Information from “The History of Salisbury” by John Dearborn (1890), “Salisbury Lost” by Paul Shaw (1995), and “They Said It in Salisbury” by Paul Shaw (1994).
In 1891, Jonathan P. Webster built this house and operated a store from it. According to Paul Shaw, around 1892 in Salisbury, it became Drew’s Store, which also functioned as a Post Office. In 1915, Frank Drew sold the store, and it changed ownership several times, but it was still in operation when it burned down between 1925 and 1930. The exact years during which it served as both a store and a Post Office (aside from Frank Drew’s ownership) remain unclear and require further research.
From July 1, 1879, to 1880, Smith’s Corner Post Office was overseen by Postmaster McAlister.
Between February 2, 1899, and October 31, 1901, the Blackwater Post Office operated under Postmaster Rhoda McAlister, who was the grandmother of Dorothy Bartlett, a one-time Postmaster.
In 1941, the home was sold to the U.S. Government and subsequently demolished to create the Blackwater Flood Plain.
Cyrus Gookin built it around 1858 as a store and Post Office, initially running it himself. Later, he partnered with William Dunlap before eventually selling it to him. William later passed it on to his son, who managed it until he died in the 1920s.
South Road Village Post Office
Possibly in 3 separate locations in this area over time.
1) 1797-1803 Thompson House, The First Post Office in South Road Village, now the Walker House.
Located next to the Congregational Church. Just south of the Congregational Church. Burned ( in part?) 1815, Rebuilt 1816-1817.
The occupant from 1797-1803 was the Honorable T.W. Thompson of Newburyport, MA., who was the first postmaster.
It is unclear when the post office moved to the Greenough’s Store.
Likely Second Location or Third Location
Interim Location
Oral History interview with postmaster Dot Bartlet by Gayle Henry, published in “They Said It In Salisbury” addendum, p. 293:
Interview date: May 6, 2004
GH: You were a postmistress in Salisbury?
DB: Yes, I was a postmaster in Salisbury for 19 years.
GH: Wasn’t the post office in the store? (Crossroads Store)
DB: Yes. When Norma ran the post office, the post office was open any hour of the day, as the store was open. You could get a money order at five in the morning or at eight o’clock at night.
GG: Then where did it go?
DB: It stayed there, and I took over there, and I had to change hours cause they would only give me eight hours a day. That was the hardest thing because you could not please everybody. And the lease expired, and the Postal Service did not want to renew the lease there. They knew we needed more room. That’s when they went to work on a new building. In the meantime, between the time the lease was out and we could move in, we were in a trailer up by the fire station. A trailer with no water, no plumbing, and they put us up there, so if we were lucky and had two minutes, you could run over to the fire station and get back and hope nobody had come in the meantime.
GH: How long were you there?
DB: We are only up there from early spring until January.
GH: It must’ve seemed lavish moving into the new post office.
DB: It was good, I enjoyed what time I had there.
A follow-up conversation with Dot Bartlett, 9/27/19, clarified a few points and expounded further:
As Dot Bartlett recalls from her childhood, visiting the Cunliff Store was always fun. The Post Office was inside, located on the north side of the store, with an entrance facing the church. She remembers the Post Office being to the left of the doorway. Later, it was moved to a small room toward the back of the south wall. Mail was personally handed to residents by the mail clerk (Dot Bartlett) or the postmistress, Norma Lovejoy. When the Post Office relocated to the new room, mailboxes were installed for those interested, accessed via combinations instead of keys. It’s believed that the original mail slot box unit was donated to the Historical Society at this time and is now in the Museum.
Norma Lovejoy served as the postmistress for 19 years, with Dot working as her clerk before taking over as postmistress for another 19 years. Dot Bartlett recalls accompanying Norma along Gerrish Road to collect the mail for several years. Eventually, the train stopped servicing the Gerrish Depot, and mail deliveries were then handled by the Franklin train.
The temporary location of the post office was situated behind the fire station on Route 4, close to the Heights.
Dot Bartlett dedicated countless hours to organizing the new post office, carefully handling all the various numbers.