There is no known record of exactly when postal service began in Salem, but it was likely within the first months of the town’s official charter by the Commonwealth, in 1806. From its start, postal service was run from privately owned facilities, typically existing businesses owned by the state-appointed postmasters. A building on the corner of Main St. and Union St. was jointly owned by Thomas Cooper and James Mason; it is likely that mail service was handled there. Both Cooper & Mason were among the group named as trustees of the town in the Commonwealth’s charter; records also indicate Cooper was Salem’s first Postmaster, and Mason the second.
One of the early patrons of this post office was Tennessee Senator Andrew Jackson (before his Presidency), who passed through Salem regularly on his trips between the Hermitage and Washington, D.C. A letter written by Jackson in July of 1807, to a lawyer in Fincastle, specifically mentions his stay at the “Mair Maid” (Mermaid) tavern in Salem (which was located where the downtown CVS drug store now stands).
By 1901, a dedicated post office had been constructed near Main & College. In 1903, under Postmaster W. Lee Brand, this facility expanded and established the first Rural Free Delivery (RFD) routes into the South Salem and Glenvar areas. That first year, more than 22,000 letters and 31,000 newspapers were delivered to these residences. Full home delivery service to the town did not start until March of 1914, once the volume of mail within the town reached a government-required level. House numbers were established, and three mail carriers were hired.
This building was the first federally-owned postal facility in Salem, which began construction in 1922. Land had been purchased in 1917, but politics and WW I funding delayed construction. It opened in 1923, and served the town & city of Salem until 1985, when the current facility was built further west on Main St. At that time, the US Government sold this building; it was used as a doctor’s office and other commercial space until purchased by Roanoke College in 2013. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Buildings in 1992.
To find this cache, first locate the "clue" at the above location. Based on this clue, and your examination of the side of the Old Post Office building closest to the clue, you will select a particular distance and bearing.
- If the clue equals the number of first floor windows, go 94 feet at a bearing of 256 degrees.
- If the clue equals the number of brick stair steps, go 161 feet at a bearing of 168 degrees.
- If the clue equals the number of columns, go 65 feet at a bearing of 150 degrees.
- If the clue equals the number of brick arches, go 112 feet at a bearing of 315 degrees.
- If the clue equals none of these things, go 81 feet at a bearing of 101 degrees.
Once you reach this location, you should be in the general vicinity of the cache. Rely your geosense and powers of observation to lead you to the final.