FRENCH VILLAGE � The year was 1857 and President
James Buchanan was in office when French Village was granted its U.S.
Post Office. One-hundred and fifty years later the French Village Post
Office is still open for business as area residents, historians and
government officials gathered Friday to mark the sesquicentennial date
of the post office.
Bob Schmidt gave the historical overview of the French Village community
and of the post office.
�There were seven post offices in St. Francois County, including
French Village, in 1857,� Schmidt said. �Big River Mills,
Farmington, French Village, Kinkead, Locust Ridge, Silver Spring and
Stono each had a post office. The only post offices that are still open
are Farmington and French Village. Another achievement for this post
office is that it has remained open continuously since 1857.�
Schmidt said U.S. census figures from 1857 indicated the population of
French Village consisted of 438 Caucasians and 35 slaves.
�I think the main reason French Village got a post office was for
economic gain,� Schmidt said. �Back then post offices used to be
associated with general stores. Ferdinand Au Buchon had a store in
French Village. He applied for a post office as an addition to his
business. There were a lot of people who were receiving pension checks
at that time. Another interesting piece of information is that the
original name of French Village was Petite Canada because of the large
number of French settlers from Canada. I am not for sure, but I suspect
Ferdinand listed French Village on his post office application because
listing Petite Canada would have been unpatriotic.�
Schmidt said in order for a Post Office to be successful it doesn�t
have to be in a big town.
�French Village is not a large town by any stretch,� Schmidt said.
�However, the success to the Post Office�s survival is the fact that
the town is still here. When you look at the list of towns that had Post
Offices in 1857, 90 percent of those towns don�t exist anymore.�
Schmidt�s mother, Eula Schmidt, was presented with a resolution from
Rep. Brad Robinson, D-Bonne Terre, in recognition of being a retired
school teacher and for serving as the French Village town historian.
The current site, on Route Y next door to the entrance of Goose Creek,
is the fourth building to house the Post Office.
Those in attendance Friday had the opportunity to purchase cards
commemorating the 150th anniversary of the French Village Post Office.
Commemorative postmarks were available on Friday,
June 29, 2007, for the
150th anniversary of the French Village Post Office.
