History, name changes, of area post offices

I used to have an abundance of tea towels…..you know, those wonderful white kitchen towels that often were embroidered with cute little “days of the week” sunbonnet girls. I always felt sorry for Wednesday’s girl: Full of Woe. While I never became a needlework expert, the void was filled by many others in the family, the last, my sister-in-law’s mother, Dora Wissler, who is no doubt stitching for the angels now. While there are many examples of doilies and dresser sets that survived the years, tea towels were meant to be used and so when thread bare made their way into the rag bag and, like the pillow cases so lovingly stitched, are gone.

Frontier county had a head start on Red Willow, having been organized on January 17, 1872, when our area was just seeing its first group of family settlers. Named after the area in which it was located, the frontier, the county seat, Stockville, was named by Samuel Watts, an early settler, commemorating the cattlemen and ranchers that lived there.

Many books and journals cover the colorful history of Frontier county, several of which are available at the SWNGS library. The following information on post offices in Frontier county was taken from the SWNGS website: www.swngs.org awhich is free for everyone to use.

Afton post office existed from 1874 to 1893 and is suspected to have been named after Afton, Iowa. Bartonville, after the first postmaster, Robert Barton, ran only one year from 1885 to 1886. Centerpoint was actually a town named for the fact that it was in the center of Frontier county. The post office opened in 1901 and closed in 1919. Colebank, possibly named for C. C. Colebank who had a store in the area, had a short, one-year life from 1909 to 1910. Cupid, 4 years in existence 1885-1889, would probably have been as popular post mark as Valentine, if still working today.

Curtis, named after a trapper who lived on Curtis creek, had a peak population of 1166 in 1910. The current location of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, a widely recognized institution, Curtis post office opened its’ doors on April 11, 1877.

Earl, named for the postmaster’s son, Earl Childs, was established in 1884 and closed the doors in 1916. Equality, 1875-1882, is suspected to have been named to honor the equality for slaves gained by the Civil War. Essex, settled by English immigrants, was established in 1896 and moved to Gosper county in 1906. Eustis, peak population of 460 in 1980, was named after a railroad agent, P.S. Eustis but the post office, 1896, originally was named Sommerset. Fandon, possible name sake of Fandon, New York, lasted twelve years 1886-1887. Freedom, again perhaps a reference to the Civil War, post office had a one-year life 1886-1887. Havana, a possible reference to Havana, Cuba, was in existence nearly 20 years, 1899-1918. Hopewell only operated one year, 1886-1887, while Hunt, named for the first postmaster, Isaac Hunt, and located in his store, distributed mail from 1905 to 1916.

Nebraska’s largest silica mine was located near Kingston which was a station on the railway line close to Eustis. Charles Knowles was the first postmaster for Knowles, established in 1884 and closed in 1886.

Maywood, originally known as Laird but changed due to the already established Laird, Colorado on the rail line, had a peak population in 1920 of 533. Named appropriately after the original landowners’ daughter, May Wood, the post office opened in 1881. Moody post office ran less than a year in 1886. Moorefield, originally Moore’s Field after the landowner, had a post office in 1886. Norris post office couldn’t decide what county it belonged to having moved to Frontier county in 1907 and back to Hays county in 1927. Orafino, 1880-1953, has either a Swedish origin or Spanish influence for iron pyrites found there. Osborn 1879-1913 was named for the postmaster, David Osborn. Quick, 1887-1945 also got the name from the postmaster, M. W. Quick. Rimmer was a community existing in the 1890’s. Russell 1883-1899 may have been named after an early settler, James F. Russell. Religion played a part in the naming of the Saint Ann post office which ran from 1903 to 1944. Saint Ann church also had a store next to it. Steuben, a name of German origin, only lasted two years as a post office, 1885-1887. Stowe, 1878-1893, assumed to be named after Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thornburg, another post office that moved between Hays and Frontier counties 1888-1924 and Zimmer, a 10-year post office, 1888-1898, round out the early named places of Frontier county.

This, and much more information on southwest Nebraska, can be accessed on our web site. Our library remains closed until the Covid 19 rules are lifted.