Postal service was first established in the Appanoose County town of Udell in November 1883. A post office operated for seven years before temporarily closing with mail re-routed to nearby Unionville. Service resumed in March 1893, more than a decade before the town was officially incorporated. Named for a local doctor Nathan Udell, the community’s population peaked in 1920 with 214 residents.

After nearly 120 years of continuous service, the post office closed its doors on September 23, 2011. Udell’s current population numbers 41.