63073 - St. Albans, Missouri (former)
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 34.819 W 090° 46.332
15S E 694054 N 4272558
Known historically as St. Albans General Store actually operated for over 60 years as Heads Store.
Waymark Code: WMY8A4
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 05/09/2018
Views: 0
County of store: Franklin County
Location of store: St. Albans Rd. & Studio Rd., St. Albans
Built: 1892
"Heipertz ran the store until around the turn of the century, and at least part of the time he served as the St. Albans Postmaster. As the only place of business in the immediate vicinity, the store was a logical location for the post office, a status emphasized by a sign over the door which read "St. Albans P.O." (See figure 5. That sign would also have helped train travelers identify their location.) Heipertz took over the job of post master from Charles Becker in 1895, and remain in the position until 1901. The combination of positions of postmaster ans storekeeper, which was quite common at the time, followed a long tradition. One historical account of general stores noted that "waiting for the mail" was "a country store memory reaching far back to ancient days when the recipient of the letter paid the postage and could not peek until willing and able to put up the rhino for postage due." Another pointed out the positive effect such combined duties had upon the merchant's standing in the community.:
Every item of news, not only local, but from a distance, -as he is frequently the postmaster, and the only subscriber
to the newspaper- has general dissemination from his establishment as from a common center; and thither all
resort, at least one a week, both for goods and for intelligence.
"The position of postmaster was also financially rewarding; early records show that the job in 1893 paid just over
$53, an amount equal to almost half of the annual rent for the store. Having
the post office within the new store
apparently increased the volume of mail handled locally; by
1899, Heipertz's salary as postmaster had risen to
$157.08, an amount that more than covered his
annual rent on the property of $110. That financial advantage
continued into the twentieth century
as well. A newspaper article published in 1931 included the following quote
from then-owner and
postmaster John Pfeiffer: "I'm Postmaster, here, you see and that brings me in $3 a day
and that's
plenty for my wife and two daughters and myself."'
~ NRHP Nomination Form, page 15
Type of structure:: Stand Alone
re-enter Zip Code here:: 63073
Current Status:: Former Historic Location
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