Chester Post Office celebrates 70 years

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[This last April 1st marked the 70th anniversary of the Chester Post Office in its present building. This May also marked the 68th anniversary of the mural at the Chester Post Office.

Chester's first post office was opened July 11, 1832, and was located "under the hill" on Water Street. R.B. Servant served as the first postmaster. Before this, the mail for the Chester area was delivered through the Kaskaskia Post Office. On May 28, 1887 the Chester Post Office was discontinued. After this, Chester mail for the area was delivered through the Menard office. On December 23, 1888, the Chester office was reestablished.

The earliest post office site on record is the Phoenix Building, which was located near the First National Bank Building. It was on this block that a fire in January of 1918 destroyed the building and all its contents. The only thing that was able to make it out of the fire was the safe box, which stored government bonds, thrift stamps and cash, all of which equaled $10,000. The safe was opened days later and the contents were found in great condition, though slightly burnt.

The post office finally moved to its present location, on the corner of Swanwick and German Streets, on April 1, 1939. This location was on the Fred Middendorf property. One of the main reasons that this location was chosen was because the Middendorf property was a very central location in Chester. The post office had been located in the First National Bank Building for the previous 20 years. The new post office was made possible because of a federal appropriation of $70,000. Harvey Doerge, postmaster at the time, along with other representatives, organized the dedication. The dedication ceremony included a couple of bands, as well as a parade from the old post office to the new location. Local Boy Scout troops were on hand to serve as guides to conduct visitors through the new post office. The ceremony also included the presentation of a new American flag, given to the post office by the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The post office opened for business on April 3rd.

During the Civil War and World War II the basement of the post office served as a bomb and air raid shelter for Chester citizens. "The shelter could hold up to hundreds of people," said current postmaster Tony Hughes. In the years after the wars, there used to be disassembled army jeeps as well as other old artifacts still located in the basement of the post office. Hughes said, "The civil defense symbol is still on the outside of the building."

In total there have been thirty-eight postmasters who have served the Chester Post Office.

In May of 1939, Miss Fay E. Davis, an artist from Indianapolis, IN, was commissioned to paint a mural on the wall of the new post office under the WPA program by President Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Mueller Sr. of Chester, local artist, and Matt Ziegler of St. Genevieve, MO. also assisted Miss Davis. The mural centered on the theme of Chester as a colorful historic river town, and also depicted the early wharf scene featuring steamboat activities. The finishing touches on the mural were completed in February of 1940. The title given to the mural was "Loading the Packet." The Chester Post Office is currently one of only twelve post offices in the state of Illinois with a mural in it.

Over the years the mural became dirty and less defined. Along with that, the colors were not looking as bright or strong. In June of 2002 the mural was restored by PARMA conservation. PARMA is the Preservation And Recovery of Masterpieces of Art. Elizabeth Kendall, of PARMA, greatly thanked postmaster Tony Hughes and his staff for being so accommodating and kind in the restoration process.

The post office which cost $70,000 to construct in 1939 would probably cost upwards of $500,000 today, according to Hughes.

The Chester Post Office and the mural by Fay E. Davis have been mainstays in Chester for the past seventy years.