Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Northwest
Museum of Arts & Culture), Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives
2316 W. First Avenue
Spokane, WA 99201
Phone: (509) 363-5342
Email: archives@northwestmuseum.org
Ms
54
Farmington Post Office
(Farmington, Wash.)
Farmington Post Office Records
1882-1897
3.5 ft.
Established by U.S. Post Office Dept., in 1877 in Whitman
County, as Pine Creek Post Office, Pine Creek, Wash.; renamed in 1879 when name of town
changed to Farmington. Registers and account books, including money orders issued
(1898-1932), money order advices received (1883-1945), record and postal account book
(1887-1909), registry delivery book (1910-1923), window registration book (1905-1913), and
miscellaneous records and correspondence. Includes information relating to the mail order
business conducted in rural eastern Washington during a period when many goods were ordered
through major mail order houses. From the receipts, one can define the census of most of the
adult population of the town for that period.
Materials are in English
Historical Note
The post office at Farmington, Whitman County, WA was established originally as "Pine Creek
Post Office" on November 23, 1877. At the request of G.W. Truax, an early settler in the
area, who desired to have the town named after Farmington, MN, it was changed in 1879. On
June 19, 1879, the post office name was changed officially to "The Farmington Post
Office."
On July 12, 1888, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed E. E. Paddock to the position of
postmaster at Farmington. He was reappointed by President William McKinley on April 23,
1894. The post office was located in the Paddock Drug Store until the building was razed by
a fire on the night of Feburary 11, 1897.
The population of the twon reached a maximum of approximately 1000 in 1889 (By 1915 it had
dwindled to less than 500).
Jacob Blickendorfer took over the office by appointment from President McKinley on March 8,
1898 (Blickendorfer's 53rd brithday). He held office until his death on March 8, 1913. Upon
Blickendorfer's appointment the post office was moved from Paddock's Drug Store. After
Jacob's death his wife Mary Alice (Winkler) filled the position, assisted by her son
Charles, until the appointment of a successor.
On November 1, 1913, Willard E. Overholt assumed the postmastership at Farmington and
served through the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. The correspondence file
indicated that Overholt was postmaster at least until April 10, 1922.
The collection consists of the following registers and account books: Money Orders Issued,
1898-1932; Money Orders Advices Received, 1883-1945; Record & Postal Account Book,
1887-1909; Registry Delivery Book, 1910-1923; Window Registration Book, 1905-1913; and
miscellaneous fragmentary records and correspondence. The collection is helpful in
understanding the mail order business conducted in a rural Eastern Washington town during a
period in which many goods were ordered through the major mail order houses.
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
- Series 1, Money Orders Issued, July 1896-December 1919
- Series 2, Money Orders Issued, January 1920-June 1932
- Series 3, Money Order Advices Rec'd, July 1883-December 1945
- Series 4, Record & Postal Acct. Book, July 1887-September 1909
- Series 5, Window Registration Book, June 6, 1905-May 19, 1913
- Series 6, Acct. & Record Book, October 1909-October 23, 1931
- Series 7, Cash Book, July 1, 1922-June 30, 1931
Collection is not restricted.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society. All
requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to
the Museum Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Eastern
Washington State Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
researcher
Farmington Post Office Records (Ms 54), Eastern Washington State Historical
Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA.
Donated by the United States Postal Service.
Processed to the file folder level.
Nolan, Edward W.
A Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the
Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Spokane, WA: Eastern Washington State
Historical Society, 1987).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Online Computer Library
Center (OCLC) WorldCat database. Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons, or places should search WorldCat using these headings.
Farmington Post Office
(Farmington, Wash.)
United States. Post Office
Dept.
Pine Creek Post Office (Pine
Creek, Wash.)
Postal service--Washington (State)
Postal money orders
Postal service--Registry system
Mail-order business--Washington
(State)
Washington
(State)--Postal service
Washington
(State)--Business, industries, and trades--Mail-order
Whitman County
(Wash.)--Postal service
Pine Creek
(Wash.)
Farmington (Wash.)
Washington
(State)
Retail
Trade
Media and
Communication
Historical Note & Inventory
1
1
Series 1
Money Orders Issued
July
1896-December 1919
Money Orders Issued
July
1896-September 1898
1
2
Money Orders Issued
October
1898-November 1900
1
3
Money Orders Issued
December
1900-Novermber 1902
1
4
Money Orders Issued
November
1902-June 1904
1
5
Money Orders Issued
June
1904-December 1905
1
6
Money Orders Issued
January
1906-June 1907
1
7
Money Orders Issued
July
1907-December 1908
1
8
Money Orders Issued
January
1909-October 1909
1
9
Money Orders Issued
October
1909-February 1912
1
10
Money Orders Issued
March
1912-December 1913
1
11
Money Orders Issued
January
1914-December 1915
1
12
Money Orders Issued
December
1915-January 1918
1
13
Money Orders Issued
February
1918-December 1919
1
14
Box and Key Register
1923-1936
2
1
Cash and Daily Stock Summary
March 8,
1912-July 18, 1913
2
2
Series 2
Money Orders Issued
January 1920-June
1932
Money Orders Issued
January
1920-December 1921
2
3
Money Orders Issued
January
1922-June 1922
2
4
Money Orders Issued
July 1922-June
1926
2
5
Money Orders Issued
July 1926-June
1932
2
6
Series 3
Money Order Advices Rec'd
July
1883-December 1945
Money Order Advices Rec'd
July
1883-December 1902
2
7
Money Order Advices Rec'd
December
1902-October 1909
2
8
Money Order Advices Rec'd
October
1909-December 1913
2
9
Money Order Advices Rec'd
January
1914-January 1918
2
10
Money Order Advices Rec'd
February
1918-June 1922
2
11
Money Order Advices Rec'd
July
1922-December 1945
2
12
Series 4
Record & Postal Acct. Book
July
1887-September 1909
Record & Postal Acct. Book
July 1887-June
1892
2
13
Record & Postal Acct. Book
April
1897-September 1900
2
14
Record & Postal Acct. Book
October
1900-June 1901
2
15
Record & Postal Acct. Book
July 1901-June
1904
2
16
Record & Postal Acct. Book
July 1904-June
1907
2
17
Record & Postal Acct. Book
July
1907-September 1909
2
18
Registry Delivery Book
March 25,
1910-January 4, 1912
2
19
Registry Delivery Book
October 21,
1921-March 14, 1923
2
20
Transit and Delivered Registered Mail
October 25,
1937-February 10, 1943
2
21
Series 5
Window Registration Book
June 6,
1905-May 19, 1913
Window Registration Book
June 6,
1905-February 19, 1906
3
1
Window Registration Book
November
28, 1906-July 26, 1907
3
2
Window Registration Book
July 26,
1907-December 22, 1907
3
3
Window Registration Book
December
24, 1907-July 5, 1908
3
4
Window Registration Book
January 14,
1909-November 8, 1909
3
5
Window Registration Book
November 8,
1909-April 17, 1910
3
6
Window Registration Book
August 28,
1911-February 20, 1912
3
7
Window Registration Book
December
17, 1910-August 24, 1911
3
8
Window Registration Book
February
20, 1912-September 30, 1912
3
9
Window Registration Book
October 1,
1912-May 19, 1913
3
10
Series 6
Acct. & Record Book
October
1909-October 23, 1931
Acct. & Record Book
October
1909-November 1911
3
11
Acct. & Record Book
October
1911-July 1913
3
12
Acct. & Record Book
July 1913-March
1915
3
13
Acct. & Record Book
April
1915-April 1917
3
14
Acct. & Record Book
April
1917-September 1917
3
15
Acct. & Record Book
January
1920-October 23, 1931
3
16
Series 7
Cash Book
July 1,
1922-June 30, 1931
Cash Book
July 1,
1922-June 1923
3
17
Cash Book
July 1,
1923-June 1, 1924
3
18
Cash Book
July 1,
1924-June 1925
3
19
Cash Book
July 1925-June
1928
3
20
Cash Book
July 1,
1928-June 30, 1931
3
21
Bulletins & Correspondence
1897-1898;
1904-1919
3
22
Bulletins & Correspondence
1920-1922
3
23
Bulletin
1923
3
25
Misellaneous
1923
3
26
Registered Letters
1894-1899
4
1
Registered Matter Rec'd & Delivered
August 15,
1906-September 18, 1908
4
2
Registered Letters
September 19,
1908-March 21, 1910
4
3
Registered Advice Rec'd
July
1883-December 1902
4
4