Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Post Office, Albion and Main Streets, 1894

Description

"The Post Office was among the many public and private buildings and homes which were decorated for the Town's 250th anniversary celebration in 1894. The building was draped in the national colors, with a large portrait of George Washington at the center of the building's facade with the words 'Welcome' placed above the entrance. The 'stately building' was built in 1860 by Davis and Bryant under the guidance of postmaster Samuel Kingman. A tailor by trade, Kingman was a member of the Board of Selectmen and was the town's representative to the Massachusetts Legislature. Although a member of the democratic party, the town's minority party, his election in 1850 was attributed to to a coalition of the 'Free Soil Party' with the anti-slavery element of the democratic party. He was also a lieutenant in the Richardson Light Guard and a commander of a military company, the Washington Rifle Grays. He was appointed as South Reading's sixth postmaster in 1853 and, when the town changed its name in 1868, he was reappointed as Wakefield's first postmaster. He retired from the position in 1873, and has been credited for the first free mail delivery in the community. The Kingman block remained in the Kingman family until it was bought by the Middlesex Traders, a local citizen-based realty investment organization, in June 1895. The building housed the post office until 1901 when it moved to the corner of Main Street and Richardson Avenue. It has also been home to the Richardson Light Guard, the Ancient Order of Hibernian Hall and the Red Men's Hall." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1999

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

1894

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

[Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Post office buildings

Postal Service

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

22 x 24 cm.