Penobscot Postal History
 Hancock County, Maine
last update for this page: 13 September 2020



Maine Postal History ------ 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 Penobscot, there have been five post offices.

Briefly, the history of these five is as follows:
1. North Penobscot post office opened on 22 September 1836 and closed on 11 November 1851. It re-opened on 1 June 1853 and on 30 December 1966 was renamed as Noth Penobscot Rur. Sta. Penobscot, which closed on 31 July 1968.
2. Penobscot (3) post office opened on 28 December 1831, closed on 8 December 1832, re-opened on 27 February 1833 and is still in operation.
3. Penobscot Center post office opened on 7 June 1887 and closed on 11 August 1887.
4. South Penobscot post office was established on 24 February 1857. It was renamed on 25 April 1965 as South Penobscot Rur. Sta. Penobscot, which closed on 24 April 1974.
5. West Penobscot post office opened on 14 March 1879 and closed on 31 October 1908.


In 1914 there were three post offices in Penobscot: North Penobscot, Penobscot (3), and South Penobscot. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)



Postmarks from the town of Penobscot include:
North Penobscot
North Penobscot Rur. Sta. Penobscot
 Penobscot (3)
Penobscot Centre
 South Penobscot
 South Penobscot Rur. Sta. Penobscot
 West Penobscot



Penobscot (3)


1831 December 28:
   Penobscot (3) post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1832 December 8:
   Penobscot (3) post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1833 February 27:
   Penobscot (3) post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1933 April 7:
   The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1948 August 30 through 1950 March 3:
   The circular postmark is 32–36 mm in diameter.
         
      (click on an image to enlarge)

2020:
   Penobscot (3) post office. 21 North Penobscot Road; Penobscot, Maine 04476. Lat./Long.: N 44°27′53″ x W 68°42′36″
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

today:
   Penobscot (3) post office is still in operation.


South Penobscot


1857 February 24:
   South Penobscot post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1893 September 16:
   The circular postmark is approximately 27 mm in diameter. The outside diameter of the target cancelation is approximately 16 mm.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1935 November 1:
   The circular postmark is approximately 33 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is 19 mm.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1946 August 3 through 1947 July 17:
   The circular postmark is approximately 33 mm in diameter.
         
      (click on an image to enlarge)

1958 August 29:
   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 20 mm.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1965 April 25:
   South Penobscot post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)


West Penobscot


1879 March 14:
   West Penobscot post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1907 June 24:
   The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1908 October 31:
   West Penobscot post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)