Residents in the Delaware County town of Ryan gathered Saturday, February 4, 1961, to tour the new community’s new post office building. The Cedar Rapids Gazette‘s preview of the open house highlighted the two lobbies in the building – one for service, the other for lock boxes. The 1,080-square-feet brick and masonry building featured all new equipment and a rear loading dock. Postal service was first established in Ryan in April 1884.
In 1998, the post office moved to a dedicated facility for the first time in its 125-year-old history. After sharing space with homes, general stores, a drug store, and a bank, services were relocated to a new modular building, one of 10 which opened that year for postal use. Constructed by a Kansas firm at a cost of $100,000, the new space offered handicapped accessibility, efficient heating and cooling, and layouts designed especially for sorting and distributing mail.
Postal service was established in the unincorporated Scott County town of Pleasant Valley on February 25, 1837, nearly a decade before Iowa was officially a state. The first postmaster operated the office from his a log cabin which also served as a home and general store. The office is now located within the former Trinity Lutheran Church, which was constructed in 1906. The church disbanded in 1960, and the post office moved in four years later. It’s the only post office in the state housed in a former church.
The first post office was established in the Story County town of Slater in 1887, with Lew Askland appointed postmaster. He operated the first office from within his general store; within a year, the post office was relocated and John Scott was appointed postmaster. The current building was constructed specifically for post office use in 1962 on the corner of Main and Story Streets in downtown Slater.
The first post office was established in the Grundy County town of Holland on August 14, 1877, with John A. Riggs named the first postmaster. In 1947, the post office moved into a 700-square-foot frame building reinforced by concrete blocks. The location marked the first time the Holland Post Office was housed within a building especially built for the handling of mail.
The post office outgrew the building and made a final move in December 1974, when it relocated to its current facility, a refurbished hatchery.