Seeking information about Shelly Station Post Office

Dear Ms. Ruch,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Records of Appointments of Postmasters, 1832 - 9/30/1971 in the Records of the Post Office Department (Record Group 28).  While we were unable to locate listings under the name “Shelly Station,” we were able to locate listings for Shelly, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which appears to be the same location based on a comparison of a current and a historic map of Richland Township in Bucks County, PA. The records include the names and appointment dates of multiple postmasters, with the earliest being Emil W. Harring appointed in 18 March 1879, and the last one being Josephine Stocker, who assumed charge in 1 November 1944 and had her appointment confirmed in 1945. There is a notation under her entry that post office was discontinued 13 May 1955, effective 31 May 1955. After that, mail was to be sent to to Quakertown.

These appointment records were reproduced on Microfilm Publication M841, which is described on our topic page Appointment of Postmasters, 1832 - September 30, 1971. Microfilm Publication M841 has been digitized by Ancestry and is available through their website as data collection U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971.  There may be a fee for using this service, or you may view these records online at one NARA’s facilities for free on any NARA PC.

We also located Records of the Commissioning and Appointment of Postmasters, 1889 - 1908, Daily Records of the Appointment of Postmasters and of the Establishment, Discontinuance, and Name and Site Changes of Post Offices, 1/1899 - 12/1914, and Records Relating to Post Office Department Appointments, 1905 - 1960 which may have additional information on postmasters appointed during during these time periods.

For access to Record Group 28 records, please contact the National Archives in Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) via email at archives1reference@nara.gov.

The National Archives at St. Louis holds the Official Personnel Folders (OPFs) for who worked for the U.S. government in a civilian capacity prior to 1952, to include Post Office Department employees.  To request OPFs for former postmasters or other postal employees, please write to the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL), P.O. Box 38757, St. Louis, MO 63138. Please include the full name used during Federal employment, date of birth, Social Security Number (if applicable), name and location of employing Federal agency, beginning and ending dates of Federal Service. For more information, the web site is https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel.

The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, the United States Postal Service Historian, the Bucks County Historical Society, and the Buck County Free Library may have some information about the post office.

We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!