Neillsville Post Office facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Neillsville Post Office
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Mural located inside the Neillsville Post Office.
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| Location | 619 Hewett St. Neillsville, Wisconsin |
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| Architectural style | Modern Movement |
| NRHP reference No. | 00001257 |
| Added to NRHP | October 24, 2000 |
The Neillsville Post Office is a special old building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. This means it's an important part of American history.
The Neillsville Post Office
This building was the very first post office in Neillsville owned by the government. Before this, postal services were run from private places. The person in charge of the mail (the postmaster) chose where to set up shop. From 1890 to 1938, the post office was located just north of where the current building stands.
A New Building
In 1937, the Public Works Administration built the current post office. This was a government program that created jobs during tough economic times. They built many public buildings across the country. The Neillsville Post Office was built using a standard design. This same design was also used for post offices in other Wisconsin towns. These towns include Stoughton and Hartford.
The Story in the Mural
Inside the Neillsville Post Office, you can see a beautiful mural. A mural is a large painting on a wall. This mural was painted in 1940. It was part of a special program by the United States Department of the Treasury. This program set aside a small part of the building's cost for art.
The artist, John Van Koert, painted a scene from 1854. It shows the important vote where citizens of Clark County chose their county seat. The county seat is the main town where the government offices are. The choice was between O'Neill's Mills and Weston Rapids. O'Neill's Mills later became Neillsville. The mural shows the excitement and importance of this historic vote. O'Neill's Mills won the vote, becoming the county seat.
