Newbury Park Post Office facts for kids
The Newbury Park Post Office was a very important place! It was the very first post office in the Conejo Valley. It started way back on July 16, 1875. A man named Egbert Starr Newbury was the first person in charge, called the postmaster.
Imagine living in the Conejo Valley before the post office. If you wanted to send or get mail, you had to ride a horse all the way to Ventura! That was a long trip. So, Egbert Starr Newbury and his wife Frances set up the office in a tent right next to their home. This spot is now where the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is. It made it much easier for local ranchers and their families to get their letters and packages.
The post office didn't stay in one place for long! It moved many times over the years. It started at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza site. Then, in 1891, it moved to where The Oaks mall is today. Later, in 1908, William Knowlton moved it to the original Stagecoach Inn on Ventu Park Road. In 1942, it moved again to a small building at 1200 Newbury Road. More moves happened in 1968 to 1602 Newbury Road, and in 2013 to 3401 Grande Vista Drive. Even though it moved a lot, its name, Newbury Park Post Office, always stayed the same! That's why the Newbury Park address is still used today.
Contents
The History of Mail in Newbury Park
How the First Post Office Started
In 1874, Egbert Starr Newbury moved to the Conejo Valley with his family from Santa Barbara. He built his home where the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is now. There was no easy way to send or receive mail. So, Newbury decided to ask the government to open a post office.
On July 16, 1875, his dream came true! The post office opened in a tent outside his home. Newbury became the very first postmaster in the Conejo Valley. A postmaster is the person in charge of a post office.
Changes and Moves Over Time
After a big drought in 1876-77, the Newbury family left the Conejo Valley. This meant the post office had to move. For ten years, it was located in different ranch homes in the eastern part of the Conejo Valley. But it was still called the Newbury Park Post Office!
In 1888, another post office called the Timberville Post Office opened in what is now Newbury Park. This one served the small community of Timberville, which was near the Grand Union Hotel and the Timber School.
Combining Post Offices
By 1891, there were two post offices in the Conejo Valley. The postmasters, James Skelton and G. W. Hepner, thought it would be better to combine them. They suggested a new location halfway between the two.
On June 21, 1893, they agreed! The new combined post office was set up on Richard Orville Hunt's Salto Ranch. This spot is close to where Lynn Road and Hillcrest Drive are today. The name "Newbury Park Post Office" was kept, and Mr. Hunt became the postmaster with his wife Mary Jane helping him.
More Moves and New Buildings
After 17 years at the Hunt Ranch, near The Oaks mall, the post office moved again in 1908. It went to a shop owned by William Knowlton, near the Conejo Hotel on Newbury Road. William and his sister Sarah ran it until 1924.
Then, it moved into a tiny building at 1200 Newbury Road. This building was only 10 by 12 feet! It had just one electric light and no running water.
The post office stayed at that Newbury Road spot for 29 years. In 1953, it moved further north on Newbury Road into a bigger space. A brand new post office building was built at 1602 Newbury Road and opened on May 26, 1968. The most recent move happened on June 22, 2013, when it went to a U.S. Postal Service building at 3401 Grande Vista Drive.
Newbury Park Postmasters
A postmaster is the person in charge of a post office. They make sure the mail gets sorted and delivered correctly. Here is a list of the people who were in charge of the Newbury Park Post Office:
- July 16, 1875: Egbert Starr Newbury
- August 21, 1877: James Bellah
- December 19, 1878: Howard Mills
- January 26, 1882: Jonathan Cutler
- October 8, 1883: Ignatius Philbrook
- 1885: James Skelton
- November 25, 1891: Richard O. Hunt (who owned the Salto/Lynn Ranch)
- February 1, 1908: Wil Knowlton
- September 15, 1909: Sarah Knowlton
- February 17, 1916: Sarah E. Patton
- 1920: Wil Knowlton
- February 16, 1921: Louise R. Browning
- February 25, 1924: Lloyd V. Lewis
- April 22, 1931: Christine E. Lewis
- October 4, 1939: Willetta Brossard
- May 27, 1940: Abram Hampton
- October 24, 1942: Florence Hampton
- December 31, 1958: Bertha Jones
- September 4, 1962: Russell E. Jacobsen
On January 8, 1972, the Newbury Park Post Office joined with the Thousand Oaks Post Office. Russell E. Jacobsen became the postmaster for both offices. Since then, nine different postmasters have been in charge of the combined offices.
