Depot dedication

It was an important day for Montpelier, an important day for the United States Post Office, and a really important day for Montford-area postal customers.
On a sunny and hot Tuesday morning, the USPS and James Madison's Montpelier hosted a celebration reopening the Montpelier Station Post Office on Route 20.
William duPont constructed the depot in 1910, creating a regular stop on the Southern Railway line. The depot provided services to the duPont family and other residents of Montpelier and quickly became an important transportation link in the local community.
In 1912, the depot took on an added community importance when the Montpelier Station Post Office first opened. Stationmaster Eugene Ross Lewis served as the first postmaster.
While train service waned with the ease of automobile transportation, the post office never wavered. The depot was permanently closed as a train station in 1974.
For the next quarter century, the post office operated out of a small corner of the depot. Edward Young had succeeded Lewis in 1929 and held his post until he yielded it to Irvin Hall in 1951. Hall was the postmaster until Doris Colvin 1974 and she stayed until Chris Hall became postmaster in 1993. Francine Fordham is the current postmaster, beginning her tenure in 2008.
Recognizing the significance of the depot and the importance of the post office, the Montpelier Foundation began raising funds for its restoration in 2003.
"The foundation began restoration in 2008, employing the same craftsmen who restored the Madison's home. Now, after 14 months of painstaking restoration work, the depot is reopening as a proud landmark on Constitution Highway and the home of the Montpelier Station Post Office," Montpelier Foundation President Michael Quinn said.
"The postal service is very happy to reopen the Montpelier Station Post Office," district manager Jacob Cheeks said. "And we thank James Madison's Montpelier for the beautiful renovation of the Montpelier Train Station Depot."
Bobby Abernathy, USPS Manager of Post Office Operations, Mountain Area, said he loved small post offices and encouraged those in attendance to continue to support their post offices.
"I want to thank the Montpelier Foundation. Their timing was impeccable," he said. "If they'd have done this later on, I'm afraid we'd have had to bail out on you all and the people who get their mail here would be very upset."
Acknowledging the challenges the postal service faces in an ever-changing electronic world, Abernathy also recalled when he began working with the post office more than 40 years ago and even remembered the train number and route that delivered mail to the station at Montpelier.
"My recommendation for this community is this: use your post office," he said, noting he admonishes his family members who send him e-cards and other electronic correspondence. "It's not the personal touch that means so much. Use your local post office."
Following a flag raising by local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, Orange Post Office customer service supervisor Jermaine Battle sang the national anthem.
Then, with an official ribbon cutting, the post office–featuring a special cancellation postmark for the occasion–opened for business.
But postal operations will only be part of the facility's function.
Other restored rooms will be used as a historical exhibit about what life was like during the Jim Crow era in Orange County.
This is just the first stage, Quinn told the audience Tuesday morning. Montpelier will be assembling and installing exhibits that will open next February.
"Today we celebrate the rich history of this building and confirm its continued importance in our community," Quinn said.