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Postal Service in Mooresville Began in 1871
A United States Post Office
was opened on Main Street in August 1871 with William Wilson serving as
postmaster. Z. W. Dusenberry delivered mail on Star Route 5213. The
records of the department do not indicate the mode of transportation or
the frequency of service, but it is reasonable to assume the mail was
carried on horseback or by horse-drawn vehicle. The salary of the first
postmaster was $12 per year in 1871. By 1873, when the Town was
incorporated, the salary rose to $68. Between 1911 and 1914, the post
office moved to a
building on the corner of Moore Avenue and North Main Street. The larger
space in a new commercial building was needed to meet the demands of a
growing population. By 1926 the services included city and rural
delivery as well as domestic and international money orders.
In 1937 the first federally-owned
building was constructed by the Treasury Department under the authority
of the Emergency Construction Program Act of 1935 as part of the
national recovery from the Great Depression. The property on the corner
of Main Street and East Iredell Avenue was purchased from W. C. Johnston
for $10,000. Designed by the Treasury Department’s Supervising
Architect, the Mooresville facility was among 1,100 postal facilities
erected throughout the United States to create jobs for citizens. Even
though the local workforce enjoyed nearly full employment, the
construction itself created jobs and the expanded postal service
workforce.
 The
new postal facility was built by Greensboro’s L. B. Gallimore
Construction Company for a total cost of $47,210. Five service windows
and 423 lock boxes were available to serve the public. The building roof
was fireproof and the interior included a large skylight for lighting
and cooling.
Newspapers reported that thousands of
people, including the children of the city schools, were in attendance
for the dedication and speeches by local, state and national politicians
on April 26, 1938. Limousines carrying dignitaries crowded Main Street
and crowds gathered around the speakers stand and in the street.
Broadcast by WET announcer Charles Crutchfield on the Columbia
Broadcasting System, the ceremonies were led by State Representative Con
C. Johnson. Postmaster John Kennette welcomed Mooresville citizens and
visitors to the opening this state-of-the-art facility.
Postmaster General James A. Farley
addressed the crowd with praise for the politicians and the strength of
the community in supporting the new post office building and the new
services available in the facility. He announced a celebration of air
mail service and told the crowd that a local cachet honoring Moor
Quality Turkish Towels and the Mooresville Cotton Mills would be part of
the 1938 National Air Mail Week promotion. Postmaster Kennette
encouraged all citizens to advertise the city by sending as many air
mail letters as possible during the week to send the slogan Mooresville,
North Carolina, Home of Moor Turkish Towels all over the country.
Situated on a busy corner near the
center of activity, the new post office was within walking distance of
most businesses. It became an informal meeting place for box holders as
they visited the facility to pick up mail and take advantage of the
services offered.
The Mural by Alicia Weincek
 Mooresville's
postal facility includes public art, a mural depicting the cotton
industry by artist Alicia Weincek. was chosen to produce one of the 89
murals gracing post offices built under the program.
Support for artists started in 1934
when President Franklin D. Roosevelt, at the urging of artist George
Biddle, sought to provide relief from the Great Depression to artists
through The Works Progress
Administration’s Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP).
The Treasury Relief Art Program
(TRAP) was created by a grant from the Works Progress Administration
(WPA) in July 1935. TRAP worked closely with the department's Section of
Painting and Sculpture to provide art for federally-owned buildings. The
program focused on the decoration of small town post offices. Artists
were usually selected through competitions judged by a committee of
local citizens. Artists who won were urged to visit the towns and meet
with people to discuss possible themes for the work. When Alicia Weincek
was chosen to produce the mural in Mooresville. She met with many local
citizens and settled on a design depicting the cotton industry. The oil
on canvas mural is permanently attached to the wall above the
“postmaster” office door, now the office of the Mooresville Graded
School District. The mural has been maintained since 1938 and is in
near-original condition. |
