| Fact & Fantasy: A History of Tavistock & District | Postal Service - Page 87-89 |
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Postal Service Undoubtedly one of the worst aspects of life on the frontier in Upper Canada was the isolation. Immigrants have always been reluctant to leave their families and friend s, even today when modern communications such as the aeroplane, the telephone, radio and television permit ties with the homeland. For the immigrant of the 1840's the decision to emigrate involved a rude finality. Few could afford to pay a return visit. Even contact by mail was extremely slow and irregular and expensive. The Canadian Post Office began officially in 1763, when Benjamin Franklin, famous for his role in the American independence movement, was appointed the first Deputy Post master-General of Canada with offices at Quebec, Trois Rivieres and Montreal. He established a canoe and walking-courier service between Montreal and New York. The arrival of the V.E.L.'s into V.C. necessitated the ex tension of service beyond Montreal. A courier made one trip each winter on snowshoes as far as Detroit, carrying the year's mail. By 1816 service was more frequent, but there were only 16 post offices in the entire province. With the deterioration of British-American relations, it became necessary to bring most of the mail into Canada through Halifax. Between 180 I and 1840 , stage routes were set up to carry mail. The early roads were so bad that people were known to have walked from York to Kingston and to have arrived a day ahead of the stage. Hotels and stables with fresh horses were required every fifteen miles along the route. These usually formed the nucleus for a settlement, as well as an unofficial or way postoffice, where mail was left for personal pick-up. In Oxford County the outstanding example of such a post-office is Carrol's Tavern at Beachville; the office opened in 1791 but had no official postmaster until 185 I. Lists of unclaimed letters were posted at mills, hotels and other central places. After 1829 a similar way service was established in Fryfogel's inn near Shakespeare (Smith Bros. store at Bethel with mail coming in from Haysville by private callers - Tav. Gaz.) The few settlers in the Tavistock area before 1840 probably did not have a designated postal address, Mail was likely to arrive at Fryfogel's, or at Oxford (Ingersoll) opened in 1822, Galt before 1828, Stratford 1834, Woodstock 1835 or Wilmot (Haysville) 1837. News of what letters had arrived would be posted periodically in the tavern at Sebastopol and the recipient would then journey to the post office to see if his letter was worth claiming. For most settlers the arrival of mail was an infrequent and prohibitively costly occasion. Since postage was seldom paid by the sender the recipient had to pay about $ 1.1 2 for a one-sheet letter from England before he could claim it. When one considers the inflation prices between 1830 and the present, one can appreciate why many letters were never picked up at the post office. In spite of the great costs the mail was tremendously slow. A letter sent from Woodstock, V.C. to England in 1836 illustrates this isolation: " ... The Province from various circumstances is almost without money. Banks have for some time almost ceased to discount ... almost everything I do is on credit, and how long that credit may be, I cannot say ..... So write by way of New York. If you don't I shall not hear from you for at least six months after the letter leaves England, but in order to write by New York you must pay the postage to that place." After the building of several railroads, Canadian as well as international mail was delivered more quickly. Control of the Post Office Department was transferred to the Canadian government in 1851. initiating a much more liberal policy. The same year "3d, 6d. and 12d." tamps were issued by Canada but their use was optional and few people prepaid their mail. After 1858 when a surcharge of two pence was charged on letters if not prepaid, the practice became standard. Between 1850 and 1860, the number of post offices almost tripled. Many of these opened at fuel stops along the right of way. Along the Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway , office opened at Richwood, Drumbo, Bright, Ratho and Tavistock. These offices increased in number until 1912; Oxford boasted the following: 1830 - 3; 1850 - 10; 1867 - 44; 1880 - 58; ]912 - 75 ; 1915 - 33; 1940 - 30; 1967 - 26.The figures show the results of a revolutionary change in mail delivery affecting the number of post offices and in many cases the existence of the hamlets involved. The introduction of rural mail delivery was the invention of a native of Oxford County (Farmers could have their mail delivered to their gate by purchasing a mail box from the authorities for $3). The hamlet offices became superfluous and were closed. Below is a brief tabular history of area post offices, taken from the Canada Post Office records, Much information remains to be discovered in this field. Tavistock post office was opened on July 1, 1857. John J. Voelker was the first postmaster. The exact location is not known, but it was in South Easthope Township. Voelker was perhaps a general merchant or an hotelkeeper, the usual primary occupations. Postal records show that mail was delivered from Woodstock to Shakespeare and Stratford after November 1, 1852. Probably Tavistock had an unofficial post office with Voelker or Eckstein in charge from 1852 to 1857. The name of Inkerman was changed to Tavistock, the reason is uncertain, but it was almost certainly the work of the Department. The original name of Freiburg was already being used by a post office in Waterloo. There is still an Inkerman in Eastern Ontario. Later under Fred Krug, the post office was located on the south side of his Glasgow Warehouse, with entrance at the side door facing east. (see picture). About 1900 the present quarters were occupied. (Dr. Steele, member for South Perth in 1912 was able to have a law passed enabling the placing of letter boxes at the stations for late mailing.) The postmasters were: John J. Voelker 1/6/1857 The Cassel post office was opened on June 1, 1874. Under Loth and Junker it was located in the Commercial Hotel, the present residence of Mr. & Mrs. Chris L. Ruby, Later It was located in the general store on the opposite corner. On November 1, 1914 it became . a victim of rural mail delivery , Mrs. Sarah Armstrong being the last incumbent. The area is now served by R.R. 1, Bright and R.R. 1, Tavistock. The postmasters were: John Loth, Jr. 1/6/1874 Maplewood post office existed between January 1, 1874 and March 31, 1916. Its location was the general store, now occupied by Mr. Carl Wettlaufer. The postmasters were: Christopher G. Bean 1/1/1874 The Strathallan post office opened on April 1, 1865 , and served what was then a bustling community. When the Pt. Dover and Lake Huron Railway bypassed the hamlet, most of the businesses and residents moved to the new station of Hickson. The post office was closed on January I, 1899, the first one in Oxford County to close permanently after 1847. John Lappin 1/4/1865 Hickson village was essentially a rail head for Strathallan (the nature of the land had forced the railway line farther to the east of Strathallan). Its post office was opened on July I , 1883, with Miss Susan Vance as postmistress. She was followed by: Levi Elsley 1/7/1887 The office is now located in the former R.G. Nichol Store, but had at one time been across the street in Calder and Parker's Store. About 1852, five years before Tavistock's, a post office was opened at Shakespeare. It is quite possible that an office known as Bell's Corners opened here on March 6, 1849 and that the name was changed in 1852. (The story is told of a resident who had to walk 15 miles to Haysville to get his mail, but not having the necessary postage could not claim it, but did get the privilege of reading it, only to be resummoned for the same letter a month later.) Mail was delivered from Woodstock until July I, 1853, when a Stratford to Woodstock service was initiated. It was commonplace here to deliver letters directly to the station for sorting in the mail car. The postmasters were: William Cossey in 1853 Harmony post office was opened March 1, 1867 and closed December 31, 1890. This is an early date for closing, and the reason is not clear. Possibly they were unable to hire a new postmaster, as postal records show that a vacancy occurred on October 3, 1890 and the office was closed about two months later. The postmasters were: Edmund Corbett 1/3/1867  REFERENCES:
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