ending April 1, 1817 was $5.54.

 The First Postmaster   

Judge James Prendergast, a federal magistrate, was named as the first Postmaster. Thomas Disher, a clerk in the store was his assistant. Prendergast served until Oct. 15, 1824.

The Early Post Offices

    Many well known names, whose contributions to Jamestown's history became prominent in the succeeding years will be found among those who served as Postmasters.

    When Judge Prendergast resigned he recommended Dr. Laban Hazeltine, the second settled physician in Jamestown, as his successor. The office was then removed to the one-story dwelling of the doctor-postmaster, on the west side of Main street half way between First and Second streets.

    The Third Postmaster was Dr. Elial T. Foote, the first physician in Jamestown. He was named on May 20, 1829 and moved the post office to his drug store, a one-story building, 16 by 30 feet, which stood on the east side of Main on the south part of lot number 6, about 40 feet north of Second street. This store was burned on March 18, 1837 and the office was moved the next day to a brick building on the east side of lot number 10 on the east side of Main at the northeast corner of Main and Third streets. Here the post office remained during the twelve years of Dr. Foote's term. He was the first postmaster in the county to use engraved letter stamps. They had been burned in the fire in 1837 but he procured a new set at once.

    The fourth Postmaster was Alvin Plumb, an early merchant of Jamestown. He was appointed on June 8, 1841 and removed the office into a brick building on the same lot facing on Main street built by him and others in 1831.

    A druggist, Joseph Kenyon, was the fifth postmaster. He retained the location of the post office in the same building.

    The sixth man to hold the office was an attorney, Franklin H. Wait, who was appointed on October 4, 1844. He moved the post office to stone building erected by his father Joseph Wait in 1828 at the southwest corner of West Third street and Mechanics Alley.

    A former postmaster at Barcelona, NY, Eliphalet L. Tinker was named as the seventh postmaster on July 22, 1848.

    The eighth man to serve was Smith Seymour. He was appointed on May 29, 1849 and remained in office for four years. He operated the Post Office in the old Ballard Tavern, a building of wood, two stories high and erected in 1815.

    The ninth postmaster was Rufus Pier. He was a pioneer hatter of Jamestown and held office from May 23, 1853 for five years.

Charles L. Harris, tavern keeper and merchant, was the tenth postmaster.  He moved the office to a store on the west side of Main just south of Second Street.

    An early Jamestown chair maker, Robert V. Cunningham, was appointed June 25, 1861 and retained the Post Office in the same location as his predecessor.

    Abner Hazeltine, Jr. succeeded him on June 16, 1865 and served until April 15, 1869 when Henry J. Yates was appointed. He held office until in 1874 he was succeeded by Alexander Clark. The Post Office at that time was located at 211 North Main Street.

    The fifteenth Postmaster, Adolphus B. Fletcher, moved the office to the northwest corner of West Third street and Mechanics alley, the building known as the Gokey Building.

    Major E. P. Putnam succeeded Fletcher and held the office for 18 months. The next to serve as Postmaster was C. E. Weeks. He moved the office to the northeast corner of West Third and Cherry streets. L. L. Hanchett was the next Postmaster and he was succeeded by P. K. Shankland. He in turn was succeeded by E. H. Bemus.

The Post Office At West Third and Washington Streets

    James T. Larmouth was appointed as the 21st Postmaster on March 14, 1902. During his term of office, on October 1, 1904, the Post Office began operating from its new home on the northwest corner of West Third and Washington streets.

    In 1923 the wing on the north of the main building was constructed providing additional floor space which was used as a main workroom area. Prior to this, because of congestion at the Main Office, Station "A" was established on February 20, 1920 and was located at the northeast corner of South Main and Harrison streets. On August 1, 1932 Station "A" was moved to the Donelson building at Forest avenue and Fenton place.

    On July 25, 1932 the Parcel Post Annex was opened in the Erie Railroad Depot building and the handling of all parcel post was transferred there from the Main Office.

    In 1926 there had been extensive changes in the lobby of the Main Post Office when an area previously used for letter drops, parcel post, Civil Service and General Delivery windows was converted from workroom area to lobby space. An additional group of lock boxes were also installed.

The New Federal Building  

 Oliver K. Palm was appointed as the twenty-eighth Postmaster on August 11, 1955 and it was during his term of office that construction was started on the new US Federal Building and Post Office in January 1959. The site at East Third and Prendergast Avenue had been purchased in 1940 prior to World War II at a cost of $148,135. Post war shortages and lack of appropriations delayed the building program until 1958 when Congress provided funds for the new Jamestown building.

    After Oliver K. Palm's untimely death in December 1959, Frank G. Shosenburg was appointed Acting Postmaster and it was during this term that the Post Office was moved to it's present site on December 8, 1960.

    The new Federal building has a total gross floor area of 83,887 sq. ft. The Post Office has 38,960 sq. ft. of this area, the balance being allocated to other Federal agencies. The total cost of the structure was $1,838,235.

    On June 5, 1965 the Jamestown Sectional Center Facility was enlarged to include 29 additional offices in Allegany and Cattaraugus counties, making a total of 75 offices served by this Sectional Center in Jamestown.

* - no month given

This pamphlet was prepared on the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the first post office and the appointment of the first postmaster, December 30, 1816.

By the Fenton Historical Society of Jamestown, New York, December, 1966.

10/31/2003

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