Wisconsin Gazetteer,
1901-1902, says Rio Creek - originally called Kirchmann’s Place - was a
post office in Kewaunee County, 19 miles from the judicial seat in Kewaunee and
6 miles from Ahnapee, the nearest banking and shipping point. Rio Creek was
never 19 miles from Kewaunee, so 120 years ago, somebody was a long way off. At the turn of 1900, a population of 35 was receiving mail daily.
Rio Creek post office had a long history, opening on June 18, 1888, and discontinuing on June 18, 1976, when mail service was due to come from Algoma, Zip Code 54201. The following day, however, it was reestablished as a Community Post Office (CPO) of Algoma. Per the Algoma postmaster, the CPO was discontinued on December 30, 1994, and officially discontinued on January 4, 1997. Although its place name continued, its 54231 Zip Code was retired. Since the office was discontinued and re-established twice before, some wondered if it would come back. It did not.
Rio Creek post office was
discontinued for the first time on October 31, 1904, with an effective date of
November 30, 1904, the first official day of Rural Free Delivery in Kewaunee County. Then it was reestablished as one of 6 county post offices on December 29, 1908. Once again, on
October 27, 1934, the office was to be discontinued with an effective date of July
14, 1934. In an odd twist of events, before it had a chance to close, the order
was rescinded on June 30, 1934. At that point, Rio Creek became a station of Algoma.
August
Kirchman’s store, which was sold to his son Albert Kirchman and then to Edward
W. Detjen, was likely the site of the post office. Rolls of 1888 tax records for the Town of Casco describes
Kirchman’s property as “all of the NE, NE except one acre on the NE corner” of
Section 2, Town 24N, Range 24E. Kirchman also owned 40 acres in the
SE ¼ of th2 SW ¼, 40 acres in the SW ¼ of the SE ¼ and 40 acres in the SE ¼ of
the SE ¼ of Section 25, Town 25N, Range 24E. Another Kirchman - Fred - was a
Rio Creek mail carrier for ten years when on January 17, 1902, the Algoma Record told
its readers that he had traveled 7,042 ½ miles during the ten years. The paper
marveled that the road was “not worn down.”
Interestingly,
August Kirchman served as postmaster of Pierce as well as Rio Creek. Pierce
post office was less than a mile from what became Rio Creek. Albert Kirchman
served as postmaster at Rankin in addition to serving at Rio Creek. Interestingly, what was called Pierce was known as Royal Creek before that. That leads to all kinds of stories about the naming of Rio Creek, but it is also another story.
On
January 28, 1888, Ahnapee Record announced the following: “On
last Monday morning August Kirchman received from the Post Office Department at
Washington the blank bond and other papers pertaining to his appointment as
postmaster at Kirchman’s Corners, which will be known as Rio Creek. The papers
were filled out and returned to Washington on the same day and Mr. Kirchman
expects they will be approved and that he will receive his commission by the
end of July.”
When
the Post Office Department was planning to close the Rio Creek office in 1934,
it rescinded the order due to the protests received. Algoma Record
Herald reported: “RIO CREEK-According to information received Saturday
by Carl Fabry, cashier of the Bank of Rio Creek, a recent order by the United
States Post Office department discontinuing the post office here, was
rescinded. The original order provided for the closing of the post office in
this village July 14 and mail service would be obtained here by rural mail
carrier through the Algoma post office. Business interests in the village
immediately entered a protest when the announcement was made. Protest was
registered with Congressman J.A. Hughes who was interviewed by a committee
including John Prokupek, Walter Sell, Carl Fabry and Joseph F. Konop.”
Delores
Sell Fett wrote about her grandfather Postmaster Charles Sell sometime after
his death in 1940. In describing his postal career, she noted that the train
from Green Bay went through Rio Creek, stopping at towns along the postal
route. Each day Mr. Sell would pick up the mail bag that was dropped off on a
platform alongside the tracks. The platform held a roofed shed that served as
the depot which was located at the corner of what was then the Gaulke building. Mr. Sell pushed a two-wheeled cart, with help from his son Walter
who helped him collect the mailbag. Mrs. Fett said the job was especially bad
during the winter. Later, mail was carried by truck.
When former Rio Creek postmaster Don Walters, right,
was interviewed on August 12, 2005, he told the authors that the post office
had been located in Gaulke’s store, which was standing in 2008 though looking
substantially different than it did when it served as the post office. The post
office was moved to the location held by Walters’ Body Shop in 2005.
Rio
Creek Postmasters and Dates of Appointments
August
Kirchman January
18, 1888
Albert M.
Hoppe December
13, 1898
Herbert C.
Kirchman July
21, 1900
Office
discontinued October 31, 1904, effective November 30, 1904.
Office
reestablished December 29, 1908.
Albert C.
Kirchman December
29, 1908
Edward W.
Detjen July
12, 1912
Fred F.
Johnson
July 27, 1927
Carl
Fabry January
24, 1923
Charles J.
Sell October
27,
1924
Retired February 29,
1940
Office
discontinued on June 13, 1934, effective July 14, 1934
Order
rescinded June 30, 1934; classified as a 4th class post office
Walter H.
Gaulke March
1, 1940
Deceased July 15, 1963
Advanced
to 3rd class post office
ZIP
Code 54231 established, July 1, 1963
Donald Henry
Walter September 28,
1963
Postmasters'
compensation varied depending on business. They did not receive a pre-arranged
stipend. Albert Kirchman made $34.09 in 1889 while Albert Hoppe made the most -
$203.43 - in the years before the advent of Rural Free Delivery in 1904. $34.09 is not much money in 2021 although using a variety of online inflation calculators, it would have been some bucks in 2021 in terms of numbers or purchasing power. Having a post office at one's business site meant customers because folks came for mail. Drawing folks into a business meant significant opposition to RFD - Rural Free Delivery - when local businesses lost the opportunity to make money as mail was delivered directly to rural families.
Rural Branches of
Wisconsin Post Offices, Bulletin #21,
Wisconsin Postal History Society, reports that in 1989 Rio Creek was Kewaunee
County’s only rural post office. One might argue Stangelville was also a rural office, but the language nitty-gritty makes the difference. A rural branch is defined as a postal subunit
outside the corporate limits of the parent post office. Rio Creek was a
personal unit which did not postmark mail. On September 19, 1976, the Enterprise described
a personal unit saying that it did accept, dispatch, receive and deliver mail
and issue money orders and sell stamps.
Rio Creek
has changed in the last 100 years and is no longer a postal community nor the vibrant community it once was, but it
is an important part of Kewaunee County that continues to reflect its predominantly German immigrant population.
Sources:
Information comes from Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee
County, Kannerwurf, Sharpe and Johnson c. 2010.
