Callao in Northumberland County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Chambers Stamp Factory

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 30, 2009

1. Chambers Stamp Factory Marker

Inscription. Two miles northeast, at Lodge, stood the Chambers Stamp Factory, owned by the same family for four generations. Founded in Washington, D.C., about 1830 by Benjamin Chambers, Sr., an engraver and inventor of a breech-loading cannon, the company specialized in postmark and cancellation stamps. From 1867 to 1931 the company was the sole supplier for the U.S. Post Office Department. Benjamin Chambers, Jr., moved the factory to Lodge in 1877. After his death in 1908, his son Henry B. Chambers, Sr., assumed direction of the company until he died in 1927. Henry B. Chambers, Jr., succeeded him. In July 1931 the postal department awarded the contract to Pitney Bowes and the Chambers Stamp Company closed the next year.

Erected 1994 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number O-54.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Postal Mail and Philately, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1931.

Location. 37° 57.975′ N, 76° 33.854′ W. Marker is in Callao, Virginia, in Northumberland County. It is on Richmond Road (U.S. 360) just west of Hampton Hall Road (Virginia Route 202), on the

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right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 17364 Richmond Rd, Callao VA 22435, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Northern Neck.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Rev. Paymus Nutt (approx. 0.9 miles away); Greater love hath no man than this (approx. one mile away); Cherry Point and Cowart’s Wharf (approx. 1.9 miles away); Holley Graded School (approx. 2½ miles away); Richmond County / Northumberland County (approx. 2½ miles away); The War of 1812 / British Attacks at Kinsale and Mundy Point (approx. 2.7 miles away); Northumberland County / Westmoreland County (approx. 3.2 miles away); The Stewart Sisters v. The Steamer Sue (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Callao.

Also see . . . Stamped in Time: The “Chambers Shop”. 2019 article by Janet Evans Hinman in House & Home magazine. Excerpt:

In 1867, Chambers, Jr., entered into his own contract with the U.S. Post Office Department to make postmark and canceling stamps and was successful in renewing the contract for the rest of his life. Benjamin Chambers, Sr., died in 1871 in Washington, D.C. at the age of 82 and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery. In 1877, Chambers, Jr., bought the property on Tucker’s Point
Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 30, 2009

2. Chambers Stamp Factory Marker
in Lodge, Northumberland County, and built his new stamp factory there. Historical reports say he found the labor supply adequate and economical, and had no trouble training skilled machinists. According to reports, the manufacturing process was quite painstaking — with an assortment of some 30 or 40 chisels, the “cutters” would carve out each letter of every town and state from a blank steel plate.

(Submitted on February 17, 2026.)

Chambers Stamp Factory Location image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Judith H Harris, circa June 1963

3. Chambers Stamp Factory Location

The peninsula was part of three acres purchased by my parents in 1960. The actual factory was not standing but you could see the foundation outline in the grass. It would have been in the tree area in front of the house, which you can see in this photo.

Employees of the Chambers Stamp Factory image. Click for full size.

(Public Domain), circa 1920

4. Employees of the Chambers Stamp Factory

A building view of the Chambers Shop for manufacturing postmarking devices used by the Post Office Department.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 17, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2009, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,745 times since then and 54 times this year. Last updated on February 15, 2026, by Susie Cambria of Heathsville, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 16, 2009, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on June 23, 2013, by Judith H Harris of Birmingham, United States. 4. submitted on December 23, 2019, by Frank R Scheer of Boyce, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.