Amazing One of the Four Oldest Post Offices Still Operating is Right Here in New Jersey

Looking at "postal" history here in America it started back in 1775. According to the United States Postal Service "In the case of the original 13 states, July 26, 1775, is considered to be the establishment date. On that date, Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first American Postmaster General under the Continental Congress."

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Here in New Jersey July 26th, 1775, post offices opened in Elizabeth (originally “Elizabethtown”), Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton, and Woodbridge.

Another part of postal history here in America is right in Southern New Jersey in the Historic Village of Batsto. Batsto is located in the Wharton State Forest in Burlington County. The historic fact is that the post office at Batsto is one of the oldest "four" that are still operating in the United States.

According to the Batsto website "The is one of the four oldest post offices currently operating in the United States. After its opening in 1852 by Jesse Richards, one of Batsto’s most prominent ironmasters, it served the community for many years."

In addition "The Batsto post office closed in 1870 as the local economy failed. It re-opened in the 1880s, closed again in 1911, and was re-opened by the Batsto Citizens Committee in 1966. As a historical structure, it was never assigned a zip code. All of the stamps are hand-canceled."

Once again it's amazing how much American history is right here in New Jersey. If you have never traveled to Batsto Village, take a day trip and see some true U.S. history still standing here in the Garden State.

Not only is there the historic village, but there are also great hiking trails at Batsto that you can enjoy. So get outdoors, enjoy the history, and get your steps in at Batsto.