Atchison Post Office

The first U.S. Post Office was set up in Atchison in 1855, soon after the town was founded by pro-slavery "squatters" from across the river in Missouri. U.S. Senator John J. Ingalls, a hometown boy from Atchison, was instrumental in obtaining Congressional authorization to build a new Post Office in 1890. The site was purchased by the Federal Government in 1891 from Dr. Cochrane for $14,500. The construction contract was awarded in 1892 and the building was finished in 1894. The building began operating as the new Post Office in March 1894. Receipts from business at the post office increased steadily from 1898 into the first decade of the twentieth century. The Post Office took in $27,000 in 1898; the receipts increased more than ten percent from 1905 to 1906, to about $45,000.

Two arched entryways lead into the building, with the south entrance being slightly more detailed. Transoms divide the windows on the first floor and the towers on the two southern corners. The only circular windows in the building are in the towers; the towers have a fancy corbelled cornice that is duplicated in the building's large chimney. The smaller windows on the second story are framed by paired columns and a dentil band. The main block is covered by a hipped roof.

The interior of the building has been remodeled a number of times. The ceiling was lowered in the early 1950s and new lighting was installed. Not much has changed on the exterior except for removal of some roof ornamentation (perhaps gargoyles to guard the towers?) and the addition of a brick loading dock on the north side of the building.

The two-and-a-half story structure was found eligible for listing in the National Register in 1972 for its significance in architecture, using native stone in a Romanesque influenced style. The exterior stone was found to be deteriorating and masonry repairs were authorized in 2014; repairs to the windows were planned for 2015. A new Postmaster, Christopher D. Rumbley, was installed in April 2014; he is the 24th Postmaster in town since 1855.

Anonymous. "Postoffice Receipts Grow.." Topeka State Journal (Topeka, KS) December 14th 1906. Last ed, 3-3.

Hall, Charles. Pankratz, Richard. NRHP Nomination for Atchison Post Office. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1971.

Loughlin, Amanda. 005-0260-00028 Atchison Post Office, 621 Kansas Ave., Kansas Historic Resources Inventory. Accessed July 15th 2020. https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=005-0260-00028.

Watkins, Richard. Postal Service Appoints New Postmaster in Atchison, KS, United States Postal Service, Postal News. April 18th 2014. Accessed July 15th 2020. https://about.usps.com/news/state-releases/ks/2014/ks_2014_0418.htm.