The Weekly Gazette, January 26, 1889

The Monument Fire

After a long and vexatious delay, the new post office fixtures have arrived and are now placed in position and are duly admired by the patrons of the office, who feel as proud of the change as does Post manager Duffy. The cabinet is ten feet long and about seven feet high. The boxes have wire bottoms which prevent an accumulation of dust. There are one hundred and seventy-nine call boxes, twenty-six for general delivery, twelve for papers and sixteen lock boxes. The woodwork is of ash, with the exception of the local boxes which are of black walnut. A circle of glass in the centre of each of these last-named boxes allows the owner to inspect the box without unlocking it. There are three keys to each box, and no two keys of a different set will unlock the same box. The letter box is under the delivery window, while the paper and parcel box is placed on the right hand side of the cabinet. The new fixtures were placed in position on Tuesday, and before the mail was removed from the old reliable stand-by of earlier years, the public was allowed to inspect them.

There is not a fourth-class office in the state better equipment than the Monument office. At the present time perhaps a little post office history may not be out of place.

The first post office for Monument was located on David McShane’s ranch, one mile north of the present town site, in the year 1869. David McShane was the first postmaster. The mail was then carried from Denver once a week when the weather was fine and about once in three weeks (we are told) when a snow storm interfered.

In 1870 the office was removed to Monument proper and was located where the Santa Fe track is now laid at the head of Second street. Henry Limbach was then appointed postmaster. The office was called Monument and the town Henry station in compliment to Mr. Limbach. In 1878 Monument was made a money order office through the efforts of Mr. Limbach. There was a great amount of money in this part of the country at the time, as many saw mills were located in the vicinity of Monument, and the people had no other means of sending their money away without going to Denver to do so.

On January 1, 1881, Postmaster Limbach was succeeded by W.E. Holbrook, who held the position until January 1888, when he concluded that he had served under a democratic administration as long as his conscience would allow, and he resigned in favor of J.W. Duffy. When Mr. Duffy took the office, thirty-four boxes was the highest number that had been rented. He soon found that owing to the growth of Monument eighty boxes (all that the cabinet contained) were far too few, and he ordered one hundred and twenty-six more, exclusive of the lock boxes. By an error one hundred and seventy-nine were sent. The new fixtures were manufactured by the McLean Manufacturing company of Milford, New Hampshire, and their total cost was one hundred dollars. The old fixtures once formed a part of the Denver office. Doubtless they could tell many a tale of joy and sadness if they could speak. They have contained messages for the father, mother, sister, brother and sweetheart which have caused their hearts to beat high for joy. Then again, they have held messages that have pierced their hearts with sorry. These sacred memories have all as yet to be associated with our new office.