The Post Office Years: 1910-1961
For more than fifty years, the postal workers played a vital role in community life. As Murfreesboro rapidly grew, the post office embodied a symbol of pride and progress. Thirteen postmasters, including three women, oversaw daily operations. By 1960, the Murfreesboro post office processed more than 17 million pieces of mail annually, yielding an obvious need for larger facilities. Thus, a new, larger post office opened on West Main Street in May of 1961, leaving 110 W. College Street available for further service to the community.
“The letters from home to the front lines (of World War II) went through that old building. This was the only to communicate—the only way to know if our people were alive or dead. Let us never forget the role that old building played in winning that war!”
Edgar Rooker, son of former postal employee Wendel Rooker
Post Office Employees, 1932
Mrs. Beulah Hughes, who was the longest-serving female postmaster, is pictured here with other postal workers in front of the post office. This image also depicts the typical uniform of a mail carrier as worn by the man on the far right. What can this picture tell us about the post office at that time?
A black and white photograph of postal workers on the front steps of the building.
Courtesy of the Albert Gore Research Center, Middle Tennessee State University
1941 Envelope
This envelope addressed to Mrs. N.C. Beasley shows the postmark that all letters arriving at the Murfreesboro Post Office received.
A Color image of 1941 envelope postmarked from Murfreesboro.
Courtesy of Dr. Brenden Martin
1931 News clipping
This 1931 Daily News Journal clipping shows the Post Office underwent a renovation to expand its space as the city continued to grow. The expansion provided the post office with a larger space to handle an increased volume of mail.
An image of 1931 Daily News Journal clipping.
Courtesy of the Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Series of two black and white photographs showing the post office’s expansion.
Courtesy of the Albert Gore Research Center, Middle Tennessee State University
1930 Postcard
The Dixie Highway, a network of paved routes that connected the Midwest to the South, passed right by the Post Office. With Murfreesboro as the approximate mid-way point between Chicago and Miami, tourists bought postcards and sent them from the this location.
A color image of 1930s postcard picturing the Murfreesboro post office.
Courtesy of Rutherford County Archives
Postmasters at 110 West College Street
Zachary Taylor Cason, 1910-1913
Gentry S. Smith, 1913
Margaret G. Elliott, 1913-1917
William Benjamin Bragg, 1917-1919
James R. Jetton, 1919-1922
Mary A. Brown, 1922
Rufus W. Vickers, 1922-1925
James Braswell, 1925-1929
Beulah O. Hughes, 1929-1934
Jesse C. Elrod, 1934-1938
William F. Earthman, 1938-1948
W. Neil Elrod, 1949-1950
Charles R. Byrn, 1950-1963
A series of six images depicting postmasters Zachary Taylor Cason, William Benjamin Bragg, James R. Jetton, Rufus W. Vickers, Jesse C. Elrod, William F. Earthman.