Local historian explains Columbus Post Office bicentennial

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus’ post office recently passed a bicentennial milestone with little fanfare.

It’s part of the city’s history that spans two states.

Local historian Rufus Ward said this is an exciting time for the area.

“What’s amazing is that March 6th, last week, was the 200th anniversary of the official establishment of a post office in Columbus,” said Ward.

This two-century long achievement has a unique twist.

“It’s sort of fun because they thought Columbus was in Alabama, so it was a postal route from Tuscaloosa to Columbus and to the county seat of Marion County, Alabama which was Henry Greer’s house where Columbus Air Force Base is,” said Ward.

There was about a year’s delay before the official announcement was made. The original post office location was on the corner of the Trotter Convention Center.

“And then on March 6th, the post office department named the town of Columbus a post office. But by the time they completed all the contracts for mail delivery and post riders and post roads, it was December of 1820. It took that long for the government to get everything in motion,” said Ward.

The post office is not the only historic building in town — many homes will soon open their doors to visitors from around the world.

“Columbus really became a town in 1819 and it started growing. And, that is celebrated every year at this time by the Columbus pilgrimage that’s coming up at the end of March,” said Ward.

The original Columbus Post Office may be a thing of the past, but Ward says mail delivery isn’t going anywhere and anytime soon.

“Actually, people do still send a lot of mail. You get a lot of advertising flyers, and stuff but sometimes it’s nice just to actually send a letter or real invitation to somebody that seems so much more personal than an email or evite,” said Ward.