Otisfield Postal History
Oxford County, Maine

last update for this page: 3 May 2021



Maine Postal History ------ Waterville Stamp Club


Thank you for the contributions to this page from James Husson and from the Strout family collection.

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During the history of the town of Otisfield, there have been seven post offices.

Briefly, the history of these seven is as follows:
1. Bolsters Mills opened on 23 May 1829, closed on 15 August 1907, re-opened on 30 August 1909, and closed n 31 December 1968.
2. East Otisfield post office opened on 1 September 1855 and closed on 31 January 1920.
3. Oaks post office opened on 10 February 1897 and closed on 14 July 1905.
4. Otisfield post office opened on 15 december 1825, closed on 1 October 1846, re-opened on 21 December 1846, closed on 17 October 1877, re-opened on 30 October 1877, closed on 30 April 1908, re-opened on 29 July 1913, and closed on 30 June 1943.
5. Otisfield Gore post office opened on 23 January 1889 and closed on 31 January 1902.
6. South Otisfield (1) post office opened on 15 May 1828, and on 8 April 1834 was renamed as Naples post office.
7. South Otisfield (2) post office opened on 15 January 1889 and closed on 23 April 1890.


In 1914, there were three post offices in what is now Otisfield: Bolsters Mills, East Otisfield, and Otisfield. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

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Postmarks from the town of Otisfield include:

Bolsters Mills East Otisfield

Oaks Otisfield

Otisfield Gore

South Otisfield (1)

South Otisfield (2)

Bolsters Mills
1829 May 23:
   Post office opened as Bolster Mills. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1852:
   Postmaster: Wyatt Turner. (source: Maine Register and State Reference Book. 1852.)

1893 September 1:
   Spelling changed to Bolsters Mills. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1907 August 15:
   Bolsters Mills post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1909 August 30:
   Bolsters Mills post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1950 July 13 through 1956 October 11:
   The circular postmark is 31–34 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is 18 mm.
         
      (click on an image to enlarge)


1968 December 31:
   Bolsters Mills post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)


East Otisfield
1855 September 1:
   East Otisfield post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

date?:
   East Otisfield post office.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)


1920 January 31:
   East Otisfield post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)


Oaks
1897 February 10:
   Oaks post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1902 February 4:
   The circular postmark is 28 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)


1905 July 14:
   Oaks post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)


Otisfield
1825 December 15:
   Otisfield post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

year? February 22:
   Manuscript postmark. (letter [page 1], letter [page 2])
      
      (click on image to enlarge)


1846 October 1:
   Otisfield post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1846 December 21:
   Otisfield post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1877 October 17:
   Otisfield post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1877 October 30:
   Otisfield post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1908 April 30:
   Otisfield post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1913 July 29:
   Otisfield post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1943 June 30:
   Otisfield post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)


Otisfield Gore
1889 January 23:
   Otisfield Gore post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1898 October 31:
   The circular postmark is 28.5 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)


1902 January 31:
   Otisfield Gore post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)