An historical landmark for the residents of Clarksville next week would not be happening if it were up to the United State Postal Service.
On Wednesday, June 27, the Clarksville Post Office celebrates 200 years of service. Last May, residents were informed of the decision to close the branch because business was slow. Through the work of community members and Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, the decision was overturned.
“Our post office is one of the oldest in the area,” said Joseph Hogan, president of the Clarksville Historical Society. “It goes back very early, we’re like the fourth post office in Albany County.” Hogan said he has been doing research on the post office for 10 years.
Clarksville was originally known as West Bethlehem after 1793 and housed Bethlehem’s first post office beginning in 1812. In 1832, the Town of New Scotland and the Town of Bethlehem were separated. The next year, the original Bethlehem post office has its name changed to Clarksville in honor of resident Adam Clark.
The USPS officially decided to close the branch in August of 2011. By that time, residents had already begun a campaign to overturn the decision led by local lawyer Peter Henner.
Members of the community wrote letters in favor of keeping the post office, including Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, who at the time was in the midst of negotiations with the Bethlehem Central School District to lease the closed Clarksville Elementary School.
In his letter, Apple maintained that once the Sheriff’s Office and Albany County Emergency Operations Center moved to the former Clarksville Elementary building, a post office would be needed in the vicinity. Apple said certified letters, packages and “bulky mail” is sent from the office on a daily basis.
“The closing of the Clarksville Post Office would have an adverse impact on the Sheriff’s Office, and might affect the Sheriff’s Office’s plans to locate its substation in Clarksville, to the detriment of the town,” he wrote.
The Postal Regulatory Commission released a decision reversing the closure on Jan. 29, in which it was said the Postal Service took some needed aspects into account such as financial situation the and a postmaster vacancy, but it did not adequately take into account the concerns of residents.
The USPS has since said they will keep open hundreds of mostly rural offices once slated to close by cutting back on spending. This will give Congress more time to overhaul the organization’s financial structure through legislation.
Clarksville residents will celebrate the anniversary with an event on Wednesday, June 27, at the Clarksville Community Church at 7:30 p.m. Hogan said refreshments will be served and he will present a talk about the history of the post office and stories he learned about through his research.
“It was 1970 before (the post office) was in its own building,” he said. “It used to be in various houses or businesses of whoever was postmaster.”
Because only larger cities could afford a building to house their post office, many times a popular gathering spot like a hotel or restaurant was used to collect the mail.
Hogan said when he was young his mother served as Clarksville postmaster. He remembers people coming to figure out what they had to do to create a post office area within their home.
“I remember thinking we didn’t have the parking space outside,” he said.
The post office will also have a special pictorial cancellation mark available to residents. Residents can go to the post office to have their mail specially stamped with the mark on June 27 and for 60 days afterward to celebrate the anniversary.
“I think it’s good we’re acknowledging the occasion because there aren’t a lot of post offices in the area as old,” said Keith Loehner, the officer in charge at the post office for the past seven years.
For more information, contact the Clarksville Post Office at 768-2991.
