Osceola Post Office
The first U.S. Mail came to Clarke County by horseback and stage coach. It is probably a toss-up as to who had the first post office, Hopeville or Osceola. At one time there were 31 post offices in the county, now, we have three -- Osceola, Murray, and Woodburn.
According to Marie White, local historian, Osceola's post office in 1854 was near the northeast corner of West Washington and North Fillmore Streets where our Fire Station and City Hall are now located. It was connected to the E. M. Lawes Drug Store. In 1890, the Post Office was near the southwest corner of South Main and West Jefferson Streets.
In 1900, the Osceola Post Office was in a wood frame building on South Main Street where the Friday Insurance Agency is currently located. For many years it was located in the 100 block of North Main Street where the American State Branch Bank is presently situated. The fire of 1916 at the Bond Jewelry Store destroyed several buildings and damaged the Post Office. The postal records were saved, but the office needed refurbishing. It temporarily moved to the Pritchett Opera House, now known as the Law Building, at the southwest corner of West Jefferson and South Fillmore Streets, while repairs were made to the North Main Street location.
The present Osceola Post Office was built by the Works Project Administration (WPA) in 1935 during the depths of the Great Depression. The Osceola building site had been vacant for many years and was used as a free tourist camp. William Ridgeway established Osceola’s first funeral home at this location in 1866.
A celebration on July 20, 1935 marked the laying of the Post Office cornerstone by the Grand Masons of Iowa. Callahan’s Band performed followed by a parade of civic and patriotic organizations. Seated under a canopy were surviving members of the G.A.R.., Soldier’s Widows, and invited guests. The Post Office cornerstone contains a brass casket that was made by E. E. Obel and holds records and histories of Clarke County, Osceola Schools, Osceola Masonic Lodge #77 AF and AM, Osceola Commercial Club, Civic League, Osceola Public Library, Women’s Relief Corps, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Farm Bureau, PTA, Ophir Chapter of Eastern Star, Women’s Club, K.P.E.O. Chapter, Daughters of Union Veterans, Boy Scout Troop 101, Happy Thought Club, Churches, Official Register of Iowa, newspapers, highway map, engineer and contractor statements, stamps, cancelled postal cards, photos of Fire Department members, a list of Post Office employees, picture of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the Holy Bible. Joe Goodman was Post Master.
The design of the Osceola Post Office was duplicated in many parts of the country. A mural on the north inside wall of our Post Office lobby was created by a WPA artist depicting the coming of the B and M Railroad to Osceola in 1868. An addition was added to the south side of the Osceola Post Office in 1968.
Many Osceola citizens have had careers at the Osceola Post Office, too many to mention. Mike Macy was a former Osceola Assistant Postmaster, who worked under Postmaster Larry Haggie. Mike left Osceola to become a Postal Inspector, and rose through the levels of postal employment to become a National District Manager. At that level, he held one of 77 National District Manager positions. Mike Macy is now retired from the U.S. Postal Service and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Former Osceola Postmasters since 1955 include Larry Haggie, Sam Edgington, Hazel Showman, Dennis Van Gorp, Leland Crawford, and Mike Durrell. Cindy Phillips is the current Postmaster.