Farewell, Georgetown P.O.

Envelope with a Georgetown postmark, likely from the 1870s-early 1880s.

When the railroad extended north through Cuba City in the 1870s, businesses and residents slowly left more established communities, like Georgetown, and gravitated toward the upstart village along the train tracks. Despite a shrinking population, Georgetown survived through the following decades, but it suffered a blow in June 1920 when its post office, which had operated for over 70 years, closed its doors. People living in the area would begin receiving their mail via Cuba City's Rural Route 2 and Platteville's Rural Route 5.

The Georgetown post office was established in 1849 in a log cabin built by early settler George Wineman. Georgetown was known as Smelser, or Smelser's Grove, at that time, but would later be renamed Georgetown in honor of Wineman.

The subsequent postmasters were Robert Nash, Catherine Nash, Frank Dingley, Robert Wilson, James H. Cabanis, William Dent, and James and Alice Jeffrey.  The Jeffreys had run the post office since 1897, and when the doors closed for the last time, Alice had recently passed away and James was in his late 70s.

The Georgetown post office occupied several locations over its history, including the James H. Cabanis store, shown here in 1895 at the intersection of St. Rose Road and County Road D (labeled Broadway in this map).

**Sources used include C. W. Butterfield's 1881 History of Grant County, Castello N. Holford's 1900 History of Grant County, and the Postmaster Appointments for Grant County, Wisconsin.