Grafton Post Office

Grafton Post Office. . , The Grafton Post Office was established on April 1, 1854 and was initially located in the Old Powell Tavern on Latrobe Street with William Powell as the first postmaster. The property for this building was ceded to the federal government via a city ordinance on February 13, 1910 although ground was not broken until June 1, 1913. The cornerstone was laid on December 1, 1913 in a large ceremony that included a parade from East Main Street to the site. The parade was headed by Vincent's band followed by both public and parochial school children., The building, which was completed January 1, 1915, was built in the Classical Revival style of stone from Kingwood Quarries at a cost of $135,000. This post office incorporated smaller offices in West Grafton, Fetterman, Pruntytown, Knottsville, Cecil, and Webster and was an important railway post terminal. In the early days, 100 railroad mail clerks were in and out of Grafton daily., During World War I, sewing machines were installed on the second floor and all local women and girls were asked to devote some of their time to making various types of garments for the armed forces. Following World War II, nearly $1 million in postal savings was on deposit here, second only to Wheeling in West Virginia.