/o
FOR AOORF.SS ONLY
Figure 25. Cave Dale, California, 4-bar killer.
REFERENCES
Fnckstad,Wa.herN. A. Century of California Post Offices 1848-1954. Oakland, California:
Philatelic Research Society; Pacific Rota Printing Co. 1955.
Gudde, Erwin Gustav. California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary Berkeley:
University of California Press. 1949.
Muir, John. The Mountains of California. The Century Co., New York. 1894.
California
Salley, Harold E. History of California Post Offices, 1849-1976: Includes Branches and Stations, Navy Numbered Branches, Highways and Railway Post Offices. La Mesa, California: Postal History Associates. 1977.
S alley, Harold E. History of California Post Offices, 1849-1990. Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot. 1991.
Williams, John H. California Town Postmarks, 1849-1935. Volume 1. Louisville, Kentucky: Published for Western Cover Society by Leonard H. Hartmann. 1997.
Colorado Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Grotto 3/771881-3/21/1882 Jefferson
Grotto was located about 2 miles west of Medlen on Turkey Creek Road, one of the wagon routes from Denver to South Park. The location was SWA, Section 9, T6S, R70W on the south side of Turkey Creek. The first postmaster was William Crow.
There are no known postmarks from this post office.
REFERENCES
Bauer, W.H., J. L. Ozment, and J. H. Willard. Colorado Postal History: The Post Offices..
The Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden, Colorado. 1990.
Georgia Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Blowing Cave 1855-1895 Decatur
Cave 1890-1940 Bartow
Cave Hill 1900 Washington
Cave Springs) (30124) 1841-Open Floyd
Blowing Cave, also called Glory Hole or Willder Cave, is located in extreme southwest Georgia not far from the Florida and Alabama borders, and over time was in three different counties. Prior to 1825 the entire southwest corner of Georgia was Early County. In 1825, Early County was divided, and the southern part became Decatur County. A year later part of Decatur County was split, the eastern part becoming Thomas County. In 1905, Decatur and Thomas Counties were split again, and adjacent parts of each became Grady County. Since 1905, Blowing Cave has been in Grady County.
The Confederacy took over the post office on July 2, 1861, and it was discontinued for a short period during the war before being reopened in 1863.
An article from the Atlanta Journal Magazine published on March 22, 1931, discussed
"breathing caves" in Georgia. It stated, "One of the caves is 10 miles north of Whigham in Grady County. The cavern continuously inhales and exhales great puffs of air.
Accompanying its breathing is a shrill whistling sound, and at certain periods of the day and night the whistling changes to a long, rumbling groan, as though a giant is struggling to break through the stone walls that pen him in. This phenomenon is due to slight changes in atmospheric pressure, and the whistling sound can be heard more than 30 feet away from the cave."
The letter with a manuscript cancel (Figure 26) was mailed to John W. Brooks, Esq., when Blowing Cave was part of Decatur County.
Floyd County, formed from part of Cherokee County in 1832, was Georgia's 82nd county and named for General John Floyd, a South Carolina Indian fighter and U.S.
Congressman. Located 15 miles southwest of Rome, on Highway 411 South, is the city of Cave Spring, incorporated January 22, 1852. On November 9, 1859, Simeon Hamil
Cave Post Offices
became the first postmaster and continued to serve until April 13,1869. On July 2, 1861, the Confederacy took over and operated the Cave Spring Post Office until December 20, 1865. Cave Spring Cave, a natural limestone cave and spring, located in Rolater Park just off the town square, gave the city its name. The post office opened in 1841, and is still operating. Examples of the Cave Spring postmark and cancellation are seen in Figures 27 and 28.
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Figure 26. Blowing Cave, Georgia, manuscript cancel.
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Georgia
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Figure 28. Cave Spring, Georgia, manuscript cancel.
Cave, Georgia east of Rome was a stop on the Central Georgia Railway. The post office opened in 1890, and an example of a cancellation is seen in Figure 29. The city was named after the numerous caves found in Bartow County.
On August 27, 1898, J.D. Bristow completed the site survey for Cave Hill Post Office in Washington County, 11 miles east of Deepstep and 6 miles northeast of Linton. There are no known postmarks from this post office.
Figure 29. Cave, Georgia, Doane 4-bar killer with Number "1."
REFERENCES
Krakow, Kenneth K. Georgia Place Names. Winship Press, Macon, Georgia. 1975.
Crown, Francis J. Jr. The Turbulent Decade - Georgia's Post Offices 1860-1869. Francis J.
Crown Jr., Capshaw, Alabama. 2007.
Hawaii Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Anahola 1856-1869 Kauai
Pukalani 1950-1961 Maui
Waialua (96791) 1856-Open Oahu
Anahola ("Fish Poison Cave") was a boat landing site and small village on a river at the northern end of the Kawaihau District. Its first postmaster was Charles Griffiths.
Unfortunately there are no known postmarks.
William Halliday found Waialua, when translated to English, means "Spring Cave."
Waialua was a stop on the overland mail route. In the 1890s, the Waialua Post Office was located in a store with S.N. Emerson as postmaster, and in 1898 was moved to the railway station. Since then, the area has become a resort community (Figure 30).
The name Pukalani came from the Hawaiian words puka meaning hole, and lani which means in the sky, together creating Heavenly Sinkhole. The area is named for the many lava tube openings from the Haleakala Volcano (Figure 30).
Figure 30. Waialua, Oahu, double circle cancel and Pukalani, Hawaii, 4-bar killer, (both courtesy o/'Speleophilately International)
REFERENCES
Cahill, Emmet. Hawaiian Stamps: An Illustrated History. Volcano, Hawaii: Orchid Isle Publishers. 1994.
Illinois Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Cave 9/27/1847-3/26/1879 Franklin
Rock and Cave 3/13/1832-10/24/1849 Hardin
Cave-in-Rock (62919) 10/24/1849-Open Hardin
Cave Valley 2/7/1893-7/20/1894 Jackson
Cave-in-Rock (previously known as Rock and Cave, Big Cave, Fords Ferry, and Robbins Ferry), is located in Hardin County on the north bank of the Ohio River in southeastern Illinois and has a population of 450. Much history is associated with the village, mainly revolving around the cave from which the town got its name.
Charlevoix's History of New France printed the first documented mention of the cave in 1744. A map was drawn from data obtained by Martin Chartier who had come from France in 1729 to visit the area. Although once known as le caverne dans le roc, a hangout for river pirates and counterfeiters, it is now part of the Cave-in-Rock State Park.
In 1814, Lewis Barker bought the section of land where Cave-in-Rock is located. He planned to build a new road to the U.S. Saline Works that would connect with Barker's Ferry and the Kaskaskia Road. This road, which ran through Crittenden and Hardin Counties, Kentucky, would become Fords Ferry Road. In its early days it was the main road across this section of the country for pioneer settlers travelling from the Kentucky region to the east.
A plat map of Cave-in-Rock was recorded in 1839, but the village was not incorporated until 1901. Early records often refer to the town as Rock and Cave, yet in 1849, the post office changed the name to Cave-in-Rock (Figures 31 and 32). The village was in Pope County until 1839, when Hardin County was created from the counties of Pope and Gallatin. Some records before 1839 can still be found in the county court houses of Pope and Gallatin, although most records were destroyed when the Pope County courthouse burned in the Cave-in-Rock fire of 1884. Until the late 1870s, the main street of Cave- in-Rock was Water Street, which ran in front of the businesses facing the Ohio River.
However, when the town burned, the businesses were rebuilt facing away from the river, and Water Street became Main Street, where the post office is still located.
Cave Post Offices
The town of Cave, now known as Thompsonville, was also a stop on the Illinois Central Railroad (Figure 33). The Thompsonville Post Office is still open.
The Cave Valley Post Office was located in Section 16, T10S, R2W, in Jackson County, 2% miles northeast from Ramona and 3 miles southeast from Etherton on Cave Creek. It was 200 feet from the Mobile and Ohio Railroad tracks. There are no known postmarks from this post office.
Figure 31. Cave in Rock, Illinois, manuscript cancel, (courtesy o/'Speleophilately International)
Figure 32. Cave In Rock, Illinois, CDS with target killers.
Illinois
Figure 33. Gzce, Illinois, manuscript postmark.
REFERENCES
Adams, James N. Illinois Place Names. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Society. 1969. Reprinted from Illinois Libraries, Vol. 50, Nos. 4, 5, 6 (April, May, June, 1968) with text and page numbering of the original publication retained.
Illinois State Historical Society. Occasional Publications: No. 54.
Charlevoix, Francois-Xavier. Histoire et description generate de la Nouvelle-France. 3 Vols., 4to, and 6 vols., 12mo, Paris, 1744, with maps and plates. (English translation (2 Vols., 8vo, London, 1761 and London, 1763).
Mehrer, Jim. Illinois Post Offices: A Listing and Guide to Postmark Scarcity. Rock Island, Illinois: J. Mehrer. 1996.
Pre-1830Post Office Business: Excerptsfrom the Postmaster General Letter Books Pertaining to Illinois and Surrounding Areas, 1801-1829. Des Plaines, Illinois: Illinois Postal History Society. 1984.
Indiana Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Alum Cave 1/22/1884-1905 Clay/Sullivan
Cave Spring 6/19/1854-8/15/1862 Decatur
King's Cave 8/28/1870-7/10/1873 Harrison
Spring Cave 7/18/1866-9/12/1866 Owen
Alum Cave Post Office was established in Clay County on January 22,1884, with Milton C. Dell as its first postmaster. The county boundaries eventually changed, and Alum Cave Post Office became part of Sullivan County. The post office was located AVi miles east of Hymira and 5 miles southeast of Coffee.
Cave Spring Post Office in Decatur County was established June 19,1854, with Edward A. Jocelyn as postmaster. There are no known postmarks.
On June 22, 1870, William H. Pfrimmer completed the site survey of King's Cave Post Office in Harrison County. It was established August 29, 1870, and would be on Mail Route 12108 between New Albany and Corydon, with Corydon 4 miles west and Lanesville 5 miles east. There are no known postmarks.
On June 4, 1866, James F. Nicholas, its only postmaster, completed the site survey for the Spring Cave Post Office. It was located on Mail Route 12105 between New Albany and Michigan City, and was established July 15, 1866, 4 miles northwest of Quincy and 4 miles south of Gosport. It was closed September 12,1866. There are no known postmarks.
REFERENCES
Baker, J. David. The Postal History of Indiana Volumes 1-2. Louisville, Kentucky: Leonard H.Hartman. 1976.
Ross, V.A., and Art Hadley. Indiana Post Offices. Indian Postal History Society, Bloomington, Indiana. 1993.
Kansas Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Cave 1901-1914 Greene
Cave Spring 1874-1878 Butler
Cave Springs 1882-1903 Elk
These post offices were probably named after prominent geological features (Figures 34 and 35).
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Figure 34. Cave, Kansas, 4-bar killer.
Cave Post Offices
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Figure 35. Gzcg Springs, Kansas, CDS and cork cancel.
REFERENCES
Rydjord, John. Kansas Place Names. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma.
1972.
Kentucky Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Cave City (42147) 1860-Open Barren
Cave Hill 1879-1926 Warren
Cave Point 1892-1893 Franklin
Cave Ridge 1916-1950 Metcalfe
Cave Spring 1848-1851 Scott
Cave Spring(s) 1880-1946 Logan
Cave Springs Station 1869-1880 Logan
Caverna 5/4/1869 - 12/22/1879 Hart
Caverock 1908-1910 Knox
Cave Run 1902-1913 Bath
Caves 1857-1905 Carter
Horse Cave(42749) 3/1/1860-Open Hart
Mammoth Cave (42259) 1842-Open Edmonson
Peter Cave 1878-1892 Martin
Proctors Cave 1894-1906 Edmonson
Russell Cave 1879-1900 Fayette
Twin Cave 1900-1901 Meade
Wind Cave 1902-1996 Jackson
Mammoth Cave is surrounded by a 52,369-acre national park that lies within Hart, Barren, and Edmonson Counties. The post office has served cave visitors since December 23,1842, when Archibald Miller was its first postmaster, and is still in operation today. It is located in the vicinity of the cave's Historic Entrance half a mile east of the Green River, 3 miles north of Kentucky Route 70, and 14 miles east of Brownsville. Figures 36 and 37 are examples from Mammoth Cave Post Office.
Cave Post Offices
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Figure 36. Mammoth Cave slogan Pitney Bowes Meter from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
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Figure 37. Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, manuscript postmark dated June 28 (1847).
In 1863 a slave, Jonathan Doyle, discovered a cave some 4% miles south of Mammoth Cave. It later acquired its name from the Proctor brothers, who were prominent area politicians and businessmen. The most notable brother, Larkin J. Proctor, an attorney and legislator, operated the Mammoth Cave concession area for visitors just before and after the Civil War. His nephew, John R. Proctor, was the Kentucky State Geologist in the late 19th century. From March 23,1894, through March 1906, William L. Hawkins operated the Proctors Cave Post Office on Kentucky Route 70 just north of then Mammoth Cave Railroad tracks (Figure 38).
Kentucky
Figure 38. Proctors Cave, Kentucky, CDS.
Cave City Post Office (Figure 39) is located in Barren County at the junction of U.S.
31 West and Kentucky Route 70, 7 miles north of Glasgow, and about 15 miles from Mammoth Cave. In 1853, the Knob City Land Company of Louisville acquired the site from Thomas T. Duke, with plans for a resort to profit from its proximity to Mammoth Cave. The tract was surveyed and laid off into town lots. On June 12, 1860, Beverly Curd, the storekeeper and postmaster of the Woodland General Store and Post Office (established in 18 50), moved its location to Knob City. The town was later renamed Cave City—either for the many caves in the area, or for the one large cave within the future city limits—and was incorporated in 1866. Two of the most popular tourist caves are Crystal Onyx Cave and Onyx Cave.
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Figure 39. Cave City, Kentucky, postmark and > ipt cancel.
Cave Post Offices
Horse Cave lies at the junction of U.S. 31 West and Kentucky Route 218 in Hart County, 5 miles south of Munfordville. Horse Cave got its name from the time when outlaws hid their horses in the huge entrance of Hidden River Cave. Major Albert Anderson of Barren County established the town in the 1840s, and later, in 1858, donated land for the Louisville and Nashville depots. Major Anderson's deed to the railroad carried one restriction: the name of the station must always be Horse Cave. The post office was established March 1, 1860, with William J. Band as postmaster, and the town was incorporated in 1864 (Figure 40).
Figure 40. Horse Cave, Kentucky, precancel and Horse Cave, Kentucky, ovate bar duplex with number "I.
This was the time when the "Great Cave Wars" were beginning, as Mammoth, Crystal, Onyx, Hidden River, and several other caves were all attempting to capture the tourist market. All types of descriptive adjectives were used to lure the unsophisticated tourist to the caves: "the largest," "the best," "the longest," "the most beautiful," "satisfaction guaranteed," "greater than Mammoth Cave," and so on. Tourist income at the caves was hundreds of dollars, which meant economic growth and stability for the towns.
On May 4, 1869, local residents changed the name of Horse Cave to Caverna in an attempt to form the new county of Caverna, with their town as the county seat (Figure 41). Once the town had officially changed its name, the citizens attempted unsuccessfully to convince the railroad to change the name of its station. In 1879, the residents took a referendum to the state legislature to create a new county; however, their effort was again soundly defeated due to the lobbying efforts of adjacent counties. Faced with defeat in both the Kentucky Legislature and at the hands of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, the residents of Caverna changed the name of their post office and town back to Horse Cave. Caverna, however, has been preserved in the name of the independent school district shared with neighboring Cave City.
Kentucky
Wind Cave Post Office was near the fork of the Lick Branch of the War Fork of Station Camp Creek, 6Vi miles northeast of McKee in Jackson County. Established by Godfrey P. Issacs on April 14,1902, it was named for a local limestone cave whose entrance was 50 to 60 feet high. "It is as impressive as anything you would find in Mammoth Cave. A cool breeze comes out of there because warm air goes into the top of the thing and then cool air comes out the bottom, down next to the ground" said a local resident in 1902. The post office closed in 1996 (Figure 42).
Figure 42. Wind Cave, Kentucky, 4-bar killers and a spelling error "WIMD"in the town name.
Cave Ridge contains part of the Fisher Ridge Cave System which, at 113 miles, is the seventh longest cave system in the world. Cave Ridge Post Office was located in Metcalfe County, off Interstate 64, just east of Cave City. It was open from 1916 to 1950 (Figure 43).
Cave Run Post Office was on the mail route from Salt Lick to Yale, located on the Bank of the Licking River about 30 feet from the Licking River Railway Ragland Depot. Creath
Cave Post Offices
Evans was appointed the first postmaster on February 27, 1902.
Figure 43. Cave Ridge, Kentucky, 4-Bar killer.
Caves Post Office was located on Mail Route 29136, 6 miles northwest from Carter and 3 miles southeast from the K & F Branch of the C & O Railroad. In May 1898, the town was also briefly known as Carter Caves.
Caverock Post Office was located on the west side of Stinking Creek on Mail Route 29584 about 3 miles southwest of Walker and 3% miles northeast of Flat Lick.
Peter Cave Post Office was located on Peter Cave Road about 7 miles north of Inez and 7 miles east of Peach Orchard. On May 26, 1883, R.H. Cassel was named postmaster.
From April 23, 1900 to January 1, 1901, Twin Cave Post Office mail was dropped off at
Bttnm to &. M. FHASEK, /} ,<
If not delivered within 5 days, '
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Figure 44. Russell Cave, Kentucky, postmark and target killer dated December 21, 1882.
Kentucky
the Twin Caves Station of the Illinois Central Railroad. The town of West Point was 4 miles to the northeast.
On October 1, 1915, Millie Thompson filed a post office site survey and stated that Cave Hill Post Office was on Mail Route 29941. The town of Gasper was 7 miles to the southwest.
Cave Springs in Logan County was an unincorporated location southwest of Russellville on Route 79 and Route 1151 (Figure 45).
The author has no information on the towns Cave Spring in Scott County and Russell Cave near Lexington (Figures 44 and 46).
Figure 45. Cave Spring, Logan County, Kentucky, 4-bar killer.
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Figure 46. Cave Spring, Scott County, Kentucky, PMd»%«77, iptpostmark.
Cave Post Offices
There are no known postmarks from Cave Run, Caves, Caverock, Peter Cave, Twin Cave, or Cave Hill Post Offices.
REFERENCES
Lera, Thomas. 2001. NSS 2001 Convention Guidebook "Kentucky 'Cave' Post Offices":
4-6
Rennick, Robert M. Kentucky Place Names. Lexington, University Press of Kentucky.
1984.
Rennick, Robert M. 1991. "The Post Offices of Edmonson County, Kentucky." La Posta vol. 129:32-9.
Rennick, Robert M. Kentucky's Bluegrass: A Survey of the Post Office. Lake Grove, Oregon:
The Depot. 1993.
Patera, Alan H., and John S. Gallagher, v^ Checklist of Kentucky Post Offices. Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1989.
Maryland Cave Post Offices
City/Town/ZIP Dates of Operation County
Cavetown (21720) 1815-Open Washington
The Caves 1878-1879 Baltimore
In 1748, Joseph Spangenberg wrote in one of the Moravian Diaries, "On July 12th they passed over the South Mountain and came on the same day to the Canigotschik, where they inspected a remarkable cave, which passed through the earth for 300 yards. In its opening 1,000 people can stand, and then it separates into two branches."
Cavetown, a little village nestled at the foot of South Mountain, derived its name in 1815 from a large natural cavern on the edge of the town, popularly known as Bishops Cave.
The town is celebrated for its romantic, picturesque location, and healthy atmosphere.
Bishops Cave itself was located about 300 yards east of the town. The mouth of the cave was 58 feet wide, but the entrance, covered by an arch-like ceiling, was only about 6 feet high. The cave's height ranged between 15 and 20 feet and its total length was 360 feet, with the first of several chambers measuring about 140 feet long and nearly the same in width. Two additional passages terminated in a small, crystal-clear, icy lake. From July 4th to 6th, 1823, James Camper illuminated the cave, and local residents visited this natural wonder for the fee of HVi't. By 1912, however, the adjacent quarry had made the cave unsafe, and, by 1920, it was closed (Figure 47).
On April 5, 1878, John Bowen completed the site survey for The Caves Post Office, located near Mail Route 10018 between Baltimore and Lake Roland. The post office was 3 miles north of Stevenson Station. There are no known postmarks.
Figure 47. Cavetown, Maryland, CDS with target killer and DoaneNumber "3."