Dresden Postal History
Lincoln County, Maine
last update for this page: 23 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 Dresden, there have been five post offices.
Briefly, the history of these five is as follows:
1. Cedar Grove post office opened on 27 November 1885, closed on 31 August 1887, and re-opened on 12 January 1888. It was renamed on 28 December 1968 as Dresden (3) post office, which is still in operation.
2. Dresden (1) post office opened on 28 January 1796, closed on 7 February 1824, re-opened on 2 April 1824, and closed on 31 January 1934.
3. Dresden Mills post office opened on 16 January 1818 and was renamed on 1 February 1954 as Dresden (2) post office, which closed on 27 December 1968.
4. South Dresden post office opened on 13 July 1848, closed on 17 October 1857, re-opened on 8 October 1858, closed on 6 January 1860, re-opened on 7 May 1891, and closed on 15 April 1930.
5. West Dresden post office opened on 7 March 1870 and closed on 15 October 1920.
In 1914, there were five post offices in Dresden: Cedar Grove, Dresden (1), Dresden Mills, South Dresden, and West Dresden. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
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Postmarks from the town of Dresden include:
Cedar Grove
1885 November 27:
Cedar Grove post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1887 February: [both sides]
The circular postmark is 26–27 mm in diameter.
(click on an image to enlarge)
1887 August 31:
Cedar Grove post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1888 January 12:
Cedar Grove post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1904 July 12:
The circular postmark is 27–28 mm in diameter. The outer vertical height of the four bars to the right of the circle is 13 mm.
(click on image to enlarge)
1924 May 15:
The circular postmark is 30–31 mm in diameter.
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1935 September 19:
The circular postmark is 33–34 mm in diameter. The outer vertical height of the four bars to the right of the circle is 19–20 mm.
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1950 December 2:
The circular postmark is 32–34 mm in diameter. The outer vertical height of the four bars to the right of the circle is 19 mm.
(click on image to enlarge)
1968 December 28:
Cedar Grove post office was renamed as Dresden (3) post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
Dresden (3)
1968 December 28:
The former Cedar Grove post office was renamed as Dresden (3) post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1991 April 6:
The circular postmark is 32–33 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is approximately 19 mm.
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(click on image to enlarge)
1991 April 6:
The outer circle of the postmark is 27–29 mm in diameter; the inner, 18–19 mm.
%20cover%201991%20April%206b.jpg)
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2020:
Dresden (3) post office 2020. 12 Middle Road; Dresden, Maine 04342. Lat./Long.: N 44°06′24″ x W 69°43′27″
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today:
Dresden (3) post office is still in operation.
Dresden Mills
1818 January 16:
Dresden Mills post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
1844 November 8:
Manuscript postmark. (letter)
(click on image to enlarge)
1907 February 14:
The circular postmark is approximately 31 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is 13–14 mm.
(click on image to enlarge)
1935 September 19:
The circular postmark is 32–33 mm in diameter.
(click on image to enlarge)
1954 February 1:
Dresden Mills post office was renamed as Dresden (2) post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
West Dresden
1870 March 7:
West Dresden post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)
date?:
West Dresden post office.
(click on image to enlarge)
1920 November 15:
West Dresden post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)