DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Liverpool Post Office, out there in Brazoria County. Now settle in, because this one's got more twists than Chocolate Bayou itself. Liverpool was officially founded in 1837, and for those first years — before the 1840s even — if you wanted your mail, you were waiting on a boat.
Came in by water, through Galveston or Velasco. That's just the way of things when your town is newer than some of the mud it's built on. Then 1846 rolls around, and Liverpool gets its first postmaster.
And not just anybody. Warren D. C.
Hall — born 1788, died 1867 — was a leader in the Texas Revolution and had served as secretary of war in the Republic of Texas. That's the kind of man they put in charge of sorting the letters. Three more postmasters followed Hall before the office closed in 1867.
And then — nothing. The reconstruction period after the Civil War left Liverpool without a post office entirely. If you needed your mail, you had to head over to Sandy Point, a community on the Columbia Tap Railroad.
Liverpool was on its own for a while. Then Allen Levie became postmaster in 1879, and mail started coming in three times a week. Progress.
Thirteen years after Levie took over, Margaret Wehrly made a move — literally. She relocated the post office away from the Liverpool center, closer to a newly erected iron bridge spanning Chocolate Bayou. And that bridge had a kind of gravity to it, because from 1892 to 1900 the post office bounced back and forth, several times, between the iron bridge and downtown Liverpool.
Wherever the postmaster lived or worked, that's where the post office was — a residence, a depot, a general store, a ferry office. That was just how it went. Then in 1900, Henry Clement built the first actual postal building, near his own home.
A dedicated structure, at last. The town itself got rearranged in 1908 when the new Liverpool town site was laid out on the railroad. Things shifted again, as they do.
But here's the detail that'll stay with you. Among the postmasters who kept things running in the years that followed was one Louisa Richardson Ackerman Faulkner. That name right there tells you something.
She served a term as postmaster during each of her three marriages. Three different names, three different terms, one remarkable woman keeping the mail moving through it all. Operations stayed in homes and businesses near downtown until another post office building was finally erected in 1942.
And the story doesn't end there — with its twenty-third postmaster appointed in 1997, the Liverpool Post Office is still serving the area. Mail's still getting through. Louisa would approve.
What the marker says
Liverpool, officially founded in 1837, received most of its mail by boat via Galveston or Velasco before the 1840s. Warren D. C. Hall (1788-1867), a leader in the Texas revolution and former secretary of war in the Republic of Texas, became Liverpool's first postmaster in 1846. Three more postmasters served before the office was closed in 1867. There was no post office in Liverpool during the reconstruction period following the Civil War; the closest was at Sandy Point, a community on the Columbia Tap Railroad. Allen Levie became postmaster in 1879, receiving mail three times a week. Thirteen years later, Margaret Wehrly moved the post office to a building away from the Liverpool center. As did many businesses, the office moved closer to the newly erected iron bridge which spanned Chocolate Bayou. From 1892 to 1900, the post office moved several times between the iron bridge and downtown Liverpool. Postal operations were usually housed in the postmaster's residence or business such as the depot, general store, or ferry office. Henry Clement built the first postal building near his home in 1900. In 1908, the new Liverpool town site was laid out on the railroad. Other postmasters, including Louisa Richardson Ackerman Faulkner, who served a term during each of her three marriages, continued to use homes or businesses near downtown until another post office was erected in 1942. With its twenty-third postmaster appointed in 1997, the Liverpool Post Office continues to serve the area. (1998)