The Rossland Post Office

The following is courtesy of Sheila Corrado, 1985:

The first Rossland Post Office was in David Stussi’s small store at the western end of Columbia Avenue - the first lumber building in Rossland and perhaps the second building after Ross Thompson’s log home. The year was 1894, and the traffic of prospectors and miners in and out of the Mining Camp was starting to grow. It is said that the mail was packed in and out in a cheese box kept behind the door, and people sorted out their own mail.

The following spring, Stussi built the Stussi Block across the street (on the south side of Columbia Avenue) where the major portion of the main floor was rented for Mr. Wallace’s Book and Stationery Store, and a small area, 40’ by 10’, was set aside for Post Master Stussi and the mail. (In Rossland’s early days, there were as many Americans as Canadians, but no reference has been found as to how the international mail was handled.) In the fall of 1895, W. Wadds was appointed Post Master, and he relocated the Post Office to a more commodious space in another commercial building/store - third designated Post Office for Rossland.

Names of Post Masters:

David Stussi - 1894 -1895
William Wadds - 1895-1937
Mrs. Lloyd - 1937
Lawrence G. Delmas - 1937-1963
W. McElgun - 1963 - 1964
A. McIntyre - 1964 - 1967

Listen to Morris Wadds, grandson of Postmaster William Wadds, share some background on the Post Office:

Charles E. Barrett, the Deputy Postmaster, is quoted in the March 30, 1902 issue of the Rossland Miner as saying that this location was unable to handle the tremendous inflow of mail - 3 mails a day, only a small number of locked boxes and most people using an address of General Delivery. He said, “Many remember the crowds that waited for delayed mail, the people extending in long lines in both directions on Columbia Avenue, sometimes paying for a place in line to be one of the first to be served.”

On February 14, 1900, a telegram from Ottawa announced that Parliament had voted an appropriation of $20,000 for the construction of a new Rossland Post Office. The site selected was the corner of Columbia Avenue and Lincoln (now Queen) Street. Construction commenced under the direction of contractor Thomas Bradbury in March, 1901.

The new Post Office was an impressive, substantial building in a Gothic style of architecture. Granite for the first floor was quarried locally and sandstone from Calgary was used for the pressed brick. Oriel (bay) windows graced both the south and east facades, and a granite portico enclosed the steps leading up to the entrance. The words “Post Office” were etched in the granite above the entrance. The first floor was used for the Post Office, with the Customs Office and the Inland Revenue Offices on the second floor. The third storey housed the caretaker, with spacious and luxurious quarters - 6 living rooms, spacious reception hall, lavatories and a bathroom with hot and cold water! The boilers and other heating material were found in the basement.

The September 29, 1903 issue of the Rossland Miner reported that the new building contained “quarter oak partitions, ornamented brass fittings, frosted glass, oak counters, and 750 locked boxes, which were finished in brass. The building cost the Dominion $80,000 in hard cash.”

While construction was going on, there were local efforts to see that the mail service itself was improved. A Class II service level was given to the Rossland Post Office, which ensured secure, full-time staff and improvements to the integration of American and Canadian mail services. A special U.S. Mail train car would run to Northport, where Rossland clerks would meet it and usher it into Rossland, using the one-hour trip to sort the mail.

The 1929 Fire

The Great Fire of March 1, 1929, burned down all the buildings on the north side of Columbia Avenue between the Bank of Montreal and the Post Office. The Post Office lost its top floor, but the rest of the building was saved, thanks to its construction of granite and brick. Today, the 2-storey building has lost its Gothic appeal.

In 1962, the Post Office received an internal “modernization” with new floors, woodwork, counters and aluminium lock boxes and the steam radiators were removed. In 1968, Rossland was declared a postal station of Trail, BC.

For More Information:

• Rossland Heritage Commission Official Heritage Register - Buildings

• Historic Places Canada: Rossland Post Office

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