West Rochester Post Office

West Rochester, which includes the "town" of Robinson, five miles west of Rochester, once home of several sawmills, "Bingo," the area beyond along the West Branch of the White River, and West Hill, were thriving communities in the 1800s and early 1900s, and while still on the Google Earth map, Robinson now is only a few houses.

There were two post offices in West Rochester/Bingo/Robinson, the first, called West Rochester, was established May 27, 1848, a year after this land had changed from being part of the land of Goshen, in Addison County, to becoming part of Rochester, in Windsor county. Rufus Towle, an early settler of Goshen, and a selectman and state representative from that town (which has never had a post office) was now postmaster of West Rochester. The post office was discontinued April 27, 1874.

In the early twentieth century, another post office was created in the same area that was now called Robinson after one of the large sawmill owners, also lasting but a few decades.

Image is a xerox on file at the Barre Vermont Historical Society, in the historic and beautiful Spaulding Building. There is also an excellent new blog on Vermont Postal History, by Glen Estus. The Vermont Philatelic Society also has a website, and opens to an envelope addressed to Mary Washburn may figure into our Ransom Towle story. Stay tuned.