Skowhegan Postal History
Somerset County, Maine
a service of
V. F. Thomas Co. - P. O. Box 111 - Shawmut, Maine 04975
info@vfthomas.com
(updated 2 January 2021)
Thank you for the contributions to this page from James Husson, Cheryl Willis Patten, and the Strout family collection.
During the history of the town of Skowhegan, there have been four post offices.
Briefly, the history of these four is as follows:
1. Canaan (2) post office was renamed on 1 April 1814 as Bloomfield post office, which closed on 11 December 1865.
2. Canaan (3) post office was renamed on 2 July 1823 as Milburn post office. This was renamed on 29 April 1836 as Skowhegan post office, which is still operating.
3. East Milburn post office operated from 2 May 1833 until 6 March 1834.
4. South Bloomfield post office operated from 31 May 1848 until 10 January 1857.
In 1914, there was only one post office in what is now Skowhegan: Skowhegan. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
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Postmarks from the town of Skowhegan include:
Skowhegan
1836 April 29:
Skowhegan post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
1906 February 2:
The circular postmark is 24–25 mm in diameter.
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1918 October 16:
The circular postmark is 21–22 mm in diameter.
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date?:
Skowhegan post office.
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1937 November 30 through 1941 December 22:
The circular postmark is 20–21 mm in diameter.
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2020:
Skowhegan post office. 242 Water Street; Skowhegan, Maine 04976. Lat./Long.: N 44°46′00″ x W 69°42′58″
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today:
Skowhegan post office is still in operation.
Milburn
2 July 1823:
The former Canaan (3) post office was renamed as Milburn post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
1835 July 14:
Manuscript postmark. (letter)
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1836 April 29:
Milburn post office was renamed as Skowhegan post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)