Wilton Postal History
Franklin County, Maine
last update for this page: 22 November 2020
Maine Postal History
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Waterville Stamp Club
Thank you for the contributions to this page from James Husson and from the Strout family collection.
During the history of the town of Wilton, there have been five post offices.
Briefly, the history of these five is as follows:
1. Dryden post office opened on 30 January 1899 and is still operating.
2. East Wilton post office opened on 29 February 1828 and is still operating.
3. North Wilton post office opened on 21 May 1838 and closed on 6 November 1865.
4. Notch post office opened on 20 November 1882 and closed on 31 January 1914.
5. Wilton post office opened on 13 January 1815 and is still in operation.
In 1914, there were three post offices in Wilton: Dryden, East Wilton, and Wilton. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
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Postmarks from the town of Wilton include:
Dryden
1899 January 30:
Dryden post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1934 May 11 through 1938 May 10:
The circular postmark is 29–30 mm in diameter.
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1940 November 22 through 1950 June 26:
The circular postmark is 29–30 mm in diameter.
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1964 April 21:
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1965: [year determined from nonpostal seals on reverse]
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today:
Dryden post office is still in operation.
East Wilton
1828 February 29:
East Wilton post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1932 July 4 through 1934 May 19:
The circular postmark is 31–32 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is 18–19 mm.
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1943 July 17:
The circular postmark is 33–34 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is approximately 21 mm.
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1946 May 28 through 1950 January 7:
The circular postmark is 31–32 mm in diameter. The four bars to the right of the circle are approximately 5.5 mm on center.
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today:
East Wilton post office is still in operation.
Notch
1882 November 20:
Notch post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1907 February:
The circular postmark is 27–28 mm in diameter.
(click on image to enlarge)
1914 January 31:
Notch post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
Wilton
1815 January 13:
Wilton post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1842 May 30:
Manuscript postmark. (letter)
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1871 September 2:
The outer circle of the postmark is approximately 29 mm in diameter; the inner circle, approximately 20 mm in diameter. Postmark contains the name of the postmaster, C. E. Packard.
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1885 April 8:
The outer circle of the postmark is 27–28 mm in diameter; the inner circle, approximately 17 mm in diameter. Note that the year is upside down.
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date?:
Wilton post office.
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1939 December 4:
The circular postmark is approximately 27 mm in diameter.
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1949 May 27 through 1949 September 14:
The circular postmark is approximately 27 mm in diameter.
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1946 May 28:
The circular postmark is 21–22 mm in diameter.
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1964 March 24:
The outer circle of the postmark is approximately 31 mm in diameter. The inner circle, 19–20 mm in diameter.
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1967 May 13
The circular postmark is approximately 33 mm in diameter. The four lines to the right of the postmark are approximately 66 mm long and just under 6 mm on center.
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today:
Wilton post office is still in operation.