Machiasport Postal History
Washington County, Maine
last update for this page: 10 January 2021
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 Machiasport. there have been four post offices.
Briefly, the history of these four is as follows:
1. Bucks Harbor psot office opened on 4 August 1887 and closed on 29 September 1992.
2. Larrabee post office opened on 6 August 1891 and closed on 31 October 1957.
3. Machiasport post office opened on 14 July 1826 and is still operating.
4. Sprague post office was established on 24 March 1905 and on 17 May 1905 was renamed as
Starboard post office. Starboard post office closed on 15 March 1907, re-opened 14 August 1909, closed 15 October 1918; re-opened 15 April 1919, and closed 30 June 1955.
In 1914, there were four post offices in Machiasport: Bucks Harbor, Larrabee, Machiasport, and Starboard. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
(click on image to enlarge)
Postmarks from the town of Machiasport include:
Bucks Harbor
1887 August 4:
Bucks Harbor post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
1931 November 18 through 1934 July 2:
The circular postmark is 30–31 mm in diameter. The four horizontal bars to the right of the circle are 5–6 mm apart on center.
(click on an image to enlarge)
1992 September 29:
Bucks Harbor post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
Larrabee
1891 August 6:
Larrabee post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
1908 December 2:
The circular postmark is 28–29 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal pairs of bars to the right of the circle is 13–14 mm.
(click on image to enlarge)
1934 July 24:
The circular postmark is 32–33 mm in diameter. The four horizontal bars to the right of the circle are approximately 6 mm apart on center.
(click on image to enlarge)
1947 August 4:
The circular postmark is 32–33 mm in diameter. The four horizontal bars to the right of the circle are a little under 6 mm apart on center.
(click on image to enlarge)
1957 October 31:
Larrabee post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
Machiasport
1826 July 14:
Machiasport post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
year? November 4:
Straight-line postmark. No letter inside.
(click on image to enlarge)
1884 March 31:
The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter.
(click on image to enlarge)
1910 November 2:
The circular postmark is 30–31 mm in diameter.
(click on image to enlarge)
2020:
Machiasport post office. 860 Post Road; Machiasport, Maine 04655. Lat./Long.: N 44°40′42″ x W 67°24′16″
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today:
Machiasport post office is still in operation.