[Granville-Hough] 24 Jul 2009 - Hopeful Little Post Offices

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:51:21 -0700
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: HopefulPO's 24 Oct 2009

Hopeful Little Post Offices: As Smith County struggled to develop out of 
the chaos following Civil War and Reconstruction neglect and abuse, 
there were several efforts to develop towns and stable communities. One 
idea was to establish a post office and you would get to meet your 
neighbors, at least periodically. There was one at Low, which I knew as 
a siding on the Laurel Branch Railroad. It existed from 1892 until 1909, 
with postmasters, N. Jasper Ware, Duncan Cockrell, Thomas Amason, and 
Jesse Amason. Then down the railroad eastward, there was Milton, named 
for its 1907-1909 postmaster, Milton McNair. It was near the Milton 
water mill and old sawmill, where at least one body was said buried 
under the sawdust pile by Wild Bill Sullivan. Still further eastward was 
Abel from 1895 until 1905, with postmasters Samuel Sullivan, Paul Berry, 
Julius Sullivan, Nancy McNair, and Milton McNair. It was at the Abel 
siding that Andrew Jackson ôBlack Jackö Sullivan accidentally killed 
himself while on the run for killing his uncle Wilson Sullivan. Then 
there was Brit, surely a SullivanÆs Hollow operation as the postmasters 
were Thomas Sullivan, Eddie Sullivan, William Swor, William Keyes, and 
John Swor. The 1895-1897 office at Paul was run by Cicero Hopkins, 
otherwise known for his refusal to be baptized (dunked) by the folks in 
old Zion Hill Baptist Church. In 1895, Duncan Little had an office 
called Okra. The Craft family, which took a lead in challenging Wild 
Bill and Neese Sullivan for equal rights, had their own post office at 
Craft, from 1904-09, with postmasters Addison Craft, Walter Thornton, 
Donie Devlin, and Gay Craft. Waco, east of Mize, only had one 
postmaster, Joseph Weathersby. There were 58 of these post offices over 
the years, and only three or four survive to this day. For many years 
your address in Smith County was designated by post office, mail route, 
and box. For instance, my home was Route 4, Box 59, Mount Olive, MS. 
When you try to find that address you look in Covington County, but it 
is not there, as the rural routes ignored county lines. When ambulance 
service was extended to rural areas, all addresses changed to state or 
county roads with box numbers so that the homes could be found and 
service provided. My old home became Box 718, SCR 57, Mount Olive, MS, 
with the SCR meaning Smith County Road. This gets you out of Covington 
County.