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.
Chambers Stamp Factory. . Two miles northeast, at Lodge, stood the Chambers Stamp Factory, owned by the same family for our 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.
Two miles northeast, at Lodge, stood the Chambers Stamp Factory, owned by the same family for our 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.)
Location. 37° 57.975′ N, 76° 33.854′ W. Marker is in Callao, Virginia, in Northumberland County. Marker is on Richmond Road (U.S. 360) just west of Hampton Hall Road (Virginia Route 202), on
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the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Callao VA 22435, United States of America. Touch for directions.
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.
Photographed By Frank R Scheer, circa 1920
4. Chambers Stamp Factory Marker
A building view of the Chambers Shop for manufacturing postmarking devices used by the Post Office Department.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2009, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,285 times since then and 40 times this year. 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.