Dayton Post Office Sesquicentennial in March

By Robert Keatts

Special to the Dayton Chronicle

DAYTON–The local Post Office will celebrate its 150 year of operation anniversary on March 15, 2022.

To mark the 150th anniversary event, a commemorative cover has been designed by Robert Keatts, author of Postal History of Southeastern Washington.

The cover has been designed and formatted for a No. 10 official envelope and will be available for $2.50, which includes a stamped envelope with the Dayton Post Office cancel as of March 15, 2022. Each cover will be autographed by Postmaster Malinda Thrall.

Originally the post office went by the name of Touchet, which was established in 1864. When Dayton was officially founded in 1872, the name of the post office was changed from Touchet to Dayton.

Dayton was platted as a town by Jesse N. Day in March of 1872. After the name change for the post office, Jesse N. Day was appointed postmaster in September of 1872. The first postmaster of Dayton was George W. Miller, who was serving as postmaster of Touchet at the time of name change.

An insert gives a brief history of the Dayton Post Office and a list of postmasters and their appointment dates from 1872 to 2022.

The commemorative cover is not an official USPS item, but will be available at the Dayton Post Office on March 15, 2022. After that date, it may be available at the Depot gift shop or from the author by emailing [email protected].

Interested individuals may pre-order, but the covers will not be available until after the commemorative date. All orders will be mailed in larger envelopes to prevent USPS mail distribution center spray cancels being applied to the commemorative cover.