Rare Gold Rush landmark in Auburn threatened by slowdown in business, Web use

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8/21/08 | comments | 378 views

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Rare Gold Rush landmark in Auburn threatened by slowdown in business, Web use

Half of ornate post boxes sitting empty at Old Town's Station A

By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer

Gus Thomson /Auburn Journal

Auburn's Joyce Wood makes a transaction at the Old Town post office. Station A has been serving Auburn from the same location since the Gold Rush era.

An Old Town institution is in need of more Auburn support.

Eleven years ago, Auburn residents mounted a successful drive to keep now-155-year-old Station A post office in Old Town open.

Linda Robinson, a member of the Old Town Business Association, said that support is now on the wane.

Business at the post office – one of the last remaining vestiges of the Gold Rush era – is down, she said.

People can help out by doing everything from buying stamps there to sending packages, Robinson said.

One of the important sources of revenue for the post office in the past has been post box rentals. The boxes are behind ornately decorated brass and glass doors. But only about half of the 219 boxes are now being rented, postal clerk Bob Harvey said Thursday.

The Old Town Business Association pays the rent on Station A as part of an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service to keep the post office open. Contractor Jackie Esry has provided staffing there since then.

“Postal service use is waning because of factors like the Internet but we don’t want this to go away,” Robinson said.

Esry said that there is no immediate threat that the post office will close but that support from the community because of a drop in business is needed to ensure it continues to operate.

Open Monday to Saturday, Station A provides most postal services. It was established July 21, 1853 – 155 years ago Thursday.

It’s become known as the oldest post office west of the Mississippi to be continually in operation from one location.

Asked about the other side of the wide river, Harvey said he’s certain that a fellow named Benjamin Franklin was responsible for establishing one there.

Locals rallied around the post office when it was threatened with closure because of low sales volume 11 years ago.

The interest is still there to preserve it, said Auburn resident Joyce Wood.

“I use this post office a lot and it would be very sad if we lost one of hour historical landmarks,” Wood said.

The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.