Aug. 2 — Sumner's mail had to go through

Vicki Connor / guest columnist

When the Kincaid family took up their Donation Land Claim in January of 1854, there was no town or village called Sumner. The area was commonly referred to as Stuck Junction. The only people living in this section of the valley were the Hudson’s Bay men, George D. Heyward and George Dean. Eventually the Kincaids were joined by the families of Isaac and Abram Woolery, Jonathon McCarty, Willis Boatman, Thomas Owens, Abial Morrison, Isaac Lemon, Adam Peron and John Carson.

It is difficult to imagine the isolation early settlers endured. An occasional visitor might stop by, but all forms of transportation were time-consuming, inconvenient and downright hazardous. Letters and newspapers were their connection to the families they had left behind, those who moved to other areas in the territory and information about what was going on in the territory, nation, and the world.

A post office was needed.

James P. Stewart is credited with applying for a post office in the name of Franklin for the valley area. John Carson served as the first postmaster. He operated a ferry across the Stuck River at the same time.

It is possible that John Carson operated the post office at or near present-day Sumner, but the three postmasters who followed him had the post office on sites nearer to Puyallup than to Sumner. All of the locations were on the north side of the Puyallup River. The postmaster or mistress operated the post office from their place of business or their private home.

The earliest mail service to Franklin was started on Jan. 1, 1861, by Henry Windsor who had a contract to carry it over land from Olympia to Steilacoom twice a week. At the end of the week, he made a two-day trip over land to Seattle with mail for Franklin and Seattle.

On Jan. 1, 1865, bids were invited for carrying mail once a week from Steilacoom City, a distance of 16 miles, leaving Steilacoom City at 6 a.m. on Thursday, arriving at Franklin at noon and returning the same day from 1 to 6 p.m. Franklin was on the old military road from Fort Steilacoom to Seattle.

On the same day, bids were asked for a route from Seattle by way of White River and Slaughter to Franklin. The service was to start on Wednesday at 7 a.m. with the carrier arriving at 7 p.m., and the return trip on the same schedule the following day. In 1874, this route was shortened to Elhi, still once-a-week-service.

Franklin was a post office in its own right located on the north bank of the Puyallup River about a half-mile north of present-day Puyallup and two miles southwest of present Sumner. Changing the name to Sumner can therefore be explained as moving the post office of Franklin to Sumner to establish the Sumner office.

Vicki Connor is the president of the Sumner Historical Society and the curator of the Ryan House Museum. To reach the historical society, call 253-299-5780.