Vigo County Historical Society

Mr. Smith rode early in postal history

In the entrance hall of the museum hangs a very old photograph of a young dark-haired man, his face staring out from an oval frame.

A museum notation states simply: "Mr. Smith, the first local postman to deliver mail by horse and buggy." As with many of the museum’s treasures, the photograph stands as a sign post to a broader segment of our county’s history.

Investigation into the life of "Mr. Smith," for example, leads into the Historical Society’s Post Office file which provides a look at the simple beginnings and evolution of a service many of us take for granted today.

In these times of overnight express, fax machines and six-day delivery, it’s hard to imagine the area’s first post office which was actually the military post office at Fort Harrison. Established Dec. 4, 1817, it was run by store manager Curtis Gilbert.

When Vigo County was established in 1818, Gilbert was elected auditory-recorder and clerk of the court. He moved government offices, including the postal operation, to his home located at the site where today stands the "Old Jail" near Fairbanks Park. In that same year, John M. Coleman became the first official Postmaster of the Terre Haute Post Office, which began immediate expansion.

In 1820, the stage line from Vincennes began to carry mail to and from Terre Haute. In 1828 the stage line from Terre Haute to Lafayette transferred mail between those two towns. The 1840s saw the heyday of the colorful Pony Express and by 1850 the Great Western Stage line and the railroads carried mail in all directions from Terre Haute.

Throughout these years, all shipments were to central stations; persons receiving mail had to pick it up from the local post office. In fact, ladies often used the mail station as a place to socialize.

It’s surprising to note that the postage rate 150 years ago was the same as today’s rate--25 cents--with a strange twist. In 1836, there were no stamps. The 25 cents postage fee was paid by the received!

Understandably, people often advised friends and relatives to refrain from corresponding unless their letters contained vital information. Others scrutinized return addresses carefully to decide whether or not to accept delivery at all. (With the present deluge of "junk mail," some postal patrons might long for the return of that system>)

Free city delivery did not begin in Terre Haute until 1879. Postage had become much more reasonable, down to 2 cents per ounce for first-class mail; this time payable by the sender.

Research suggests that while "Mr. Smith" may not have been one of the original eight carriers, he was one of the early ones, very likely the David H. Smith appointed by Postmaster David C. Greiner sometime between 1889 and 1903.

In a 1904 "Official Directory of the Terre Haute Post Office," David H. Smith is listed as the only "Mounted Collector." Four times per day he collected mail from Street Letter Boxes located between the Wabash River and 14th Street, and between Poplar Street and the Vandalia Line.

Whether he was also the first to deliver mail by horse and buggy, or whether his job at collecting from boxes with his horse-drawn wagon became rearranged at some point in oral history, we do not at present know. We do know that time marches on, and the post office file continues to grow.

On March 20, 1989, the Terre Haute Post Office welcomed a new postmaster, Viki Brennan. She should know that as she entered her new role, she entered the Vigo County historical record as well, filed under "Post Office," with the significant distinction of being the first woman to hold that position in Terre Haute history.