A large crowd attended the dedication of the new post office in the Howard County town of Elma on October 2, 1960. The ceremony included a performance from the high school band and choir, a flag-raising ceremony conducted by the Boy Scouts, and a unison Pledge of Allegiance and Star Spangled Banner. The brick and glass building was significant upgrade from the old facility, featuring more floor space, 264 lock boxes, air conditioning, and the latest postal equipment.
Over 1,000 residents in the Marion County town of Pella toured the post office on its opening day, April 26, 1937. The Pella Chronicle wrote the $55,000 post office “fills a long-felt need and it will now be possible to give even better service than before.” The article highlights the spacious lobby, efficient workspace, and damp-proof basement in addition to noting the postmaster’s “luxurious private office which was overflowing with flowers sent by well-wishers.”
Key features on the second level include the “Swing” room where employees may rest during their off-hours and the “peeping gallery,” a space used by postal inspectors for observing employees on the main floor without being seen themselves. Postal service was first established in Pella in 1845 as Lake Prairie.
The first post office in the Iowa County town in Millersburg opened in 1852 with Hugh B. Lynch appointed as the first postmaster. In the 1880s, the post office began sharing space with an ice cream parlor and drug store. Those businesses ultimately were phased out, but postal operations continued in the building for over a century. A new post office was constructed in June 1993, with a dedication held two months later. The modern facility was handicapped-accessible and featured new key-based boxes.
Postal service came to Sabula, Iowa’s only island town, in July 1837 under the moniker Carl Port. The post office station was quickly renamed to Charleston before a final change to Sabula in February 1846. The town’s first postmaster was William H. Brown, with mail delivery three times each week from the route between Dubuque and Davenport. The post office occupied a half-dozen different locations before moving to its present site in 1996.
Bayard was one of five Guthrie County communities to receive postal service in 1882, with the operations officially beginning at the first post office on March 20. Named after Delaware senator James A. Bayard, Jr., the town was founded a month earlier by the Milwaukee Land Company. Bayard was formally incorporated as a city on June 14, 1883.