Lewiston celebrates its postal past

The historic Lewis-Clark Hotel in downtown Lewiston became a temporary post office on Wednesday to commemorate the sesquicentennial anniversary of the city's first post office.

"One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Lewiston was a hard place to get to and from," said historian Steven Branting. "People had a hunger for information from the outside world, but they were isolated. There was no phone, no Internet and no tweeting. People were looking to post offices to link them up."

Early residents generated a petition - which was sent to Washington, D.C. - asking for a post office to be established in Lewiston and a postmaster to be sent here, Branting said. On July 25, 1862, the first post office in the Idaho Territory was established at the site of the historic building on the corner of First and Main streets.

Commemorating Lewiston's and the state's first post office is important to understand Idaho's early wild roots, said Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little.

"It's a big deal," he said. "Things were pretty rugged at that time, and you can't have civilization without some mode of communication."

Little also gave the keynote address at the event, which was attended by about 50 people. He said many of his ancestors settled in the state around the time the first post office opened.

"They all came here for one reason: opportunity," he said. "All of us that have come after have benefitted from what those pioneers did in the untamed lands of Idaho."

Branting also shared some entertaining stories about the early days of Lewiston's post office. In the spring of 1885, Postmaster Isaac W. Hibbs inexplicably went missing. He was later found in British Columbia with around $90,000 in cash on him.

"As it turns out, he'd been writing money orders for people who didn't exist," Branting said.

He was extradited to Lewiston for the scam and charged with forgery, but was later acquitted by a jury. Apparently, the jury decided it was impossible to forge the signatures of people who didn't exist, Branting said.

In 1914, a mysterious package labeled "Baby chick from Grangeville" arrived at the post office. The "package" was actually an 8-year-old girl, who was mailed to Lewiston by her parents to avoid the cost of a train ticket. She was delivered, as requested, to her grandmother's house, Branting said.

"The postal service passed a new law that year saying you couldn't send a person by the mail," he said.

After Branting's speech, Coeur d'Alene Postmaster Guy Humphries declared the site an official post office - named "The Old Courthouse Station" for the day - and presented the special postmark, which is based on an actual stamp mailed from Lewiston in 1865. Then, people lined up to purchase a commemorative envelope and have it stamped by the historic postmark.

Commemorative envelopes can still be purchased at Rosauers and The Owl in Lewiston for $3 apiece or four for $10. The postmark will also be available for the next 30 days at the regular Lewiston Post Office on Idaho Street. However, after Wednesday, the postmark is commemorative only and cannot be used to mail items.

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Gaboury may be contacted at kgaboury@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2275. Follow him on Twitter @KevinGaboury.