< ommunication

Post Office

The posting of mail was a private undertaking for the early Island settlers who sought out sailing ships to transport letters to the old country. It wasn’t until 1812 that the Colonial government made an attempt to provide a mail service between the Island colony and the homeland. Several years later, in 1816, an interior mail service began and for several decades a sporadic service connected Island communi- ties and the neighbouring provinces.

The 1841 Island Almanac announced: The Western Stage (carrying the Island mail) leaves every Tuesday morning at ten o’clock, passing through Crapaud, Tryon, Bedeque, Traveller’s Rest, and Princetown Royalty. Thomas Crabb, Courier. The Island Almanac of 1843 announced: In winter the mails for England, Halifax, and Colonies are forwarded at the same time and are left at Cape Traverse from thence they are carried across the Straight to Cape Tormentine; while in 1845: The Western Stage to Tryon River and Cape Traverse to Bedeque leaves during the winter every Tuesday morning at 9 o’clock taking at the same time mails for England and the neighbouring provinces. In the summer it leaves on Monday morning at 9 o ’.clock Paul Mabey, Courier.1 The Stage was often a man on horse back! The mail carrying service provided by the Stage was taken over by the railroad as the railroad was extended throughout the Island. The mail came through the Albany station when the spur was built from Emerald Junction to Cape Traverse in 1885.

Records indicate that the earliest postal office in the area was located at Tryon River (the Aboiteau Bridge area) in 1827. Tryon River changed its name to Tryon in 1864 . The same post office is listed in the 1871 Island Directory as Tryon Corner, with William Leard as post master. This post office closed in 1914. Another post office was listed in the 1871 Island Directory at North Tryon (the Woolen Mills area) where mail was picked up bi-weekly. This post office continued to operate until the Woolen Mills scaled down their operations in 1913. Both of these post offices were stations of the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company.2

No official recognition of the operation of a post office at North West Tryon (North Tryon) can be found; however, Mrs. M. Muirhead is listed in the 1889— 90 Island Directory as dry goods, milliner, and post mistress. It would appear that 3mail was delivered to the Muirhead Store for pick up by local residents. 3Jean Chisholm assumed the post mistress duties after the Muirhead girls retired, distributing mail from a small room attached to her house (later the Lloyd Howatt house).

Elizajane Donnelley Tierney, Albany, was the first rural route mail

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