Liberty Township Post Offices

Unlike Black Creek Township, which had only one post office around 1900, Liberty Township had six post offices before the turn of the century. These rural Mercer County, Ohio, post offices were often in a small general store that was located in a small village or hamlet.

The six Liberty Township post offices were located in Brehm, Chattanooga, Durbin, Hinton, Skeel’s Cross Roads, and Scudder, some places that are basically unknown today.

The Skeel’s Cross Roads Post office was the earliest post office in the township and was in operation by mid-1850, with Postmaster Sylvester Skeels.

Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, 1900 map.

The Liberty Township post offices with their appointed postmasters:

Brehm, a hamlet with a post office, established by 1900. I could not find this on a map, so I am not sure where this was located. It may have been on Wabash Road, south of St. Paul Lutheran Church:
Philip Kable, 24 Jul 1890-Oct 1895
Mail sent to Hinton Dec 1897

Chattanooga, described as being settled before 1840:
Philip Hill, 18 Sep 1882
John Schlenker, 31 Aug 1885
William Fender, 8 Sep 1888
Jacob Deitsch, 24 Dec 1889
Henry J Cordier, 9 Jul 1891
Frederick Heffner, 15 Jan 1894
Philip Deitsch, 16 Jul 1895
Andrew Leistner, 10 Apr 1899
George R Hagerman, 30 Nov 1891
Mail sent to Rockford 3 May 1900
Charles F Wagner, 14 Sep 1904

Durbin, a crossroad village with post office, located at Erastus Durbin Road and Mud Pike:
George P. Durbin, 23 May 1892-16 Jul 1898
Albert E. Kanorr, 4 Apr 1899
Mark McDonald, 7 Jun 1901
Albert E Kanorr, 8 Feb 1902
Mail sent to Celina 23 Nov 1904, effective 14 Dec

Durbin, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, 1900 map.

Hinton, a hamlet with post office, located at Oregon and Erastus Durbin Roads:
John H. Shambaugh, 25 Apr 1890
Wm F. Hinkle, 26 May 1893
Fred Weitz, 20 Nov 1895
John H. Laudahn, 1 Dec 1896
Wm L. Hinton, 22 Mar 1900
John H. Laudahn, 7 Jun 1901
Mail sent to Celina 28 Nov 1904, effective 31 Dec

Hinton, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, 1900 map.

Scudder, a hamlet with a post office, located at Wabash and Skeels Roads:
Thomas McKee, 19 Oct 1889
Elonzo M Thomas, 11 Nov 1890-2 Oct 1895
Lemul A Thomas, 25 Jan 1896

Skeel’s Cross Roads, a hamlet with a post office by 1888 located at Route 49 and Skeels Road:
Sylvester Skeels, 11 May 1850
Amos Lee, 8 Aug 1853
William H. Skeels, 3 Dec 1868 [?]
John Meyer, 19 Sep 1870
Nicholas Feissel/Feipel, 7 Apr 1884
John Knox, 13 May 1887
John Haller, 25 Jan 1890
Mathias Schritz, 20 Feb 1892-23 Jul 1898-2 Oct 1902
Mail sent to Celina 2 My 1905, effective 31 May

Skeel’s Cross Roads & Scudder, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, 1900 map.

I don’t believe Burrville ever had a post office but it is listed in Overton’s book as a crossroads on Schaadt Road.

Sources:

Mercer County Chapter OGS, Mercer County, Ohio Combined 1888, 1900 Atlases and 1876 Map of Mercer County, Ohio, (Mt. Vernon, IN : Windmill Publication, Inc., 1999).

Julie Minot Overton, The Ohio Genealogical Society, Ohio Towns and Townships to 1900: A Location Guide, (Mansfield, Ohio : Penobscot Press, 2000).

Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, National Archives, Roll #100, Target 12, Vol. 15 (1843-57) p.320-21, Vol. 25A (1857-73) p.294, Vol. 38 (1873-1891), p.316, & Vol. 79 (1891-1930) p.367-368; digital image, Ancestry.com, viewed 12 Nov 2020.

2 comments

  1. Hi Karen,

    How interesting! Thanks for sharing this.

    1. Glad you enjoyed it!

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