Since postal service was first established in the Wright County community of Rowan in 1884, no one has served as Postmaster longer than Mrs. Nellie Hyde. Hyde was first appointed to the role on July 23, 1920, under the direction of then Postmaster General Albert Burleson. At the time of her appointment, her father Authur Emerson was a rural mail carrier based in Rowan, who started his career carrying mail by mule. Hyde served as Postmaster for nearly 33 years before her retirement on June 30, 1953.

The Wright County Monitor reported on Hyde’s last day of service, a large group of citizens gathered at the closing hour to wish her well. On behalf of the community, they presented her with a “fish pole that she might accompany her husband on his fishing trips and a large can of bait, which proved to be a large amount of money donated by the patrons of the local office as a token of esteem for her service to the public the last 33 years.” Hyde was preceded by Mrs. Loretta M. Steffens who held the Postmaster position at the Rowan Post Office for the next 21 years.