On February 16, 1892, the Durham post office opens. Dennis Dwyer is the postmaster. Durham is located in southeast King County near the town of Selleck. The post office lasts just 16 months before closing. Durham was a coal town located in southeast King County close to the town of Selleck.
The Durham Colliery was originally organized by Peter Kirk's Moss Bay Iron & Steel Co. in 1886 to supply coal for his planned Kirkland steel mills. Durham was named for a town in Kirk's native north England. Coal production commenced in 1888 but was shut down within a year.
On March 2, 1915, the Durham post office reopened after being closed for 21 years. (Coal mining had resumed.) Herbert T. Pinkham was postmaster. The post office closed permanently on May 31, 1921.
Sources:
Guy Reed Ramsey, "Postmarked Washington, 1850-1960," Microfilm (Olympia: Washington State Library, February, 1966), 638; HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History "Durham: a King County Coal Mining Town" (by Nina Elizabeth (Morris) Falk with William Kombol) www.historylink.org/ (accessed November 1, 2006).
Note: This essay was expanded on November 1, 2006.
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