PATJENS POST OFFICE - Mount Pleasant, SC
Posted by: 
renruts
N 32° 47.077 W 079° 52.421
17S E 605473 N 3627971
Stop and take a peek into history! The Patjen Post Office will allow you to do just that!
Waymark Code: WMJV86
Location: South Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 01/02/2014
Views: 9
On the Corner of Pitt and Bank now sits a little white post office. Step up to the door and you can peek in and see the post office in all of its glory! Follow the path to the back and you can peer in and see even more. Wonderfully restored to teach us about the way life was, this is a great little place to stop and take a break.
In 1899, this little building became the town’s first free-standing post office, run by postmaster Henry Patjens. At that time, it sat several blocks away from its current location. Henry's son, John Andrea Patjens, would continue using it as a post office until 1917.
Measuring 15 feet by 20 feet, the post office has sat on the corner since 1971, when Tracey Proctor, a descendent of the Patjens, donated the building to the Alhambra Garden Club. In 2000, the club discovered the post office was infested with termites. Club members used the opportunity to restore and improve the old post office. With help from the community, the garden club spent just over $10,000 restoring and repairing the old structure.
Part of the restoration work included providing an opening for the public to peek inside the structure and see items from its postal era, including old post office boxes, a hefty letter-canceling machine, wanted posters and a letter of postal appointment by Woodrow Wilson.
Club members and almost 30 Patjen descendants from across the region were present to celebrate the unveiling of the restorations June 15, 2001.
Marker Text:
PATJENS POST OFFICE
In 1899, the Patjens family built this small office adjacent to their store on Church Street, to serve as the post office in Mount Pleasant. The Patjens family served as postmasters until 1917. Patjens Post Office has been owned and maintained by the Alhambra Garden Club since 1971, when it was moved to Edwards Park. The club restored the building in 2001.
Marker Name: PATJENS POST OFFICE
Marker Location: City
Type of Marker: Building
County: Charleston County
Marker number: Not listed
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