For the next few weeks we’re continuing to track the history of the Jacksonville post office, the oldest operating post office in Jackson County. Supposedly the first actual Jacksonville post office building of record was the brick building at 110 S. Oregon Street that now houses the Cotton Broker.
In 1861, Israel Haines (shown top left) and his brother Robert constructed this 1-story brick building at the corner of California and Oregon streets, replacing a wooden building they had occupied since arriving in Jacksonville 7 years earlier. It’s one of the oldest commercial buildings to survive 3 major fires that ravaged the town. In 1864 it reportedly housed the Jacksonville post office.
The construction expense may have overextended the brothers financially, since post-1866 records show a series of short-term occupants—Isadore Caro, Gustav Karewski, and Jeremiah Nunan. By 1872, Max Muller (lower left) had moved his “groceries, candies, nuts, and stationery” store to this location where he also performed the duties of postmaster.