County History Postal Service

Unicoi County, Tennessee

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Updated September 01, 2023

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UNICOI COUNTY HISTORY

History of Unicoi County Postal Service

Photo circa abt. 1905: Allison Woodville Hensley delivering mail by horseback on Spivey Mountain / Coffee Ridge area via the Brownlow Post office. Delivering mail to these remote parts of the Appalachian was part of the Rural Free Delivery [RFD] program of the U.S. Postal Service established in 1896. Before the RFD program, people living in remote parts of rural America would have to make the journey to the post office to pick up their mail or pay for a private delivery service. Early RFD routes could range between 20-30 miles long and were based upon what a carrier with a horse and buggy could travel on unpaved rural country roads during a workday [sunrise-sunset]. An average RFD carrier' pay was about $30-45 a month depending on the length of the route and location. The carrier had to provide his own horse, buggy, feed and water. Rural Free Delivery vastly improved the lives of rural folks keeping them connected with information for more informed choices with commerce, government, politics and current affairs. Before the use of post boxes, the post carrier would have to personally hand deliver the mail to the addressee. As mail service expanded, hand delivery become costly and inefficient. On March 1, 1923, the US Postal Service mandated the use of post boxes for efficient and quick delivery service. In the above photo, the post boxes were used in conjunction with the RFD program. Notice the 5 ft. height boxes for easy reach on horseback. The RFD Postal Program can be compared to the Internet with its interest in reaching out to all for connectivity to information.

Early Unicoi County Post Offices/Couriers

Alpha order by Township

BRIGGS

Postal Carrier		Effective Date

Bulow L. Briggs              	25 Oct 1886

John S. Ray                        	2 Jul 1890

Office discontinued on January 14, 1906, and moved to "Flagpond."

BROWNLOW Postal Carrier Effective Date John B. Hensley 28 Jul 1882 Allison W. Hensley 17 Apr 1895 Thomas W. Hensley 14 Feb 1899 William G. Hensley 6 Apr 1899 Burgess G. Hensley 30 Dec 1903 Office discontinued on March 30, 1907, and moved to Kittyton. NOTE: Burgess G., Allison Woodville [in photo] and William Garrison were brothers and sons of Silas Hensley and Sarah Hensley of the Coffee Ridge /Spivey Mountain area. Thomas Watsel Hensley, s/o John Hensley and Mary McCrackin, is first cousins of Allison, William and Burgess G. John Burton Hensley, s/o Robert Burton Hensley and Catherine Jane Edwards, was also first a cousin to Allison W. and Burgess. The Hensley men of Brownlow P.O. were descendants of William Allison Hensley and Lucinda Higgins servicing the Spivey Mountain area up to the NC state line of Yancey Co.	Brothers Burgess (left) and Allison (right) Hensley


CAVE BLUFF Postal Carrier Effective Date Mary J. McNabb 1 Feb 1899 Office discontinued on October 15, 1900, and moved to "Erwin."

CHESTOA Postal Carrier Effective Date Stuart Wilder 20 Dec 1894 Cora Moorecraft 11 Jun 1901 Samuel Corn 6 Mar 1902 Jason P. Edwards 24 Mar 1905 William M. Erwin 21 Nov 1907 David F. Duncan 28 Apr 1910 Nathaniel C. Duncan 9 Oct 1913 David F. Duncan 21 Jan 1918 Office discontinued on May 31, 1921, and moved to "Erwin."

CLEAR BRANCH Postal Carrier Effective Date William A. Sams 19 Jun 1870 George W. Tompkins 2 Sep 1878 John H. Higgins 23 Mar 1881 John Quillen Tilson 25 Apr 1883 April 26, 1895, post office changed its name to "Clearbranch"

CLEARBRANCH [one word] Postal Carrier Effective Date Barry O. Runnion 26 Apr 1895* [see photo on right] Leroy S. Tilson 13 Apr 1897 Eliza E. Erwin 4 Mar 1910 Office discontinued on March 21, 1923, and moved to "Kittyton." Name changed from Kittyton. Elijah B. Sams 15 Dec 1923 Pearl Sams 1 May 1938 William F. Hensley 1 Oct 1938 January 1, 1939, post office changed its name to "Mountain Dale"	PHOTO: Barry O. Runnion [b. Sept. 25, 1833 - d. Oct. 24, 1904]; s/o Thomas L. Runnion and Elizabeth Hensley. He served in the US Civil War, Pvt. 64th CN Infantry from 11 Sept 1862 - 20 July 1864 CSA. He was a member of the Flag Pond Masonic Lodge. Photo courtesy Robert Runnion, Jr.


ERNEST Postal Carrier Effective Date Jesse W. Callahan 9 Aug 1888 On January 12, 1889, post office changed its name "Ernestville"

ERNESTVILLE [Name changed from Ernest] Postal Carrier Effective Date Jesse W. Callahan 12 Jan 1889 William Holcomb 1 Jun 1889 Ezekial G. Sams 18 Jul 1890 Rhoda M. Callahan 27 Feb 1894 Jasper N. Tompkins 20 Feb 1900 Elbert S. Tucker 4 Oct 1900 James M. Riddle 3 Jan 1902 Robert Willis 1 Dec 1911 Office discontinued on 20 Oct 1920 and moved to "Kittyton."

ERWIN [transferred from Washington Co.; name changed from Vanderbilt] Postal Carrier Effective Date William McInturff 5 Dec 1879 Peter W. Emmert 18 Mar 1880 William T. Davis 23 Apr 1886 William B. McNabb 8 Feb 1889 Peter W. Emmert 9 Apr 1889 William T. Davis 9 May 1893 Laban W. White 24 May 1897 William S. Erwin 2 Feb 1899 Grover S. McNabb 15 Feb 1911 J. R. Roberts 10 Jun 1913 Fred B. Harrington 1 Oct 1919 James F. Toney, Jr. 30 Apr 1928 Orville E. Bogart 28 Jun 1932 Grover B. Woodward 31 Dec 1934 Walter W. Ryburn 11 Jan 1935 Paul E. Sams 16 Nov 1943 Mr. Ruby R. Elliott 15 Jan 1953 Ralph Lewis 18 May 1962 Willis E. Edwards 8 Dec 1972

FISHERY Postal Carrier Effective Date William H. Banner 15 Nov 1897 Hattie E. Jones 29 Jul 1899 James L. Peterson 21 Nov 1905 Etta M. Keesecker 19 Sep 1907 Office discontinued on 30 Jan 1908 and moved to "Erwin."

FLAG POND [transferred From Washington Co.] Postal Carrier Effective Date Josiah B. 3 Jan 1876 Office discontinued on 3 Oct 1881. Ira Lemmon 30 Jun 1878 James L. Treadway 21 Apr 1879 William W. Bailey 17 Apr 1882 Lee W. Sams 5 Sep 1882 Silvanus H. Gould 15 Jan 1883 Calvin Nanney 14 May 1883 William C. McCarthy 30 Jul 1884 Lee W. Sams 7 Apr 1889 William F. Guinn 16 Apr 1889 Armstrong Harris 15 Nov 1892 ** Thomas C. Hensley 5 Jul 1898 James B. Moore 15 Aug 1902 William W. Smith 8 Dec 1903 William N. Moore 3 Jun 1904 Lizzie Crain 3 May 1911 Lizzie C. Washburn 4 May 1912 William N. Moore 17 Feb 1913 Theron E. Sams 26 Dec 1914 Ethel Tilson 23 Apr 1917 Melvin Washburn 17 Dec 1932 William W. Smith 8 Mar 1933 Ray Tilson 28 Nov 1934 John F. Anderson 4 Feb 1935 Olive P. Barnes 30 Jun 1939	COMMENT: **Photo is of Armstrong Harris, courtesy of Paul Harris [direct descendant]. Armstrong "Olmstead" was the son of Jason L. Harris and Nancy Hensley and a lifelong resident of the Flag Pond area. In addition to being a farmer and Rural Postal Carrier, he also served as Justice of the Peace adjudicating many Coffee Ridge/ Flag Pond area marriages. He married Mary Louisa Crain [d/o Leroy Crain and Lydia Tilson] on March 19, 1870. They had 10 children: Margaret S., Annie M., Nancy L., Jane, Fuller Garfield, Fletcher, Walter B., Birtha E., Clay Chester, Estil Joseph. Olmstead and Mary are buried at Higgins Chapel Cemetery.

FORD Postal Carrier Effective Date Charles Ford 2 Jan 1903 Name changed to Fordville on 29 Jan 1903.

FORDVILLE [name changed from Ford] Post Carrier Effective. Date Charles Ford 29 Jan 1903 Thomas B. Garland 12 Apr 1909 Pearl Callahan 17 Mar 1910 Office discontinued on 15 Oct 1917 and moved to "Ernestville."

INDIAN CREEK [transferred from Washington Co.] Postmaster Effective Date William E. Parks 3 Jan 1876 Charles B. Ledford 30 Sep 1878 Robert Clouse 8 Dec 1879 William A. Duncan 20 Jan 1881 Charles R. Bean 9 Nov 1881 Office discontinued on 30 Jan 1904 and moved to "Fordville."

JAKE Postal Carrier Effective Date Jacob Smith 9 Aug 1888 Samuel T. Effler 18 Feb 1892 Office discontinued on 23 Nov 1892 and moved to "Logantown."

KITTYTON Postal Carrier Effective Date William A. Sams 17 Feb 1885 Office discontinued on 5 Aug 1887 and moved to "Clearbranch." Kennedy F. Foster 18 Oct 1888 John T. Harrison 26 Jun 1890 Office discontinued on 9 Jan 1892 and moved to "Clearbranch." Martha J. Hensley 27 Apr 1895 Thomas F. Willis 10 Mar 1905 George W. Guinn 1 Sep 1916 Elijah B. Sams 8 Feb 1922 On December 15, 1923 the Post Office changed its name to "Clearbranch."

LIMESTONE COVE [transferred from Carter Co.] Postal Carrier Effective Date Elisha L. Garland 28 Jun 1876 Thomas J. Wright 27 Sep 1881 William A. Norris 24 Dec 1887 Thomas J. Wright 11 Apr 1889 Elizabeth Wright 6 Feb 1894 Obadiah R. Miller 16 Apr 1897 Dosser W. Buchman 31 Aug 1900 Jackson E. Campbell 10 May 1901 Dosser W. Buchman 1 Dec 1902 Office discontinued on 14 Dec 1903 and moved to "Unicoi."

LIMONITE [name changed from Swingleville, Washington Co.] Postal Carrier Effective Date Frank H. Hannum 25 May, 1876 On November 26, 1890, office changed its name to "Unicoi. "

LINNIE Postal Carrier Effective Date Charles H. Settles 1 Apr 1903 No further entry in Post Office Department ledger.

LOGANTOWN Postal Carrier Effective Date John D. Wolfe 10 Feb 1885 William J. Clouse 9 Aug 1887 Henry A. Wolfe 13 Oct 1892 William J. Willis 8 Apr 1899 Office discontinued on January 31, 1902, and moved to "Kittyton."

LOVES Postal Carrier Effective Date Cena Love 27-Feb 1907 Office discontinued on May 14, 1910, and moved to "Erwin."

MARBLETON Postal Carrier Effective. Date Alice Haynes 15 Jul 1889 Office discontinued December 14, 1903, and moved to "Unicoi."

MOUNTAIN DALE [name changed from Clearbranch] Postal Carrier Effective Date William F. Hensley 1 Jan 1939 Office discontinued on October 14, 1939, and moved to "Erwin."

PIPKIN Postal Carrier Effective Date Nathaniel T. Bowman 6 Jan 1881 William Phillipe 8 Jan 1883 Mary A. Hammer 25 Apr 1883 On March 27, 1886 the office changed its name to "Rose Hill."

ROSE HILL [name changed from Pipkin] Postal Carrier Effective Date William J. Peebles 27 Mar 1886 Virgil S. Bowman 1 Jun 1889 Office discontinued on March 22, 1894, and moved to "Marbleton."

UNAKA SPRINGS Post Carrier Effective Date Lizzie Deaderick 25 Jun 1886 Arthur V. Deaderick 20 Jul 1887 Henry McD. Deaderick 27 Oct 1913 Mary E. Brown 1 Jul 1927 Office discontinued on September 30, 1930, and moved to "Erwin."

UNICOI [name changed from Limonite] Post Carrier Effective Date Frank H. Hannum 26 Nov 1890 William A. Norris 13 Nov 1895 Robert C. Forbes 28 Aug 1899 William P. McLaughlin 16 Jul 1901 Robert McInturff 12 May 1903 Jams W. Lucas 18 Feb 1913 Mary J. Street 24 Oct 1916 Lorena M. Howell 15 Jul 1918 Mrs. Doak Bowman 19 Mar 1919 Everett H. Benfield 8 Sep 1921 Mae Harvell 1 Sep 1923 George F. Keene 8 Jan 1925 Chase M. Beavers 17 Jan 1933 Emma Anderson 1 Aug 1943 Richard W. Cash 9 Jul 1973 James H. Rice 20 Jul 1974

VANDERBILT [Formerly Longmire, Washington Co.] Post Carrier Effective Date James C. Roberts 27 Mar 1876 On December 5, 1879, the office changed its name to "Erwin"

The History of the U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service - An American History 1775 - 2006
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