For more than 120 years, the tiny Kaweah Post Office has served the folks on the north fork of the Kaweah River. A rustic wooden cabin, just 10 feet by 12 feet, it has withstood time and the elements to carry out its mission.

     It has also withstood periodic challenges to its very existence. Many times the U.S. Postal Service has pursued closure and each time loyal supporters from far and near have defended this historical gem. It has become more than a post office; it is a gathering place, a vestige of the community’s idealistic roots and a touchstone to history.

     The building is tangible evidence of the once-famous Kaweah Cooperative Colony – an effort to form a Utopian community that garnered international attention but only lasted from 1886 to 1892. The post office was first established in 1890 in a tent at Advance, the name chosen as the townsite of the Kaweah colonists. In 1890 the office was moved a short distance away and the name changed to the Kaweah Post Office.

     When the cooperative dream failed, many colonists stayed in the area. They kept the postal connection, moving the location several times to suit their needs.

     As the area became more populated, the post office outgrew this portable system. In 1910, local ranchers pitched in $2.50 each, along with their labor, to build the sturdy little redwood building in use today.

     For awhile, it sat at Bartlett’s Dairy on North Fork Drive, the road constructed by the Kaweah Colonists to reach the higher elevations for their planned lumbering business. Tourists used it as well, since it served as the entrance to Sequoia National Park until a new road on the Kaweah’s Middle Fork was built in the 1930s.

     In 1926, Ida Purdy, whose family were colonists, was appointed postmistress of the Kaweah Post Office. Since she was also the Kaweah Branch librarian and the library was in her home, she asked that the post office be moved there too. No problem. Neighbors put the building onto logs and rolled it down North Fork road about 800 feet to where it remains firmly planted under a towering oak tree to this day – still serving as a community gathering spot where box holders share greetings and news as they gather their daily mail.

     Often called quaint and picturesque, on October 24, 1948, the Kaweah Post Office had its historical status officially recognized by the California Centennial Commission and the Tulare County Historical Society. A special cachet was designed by a local artist for the occasion and 4,000 letters from far and near were posted that day.

     The operating post office has always gone with the land it sits on. Still, it came as a surprise to Kathleen McCleary when she bought her 32-acre ranch in 1999 and was told that she also owned and was responsible for the structure. She has taken that responsibility seriously.

     And, in the cooperative spirit of the early colonists, a whole host of other people took it seriously every time closure threat was imminent, especially in 1953 and 1975.

     The 2010 closure threat came as residents were gearing up for the building’s 100th birthday celebration. School children painted a large “Save the Kaweah Post Office” banner; a special cachet cancellation was welcomed by stamp collectors from around the world; the birthday party featured food and craft booths and music and, as Kathleen put it, “people came in droves.” Beyond public support, the event generated some income – enough to trim the big oak tree for the safety of the building and its patrons.

     The latest appeal for the endangered little building was made as recently as March, 2013. In a letter to the editor of The Kaweah Commonwealth, Kathleen urged more people to sign up as box holders to create a larger revenue stream. The office is now staffed by a volunteer who puts up the mail daily for the 50 box holders and is “open” for counter work one hour a day on weekdays.

     Knowing we cannot always count on tourist appeal and historical nostalgia to convince the government to continue service at the small post office, Kathleen worries about what might become of it when she’s gone. She and others are beginning to research how a permanent land easement could be placed on the property on which the building sits. “It would be nice to preclude somebody from developing the land in a different way. My dream would be to have the post office fully operational again, with a paid postmistress,” says McCleary.

     Pipe dream? Who knows. As we’ve seen before, dreams do come true in Kaweah country.                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                 September, 2013                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Update: In 2021, Kathleen McCleary sold the parcel containing the Kaweah Post Office to her neighbors Ramon and Maria Rodarte, who have vowed to maintain it in its vintage condition and treasure it in honor of their grandchildren and all the generations to come. Mail is still picked up at the post office, but, alas, it can no longer be postmarked “Kaweah.”