Allen County, Indiana Genealogy

In 1820, the national government recognized the growing importance of Fort Wayne by establishing the first post office...

Posted by The History Center on Monday, February 18, 2019

Monday, February 18, 2019 post by The History Center on Facebook:

In 1820, the national government recognized the growing importance of Fort Wayne by establishing the first post office to serve Allen County. The first postmaster of Fort Wayne, Benjamin B. Kercheval, was appointed on February 4, 1820. As Kercheval declined to serve, Samuel Hanna became the first man to serve Fort Wayne as postmaster, holding this post from 1820-1825. Another citizen to hold the position of postmaster, from 1825-1831, was prominent local businessman Allen Hamilton. John G. Maier served as postmaster from 1853-1861. Today Kathryn Harris serves as the 36th Postmaster of Fort Wayne and Allen County. Though established nearly 70 years earlier, the first building constructed for use as U.S. Post Office and Federal Building did not open to the public until 1889. Located at the corner of southeast corner of Clinton and Berry Streets, the new post office filled the area left following the destruction of First Presbyterian by fire in 1882. Built out of sandstone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, this impressive post office served the citizens of Fort Wayne and Allen County until the completion of the new South Harrison Street U.S. Post Office and Federal Building in 1932. After 35 years, the Post Office vacated the Federal Building in 1987, moving into larger quarters located at 1500 South Clinton. 198 years after its establishment in Fort Wayne, the Post Office continues to faithfully serve the people of Fort Wayne and Allen County.

Visit The History Center to see our new temporary display entitled, Handling Our Mail - The United States Post Office: Serving Allen County Since 1820. #sociallyhistory

1889 U.S. Post Office on the corner East Berry and Clinton Streets posted October 15, 2023 by Randy Harter on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook

Street View photo from Google Maps. Downtown USPS occupies the former 19th century Pennsylvania Railroad complex area at 1501 South Clinton Street.

We were at the downtown post office this afternoon and reminded of this blog post by Tom Castaldi: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-pennsy-shops.html

Posted by The History Center on Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 post by The History Center on Facebook:

We were at the downtown post office this afternoon and reminded of this blog post by Tom Castaldi: The Pennsy Shops

From the blog: Fort Wayne ceased to make locomotives after World War I, and much of the work at the Pennsy Shops was given to repair and overhaul. When locomotive rebuilding in Fort Wayne ended in 1933, the shops continued to build passenger cars. Still, the shops declined sharply after World War II. Finally, in 1953 the last of the railroad operations closed, and by 1966 all the property had been abandoned; the roundhouse, the last vestige of the Pennsy Shops, was razed in 1984.

See our Pennsyvlania Railroad page.

Newspaper photo of the tearing down of the Pennsylvania Railroad buildings posted November 10, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

From today's Writer's Almanac: Fifty years ago today, in 1963, the United States Postal Service introduced ZIP codes. "...

Posted by The History Center on Monday, July 1, 2013

Monday, July 1, 2013 post by The History Center on Facebook:

From today's Writer's Almanac:

Fifty years ago today, in 1963, the United States Postal Service introduced ZIP codes. "ZIP" stands for "Zone Improvement Plan" — designed to make sorting and delivering mail more efficient. The first three digits represent the part of the country the mail is going to, and the last two identify the post office within that region.

In 1983, the U.S. Postal Service rolled out "ZIP + 4," which added a hyphen and four additional digits. The first two digits of the addendum stand for a specific group of streets or cluster of large buildings, and the last two narrow it down further, specifying one side of the block or even one floor in a large building.

ZIP codes start with zero in the Northeast and get bigger as one moves south and west. There are more than 42,000 ZIP codes in the United States.

December 15, 2016 post by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook:

For "Throwback Thursday" we share this article from The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette regarding the "new" downtown post office. If you recall we shared a picture of the Hofer brothers back on September 15th surveying the site in the fall of 1975.

The land was bordered by Lafayette, Brackenridge and Barr streets and Douglas Avenue and lots south of the block extending on Lafayette Street to the Penn Central railroad tracks. It was shared December 15, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

See Old US Post Office.