ADDRESS: 619 Hewett St. Neillsville, Wisconsin 54456
ARTIS: John Van Koert
TITLE: The choosing of the county seat
MEDIUM: Mural
STATUS: The Neillsville Post Office is still active and the mural is view- able by the public. It resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1940
Today we feature the historic Neillsville Wisconsin Post Office. As indicated by the plaque on the front of the building this one has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The story goes like this; many years ago I traveled to Costa Rica with some friends. As we were touring around the country I ended up running into some other tourist. The funny thing is that after talking to them for a while, I found out they lived two towns away from where I was living at the time.
Fast forward to summer 2013 and what happens again? I’m living in the Chicago-Land area. I drive to Wisconsin to bring you these great post offices and who do I meet? Someone that grew up and lived in the same town as I do now? How funny or ironic is that?
Moral of the story, These day you may go weeks, months or years not ever knowing who lives in the same neighborhood as you do. When you travel in search of adventure, I end up meeting people who I may have run past on any day or evening in my own town and not even know it. Funny how that works.
December 23, 2013 – Update
My apologies to the folks of Neillsville. When I initially created this post I misspelled the name of your city. Recently, I’ve taking the time to re-visit and edit some my articles. I made the correction. Lesson learned. Slow down and check your spelling.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 6/4/2013 by David W. Gates Jr.
- Wisconsin Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
- Wisconsin Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
- United States Postal Service
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Reference Number (00001257).
- National Archives Records and Administration Identifier Number (106778780).
