Richardsontown Township
Oxford County, Maine

last update for this page: 28 May 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 Richardsontown Township, there have been two post offices.

Briefly, the history of these two is as follows:
1. Birches post offices was established on 22 April 1896 and closed on 4 May 1898. It re-opened on 20 May 1898 and closed on 31 August 1926.
2. Upper Dam post office opened on 8 July 1878 and closed on 7 September 1881. It re-opened on 17 May 1882, closed on 25 April 1891, re-opened on 25 June 1892, and closed on 30 September 1950.

In 1914, there were two post offices in what is now Richardsontown Township. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
      
      Click on image to enlarge.




Postmarks from Richardsontown Township include:
Birches
Upper Dam



Birches


1896 April 22:
   Birches post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1898 May 4:
   Birches post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1898 May 20:
   Birches post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1905 July 31:
   The circular postmark is 28–29 mm in diameter.
      

1926 August 31:
   Birches post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)


Upper Dam


1878 July 8:
   Upper Dam post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1881 September 7:
   Upper Dam post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1882 May 17:
   Upper Dam post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1891 April 25:
   Upper Dam post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1892 June 25:
   Upper Dam post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1939 December 5:
   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 20 mm
      

1950 September 30:
   Upper Dam post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)