Wednesday, 19th March 2008 (2506 views)

A post office dating back to the California gold rush is marking its 150th anniversary on Wednesday March 19th.

The Redding Record Searchlight reports that local people are enjoying free soda, cake and hamburgers at the post office, in the Klamath River's Happy Camp community.

With a population of some 1,000, Happy Camp developed from a tent city of people who arrived in California to prospect for gold in the mid-1800s.

Mail service in the town initially took the form of mule trains bringing schooner supplies at Crescent City, a former postmaster's history reveals.

Now, the Happy Camp Post Office is reportedly a hub of activity for the locals who use its services.

Lucinda Sturdevant, postmaster at the Happy Camp Post Office, told the publication: "You get a crowd of people and they're always visiting."

Writing on the Happy Camp Chamber of Commerce website, Judy Bushy notes that gold prospectors first coined the name Happy Camp, which they christened the town known as Athithufvuunupma by its Karuk inhabitants.

 

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