Stories of the South - Post Office Montpelier, MS Clay County




The post office in Montpelier was an awesome place to me when I was a little girl.  There were rows upon rows of brass PO boxes, the kind with the little windows and knobs on front.  Mrs. King was our postmistress and had been for years when I was little.  I wish I knew how long.  She also lived in the post office in living quarters in the back and treated the entire post office like it was her home.  There was a porch swing on the front porch of the post office, yes an honest to goodness porch with a swing on a post office, it is Mississippi after all.  

Happier times.  Photo from 2008 found HERE

There were red roses growing up on either side of the front steps and other flowers and shrubs all around the building.  Inside she had glass display cases filled with treasures and a wood burning stove she used to heat the building all winter long.  Since there never has been a beauty shop in Montpelier, all the ladies congregated here, drank coffee, and solved the world’s problems.  





A terrible store came through in April 27,2011 and finally closed the post office for good.  It was only open part of the time after Mrs. King retired and since it had been struggling for so long the decision was made to close it. 



Sadly someone has taken the sign from the front porch that said Montpelier, MS Post Office and the inside has been stripped.  A few of the old signs and stickers are all that remain. 




Comments

  1. what an awesome place, and the fact that you were are part of it's history is cool. wow, it doesn't even look like the same place since 2008.
    ~Abigail

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    Replies
    1. It's a pretty big building and I wish there was some way to preserve it but I don't think anything has been done to it since the tornado damaged it three years ago.

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  2. How sad! I'm glad you have beautiful memories and the "before" picture.

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    Replies
    1. It is sad Beth. I don't know how many wooden frame post offices are left but they seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate. Pheba, MS also had a big frame post office like this before they received a grant from the first Bush administration and built a new small brick post office. That frame post office went the same way as this one and was finally torn down.

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  3. And so it goes...the old Cross store building, the high school gym, the old two story Masonoc Lodge, the Coleman Gin and Sawmill, etc...all gone.
    Montpelier was a busy place on Saturday afternoons when I was young.

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