The Centralia Post Office is a federal post office in Centralia, Washington. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1991.
Centralia's post office history began with delivered mail possibly as early as 1851, with an official post office created in 1857 that was located at Fords Prairie under the name, Skookumchuck. Before the federal post office was constructed, the mail center shifted locations more than a dozen times and often in just a year's time. As the city of Centralia was formed, post office locations became more stable but continued to relocate. With exception of a brief closure between 1865 and 1866, the Centralia post office system has operated continuously since October 1854.
The Centralia MPO, as it is listed in the NRHP form, was completed in 1937 after several attempts to provide a permanent post office building to the city. Featuring Tenino sandstone details, the $76,000 red brick structure's architecture is considered Moderne and Starved classical. The one-story building is noted for its sandstone relief panels featuring important modes of transportation of the time and a large granite stairway. The interior features a large mural, Industries of Lewis County, created by Kenneth Callahan. Outside of necessary upgrades and renovations for issues relating to age or lack of space, the post office is considered to be in a mostly unaltered state.
The federal building is located near two NRHP-listed sites, the Centralia Downtown Historic District and the sculpture, The Sentinel, located across from the post office in George Washington Park.
History
Early post offices in Centralia Settlers received their mail in the 1840s by traveling to Fort Vancouver. Mail delivery in the area before Centralia was officially created is reported as beginning as early as 1851 with delivery by mule noted in 1854. With road improvements in what was then known as the Cowlitz Corridor between Fort Vancouver and New Market, the first official post office was the Skookumchuck Post Office, formed on October 10, 1857 under postmaster Charles Van Wormer at Fords Prairie, serving the early community of Centralia and surrounding homesteads.
Over the next decade, the post office moved numerous times under several postmasters. In 1863, the office was relocated around under postmaster William F. Donk, only for the location to move back to the Skookumchuck site three months later under Robert Huss. Another postmaster, Robert Brown, shifted the post office near the Thurston-Lewis county line in 1864, remaining at the location until the office was discontinued on September 29, 1865; the reasons for the closure have been lost. Centralia residents received their mail at Claquato after the closure with deliveries marked "in care of Grand Mound".
Postmaster James Frame reopened the post office in May 11, 1866, near Fort Borst once again. The post office moved to the home of James and Mary Tullis in July 1867, located at First Street and Euclid Way. The Tullis family shifted the location of the post office several times under their stewardship. The mail service, under postmaster Isaac Wingard, was moved in 1873 to Main Street and Tower Avenue, then known as Front Street, only to be relocated by a new postal manager, Clanrick Crosby Jr., the next year to a different block on Tower Avenue. The 1874 location began using the Centralia name.
Centerville was officially platted in 1875, with the town officially changing its name to Centralia in 1883 due in part to mail delivery confusion as a Centerville existed in eastern Washington. After a change in postmaster duties to William Woodham in 1885, the location was changed to another Tower Avenue site in 1886 under David Fouts. The remaining years in the 1880s saw postmaster duties change to John T. Shelton and Francis M. Rhodes, who oversaw the beginnings of money orders in the city; the first money order, totaling $6, was sold on August 12, 1890.
Up until 1890, the Centralia post offices were considered fourth class but graduated to third level status under Henry M. Ingraham. He moved the office once more to a building on West Pine Street. During the decade, postmaster appointments shifted to John Laraway and then Colonel John M. Benedict.
Benedict moved the office in February 1907 to the Gingrich store at Tower and Main, while overseeing expansion of delivery services and routes as well as accomplishing a postal ranking of second class in 1907. The increase in status allowed the post office to gain more funding, which was used for light fixtures and a "burglar and fire proof" safe. The additional funds also allowed free mail delivery to city residents. The office at the new location, known as the McNitt block, was divided in two, a section for mail operations and a lobby for customers. The larger venue allowed for additional post office boxes as well as the retention of boxes from the prior post office, increasing the number to 760. The new location was considered modern and boasted several amenities, costing approximately $3,000, that had not been available at the prior post office.
Benedict's son, John, succeeded his father's postmaster position in 1911 and began a postal savings accounts while continuing his father's efforts in the expansion of mail services. The lease at the Gingrich location expired in early 1912 and a postal inspector required a new location with additional floor space. The announcement for rental bids provided numerous details and demands, including furnishings, floorplans, and specifics on location that had to be both close to the Centralia depot and the downtown business section. A new building was constructed on West Main Street and the entire post office was transferred overnight, opening the new location without interruption on May 1, 1912. The $12,000 structure offered quicker services due to partitioned areas and boasted expensive oak details and furnishings. The post office was reported as a "dandy" and that the old post office would be quickly forgotten. An official dedication ceremony, part of the town's "Hub City Festival", was held at the end of the month.
Despite the new location, a bill was introduced in 1915 to procure $150,000 in funds for an official federal post office building in Centralia. The West Main Street building was not owned by the Centralia Post Office and in August 1916, ownership was traded by A.W. Caveness as part of package for a farm in Independence, Oregon.
Delivery by truck was introduced in 1915 and John Benedict, Jr. passed postmaster responsibilities to T.H. McClenry who served until 1922. First class was achieved under the next postmaster, Harry L. Bras, who was succeeded by William F. Scales in 1926. Postmaster Al K. Filson was appointed in 1934.
The office, under a five-year lease, moved again in early 1922 to a "garage building" next to city hall on West Locust Street; the rental agreement renewed annually afterwards, under the condition that a permanent federal office would be built by 1934. With a lack of a government mail facility being erected by that time, the mail station was able to remain at the Locust Street location under a continuing yearly rental agreement, remaining optional per annum until the federal building was completed.
Centralia Post Office Requests for the build of a federal post office began in 1931, with an allocation of $110,000. Legislation was introduced in 1933 by House Representative Martin F. Smith to call for official action, with specific concerns over local economic depression and civic pride.
A site for the structure was not chosen until 1935. The lot cost $6,500 with architectural plans for the building being finalized by the end of that year. The supervising architect was Louis A. Simon, a federal employee. Sandstone from Tenino was specifically requested as the main material for the façade though the demand was scaled back; use of the sandstone was to be limited to detail work. In March 1936, the design was publicly announced, with the $100,000 structure to be made of red brick. It was deemed "handsome" and simple in design, and contained "no decorative flourishes or fancy gewgaws" that might "mar" the style of the post office exterior. The contractor, Olympia-based Harry Boyer and Sons, was the low bidder at $62,000 and construction began in July. The post office was one of several Works Progress Administration projects in the city at the time, including an armory, a college gymnasium, golf course, and a viaduct. Upwards of 30 men worked on the construction.
Construction was interrupted for brief periods, due to materials not yet approved by the government or weather-related issues, but work was restarted in February 1937. After an open house attended by approximately 1,500 people at the end of June, the Centralia Post Office was opened on July 1, 1937 under postmaster Al Filson. Built at a final cost of $96,000, the mail room was admittedly still incomplete, mostly due to a delay in the shipment of necessary furniture for mail processing. The opening was considered an 80th anniversary of post offices in the community, coinciding with the original 1857 Skookumchuck office.
A dedication ceremony was held on October 15, 1937 led by Postmaster General James A. Farley, whose address was broadcast live on radio station KVI. The postponement was due to the accommodation to Farley's schedule. Farley made remarks on Centralia's post office history, defended postal spending deficits and the high cost of federal post office construction projects, discussed communication competition due to the increasing use of the telephone, and spoke of the economic and social benefits that new post offices provided. United States House Representative Martin F. Smith and Senator Homer Bone were speakers and numerous heads of government agencies and local political leaders were in attendance. The construction costs, including furnishings and fixtures, were recorded at $76,377. The Centralia Post Office was the first, and only remaining, federal building constructed in the city as of the 1991 NRHP nomination.
Due to continuing issues of overcrowding and lack of space, mail operations and deliveries were shifted to an annex located at the Port of Centralia, which was completed in August 1999. Customer and retail services remained at the post office. A considered bonus of the move was the increase in parking due to the lack of delivery trucks at the office.
The United States Postal Service placed the Centralia Post Office for sale in September 2009 as part of a nationwide effort to offset losses from a poor economy in the leadup to the Great Recession, as well as competition from the internet. Several post offices in the state were also considered for sale. Had the transaction been completed, the post office was planned to either move into a store front with limited services or mail deliveries would have been contracted to another entity. The sale was reported as "quietly shelved" by August 2011.
Postal services history
Class Centralia post offices were listed as fourth class until achieving third class status in 1890. The post office graduated to second class by exceeding the $8,000 threshold in 1905. The Centralia MPO became the second post office in Lewis County to achieve the ranking, following the post office in Chehalis. In 1926, the Centralia post office reached $40,000 in receipts, surpassing the minimum mark to achieve first class status. The graduation was official in July 1927.
Delivery The first free rural mail service route was begun on October 2, 1905; delivery for city residents started on May 15, 1908. Parcel post was introduced in 1913 and by 1931, the Centralia Post Office was responsible for three rural routes.
Notable events and incidents