Dear Mr. McKenzie:

      Mr. William B. Allan, Jr. has forwarded to me your letter of January 6, 1951, requesting information concerning the Salisbury, North Carolina, post office.

      The Salisbury, North Carolina, post office was established June 12, 1792.  City Delivery Service was established at Salisbury September 1, 1902, and Rural Delivery Service on April 1, 1902.

      The records showing the various locations of the post office are not available.

      According to the records of the Department there is no indication that a Mrs. Balfour ever served as postmistress although letters of March 14, 1800, addressed to Mrs. E. Balfour and letters of December 1, 1800, and March 9, 1801, addressed to Mrs. Eliza Balfour, indicate that she was taking care of the business of the office for Andrew Balfour, postmaster from April 16, 1796, until January 7, 1822.  A letter of the Department dated December 7, 1809, was addressed to E. Balfour, postmaster at Salisbury, but in view of other letters of the same period addressed to Andrew Balfour as postmaster at Salisbury, it appears that the title was a clerical error.

      The first woman postmaster was Miss Mary K. Goddard who was appointed postmaster at Baltimore in 1775 under the “Constitutional Postal Service”, which preceded the Continental Post Office.  She was continued in that position until after the organization of the United States Post Office Department in 1798.

      Mrs. Sarah Decrow who was appointed to the position of postmaster at Hertford, North Carolina, September 27, 1792, was the first woman to be appointed to that position after the adoption of the Constitution.

A list of the names of postmasters serving at Salisbury, with the dates of their appointment, will be found on the attached sheet.

                          Sincerely yours,

                              (signed) C. C. Garner

                                    Chief Post Office Inspector.

Enclosure.