Diagonal Post Office

This history is obtained from and used with permission of the authors of Diagonal, Iowa -- Centennial History, 1888-1988

.
Diagonal Post Office

            With the Burlington Railroad running east and west, the Chicago Great Western running north and south through Diagonal, the town had top mail service since its beginning. The railroads played an important part in the arrival and dispatch of mail and they were fortunate to have had good Star Route carrier service and dedicated personnel.

            In July 1889, Diagonal petitioned for and was granted a post office to be called Diagonal, with our townsman, W.A. Harvey as postmaster. It is believed the first post office was located near the Burlington Depot on the north side of the Porter Hotel. In 1901, two rural free mail routes were established. They were 24 miles long compared to routes of over 100 miles today.

            In 1903, the post office was moved up to the new brick building built by Ostrander and Fogle; it is the site of the Diagonal café today.

            In 1919, the post office was moved across the street beside the White Way Bakery, which was later Pearl Kokesh’s middle building. In 1925, D.V. Ferris built a building on the south side of the present bank building, and the post office moved up the street to that location and remains there today.

            With the closing of the Knowlton post office in 1921, there were five routes, but they have been combined into two, with one of the routes serving Clearfield patrons.

            Dick Yashack, with over 27 years as postmaster, and Carrol Matthews, with over 22 years as clerk, were the longest postmaster and clerk combination in the Diagonal Post Office history. Yashack was also the first postmaster to retire from this office, with Matthews and Hanshaw following.

            Postmasters were replaced with each change of political administration until the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration. A bill was passed to do away with this policy to protect all government workers.

A full list of the Diagonal Postmasters, as provided by the authors of Diagonal, Iowa -- Centennial History, 1888-1988, on page 68.