Information from the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn 1890, Salisbury Lost by Paul Shaw 1995 and They Said it in Salisbury 1994 by Paul Shaw
SALISBURY HEIGHTS:
F.P. Drew Store & Post Office, abt 1891-1930 Burned abt 1925-1930
Frank Drew operated a Store & Post Office at this location. Other years of post office operation are uncertain.
In 1891 Jonathan P. Webster built this home and ran a store from it.
According to Paul Shaw in Salisbury Lost in about 1892 it became Drews Store and he ran a store and also a Post Office.
In 1915 Frank Drew sold his store and it passed through several hands but the store was described as in operation when it burned in abt 1925-1930.
Whatever years it was both a store with a Post Office (outside of the time Frank Drew was owner) is unclear. More research is needed.
SMITH’S CORNER & BLACKWATER POST OFFICE:
McAlister House, Warner Road
Near Smith’s Corner, near the junction of Little Road (opposite)
July 1, 1879 to 1880 Smith’s Corner Post Office, Postmaster McAlister
Feb 2, 1899-Oct 31, 1901 Blackwater Post Office, Postmaster Rhoda McAlister grandmother of one time Post Master, Dorothy Bartlett.
The home was sold to the US Government in 1941 and destroyed to create the Blackwater Flood Plain.
WEST SALISBURY/MILL VILLAGE:
Dunlap Store & Post Office
Junction of Bay Road and West Salisbury Road
1858-1920’s
Built by Cyrus Gookin as a store and Post Office ca 1858.
Operated it himself, then in partnership with William Dunlap, before selling it to him. William sold it to his son who operated it until his death in the 1920’s.
SOUTH ROAD VILLAGE:
South Road 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. was the first postmaster.
It is unclear when the post office moved to the Greenough’s Store.
Likely Second Location or third Location
Image of Old Greenough’s Store & Post Office after fire of 1894
Ca 1900
1914
Cunliffs Store & Post Office
Old Post Office Boxes now on permanent installation at the Salisbury Historical Society Museum, Salisbury Heights.
Barton’s Store
1950’s
Crossroads Store & Salisbury Post Office was owned by Norma Lovejoy 1960
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 postmistress in Salisbury?
DB: Yes I was 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 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 hour’ 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, were in a trailer up by the fire station. A trailer with no water, no plumbing and they why 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 only up there 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 an expounded further:
As Dot Bartlet remembers: When a child it was fun to visit the Cunliff Store. The Post office was located inside, on the north side of the store where there was a store entrance facing the church side. She remembers that the the Post Office was left of the door entry. At some point it was moved to a small room in the store toward the back south wall. All mail was handed to the resident by the mail clerk (Dot Bartlett) or postmistress, Norma Lovejoy. When the Post Office moved to the new room, boxes were installed for those interested. Access to mail boxes was by a combination rather than a key. Presumably it was at this point that the original mail slot box unit was given to the Historical Society and remains in the Museum.
Norma Lovejoy was postmistress for 19 years and Dot was her clerk and became postmistress for 19 years . Dot Bartlett remembers riding along with Norma down the Gerrish Road to get the mail for several years. At some point, the train no longer stopped a the Gerrish Depot and the mail then was delivered from Franklin train.
The interim location for the Post office was behind the Fire station which was at that on Route 4 nearly at the Heights.
Dot Bartlett spent many hours setting up the new post office with all the many numbers.
Newest Current Location Salisbury Post Office Route 4
#CunliffStore #BartonStore #DotBartlett #NormaLovejoy
# FrankDrew #McAlister #CyrusGookin #WilliamDunlap