Postal service was established in the Tama County town of Elberon in January 1882, with Nathaniel L. Brown appointed the city’s first postmaster. He operated the office from his general store, with mail original delivered from Belle Plaine twice weekly. On April 10, 1882, mail began being delivered via the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Rail stop in Elberon. The post office served its longest tenure in an old bank building, from 1937 to 1981. The current post office facility opened January 17, 1985.
The Traer County town of Buckingham was one of 34 communities in the state of Iowa to lose its post office in 2011. Doors were closed for the last time on Friday, November 18, as the office was shuttered after 111 years of continuous operation. The 253-square-foot building was constructed specifically for post office use in 1959 by then-postmaster Roger Messerly.
This modest red-and-white welcome sign sits along the Lincoln Highway in the Tama County town of Montour. Established as Orford in 1863, the name was changed to Montour a decade later. The name Montour either came from a city in New York or county in Pennsylvania. Both originate from the Montours, a French-Indian family who were known as being very helpful to early European settlers.
Daniel Connell was the first postmaster at the Gladbrook Post Office, which debuted in the Tama County town in June 1880. Rural free delivery was first established in 1902, with early carriers traveling by horse and buggy. The post office moved to its present location in December 1, 1961, with a dedication and open house held the following year. The open house featured orange drink and coffee furnished by local businesses and the Borden Dairy. The post office has 348 boxes.
The Elberon United Methodist Church can trace its history to 1883, when a few families held services in homes in the Tama County community. As the number of families grew, more space was needed, and in 1884, the church held services in a school house on the west edge of town. The current building was dedicated six years later; a basement was added in 1920, and significant interior improvements were made in the late 1950s. The church, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, shares a pastor with churches in Van Horne and Norway.
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