Powell Post Offices
There have been several previous post office sites in Powell before the current building at 50 Grace Drive opened in 1989. Before 1857, Powell’s mail service was held in the store at the corner of East Olentangy Street and North Liberty Street, and mail was delivered from Lewis Center. In 1857, Judge Thomas Powell of Delaware helped with the legal process of establishing the town Post Office. In appreciation to him, the town was renamed from Middlebury to Powell. By 1876, mail was delivered and sent by rail and train service. In 1920, the post office utilized the small confectionary and print shop at 16 West Olentangy Street, built and established as a bank in 1880. The small white building, starting as a bank, served as the Post Office until 1973. By then, the roof was leaking, and the fuel oil stove provided insufficient heat in the winter. A new facility at 15 S. Liberty provided running water, phone service and air conditioning. The continued growth of Powell soon demanded more building space and parking. When the post office on Grace Drive opened in 1989, half of the building was used as a dance studio until 1996 when again, more space was needed. As Powell continued to grow, so did postage rates. A first-class stamp in 1925 cost 2 cents; by 1973 it was 8 cents; in 1989 it was up to 25 cents; and in 1996 it cost 32 cents to mail a first-class letter. In July of this year the rate jumped 5 cents and is now 73 cents!
