History is being made today as the new highway postoffice makes its inaugural trip from Indianapolis to Elkhart. For two hours, from about 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. this "postoffice on wheels" will be traveling northward through our county, making stops at Silver lake, Claypool, Warsaw, Leesburg and Milford. As it makes this trip, it will pass by some important points of interest in the history of the postal service in this county.

The Silver Lake office is 93 years old. The first postmaster was Jacob Paulus, who, with his brother, Daniel, ran a general store at the village. A dry-goods box served as the letter depository at the Paulus store. Several miles north of Silver Lake the new highway postoffice will pass near the site of the home of Joshua Caldwell. Caldwell was appointed Claypool postmaster in 1840 and for 25 years the office was in his home. That was before there was any town of Claypool; in fact, the village was not platted until 1873, and was located some distance from the postoffice after which it had been named.

When the highway postoffice pulls into Warsaw, it will be visiting a postoffice which is 115 years old. Jacob Baker was appointed the first postmaster at Warsaw on Feb. 11, 1837.

The stop at Leesburg will be especially significant because it was near this town that our county's first postoffice was established. In 1834, two years before Kosciusko county was organized, the Turkey Creek Postoffice was started at the home of its postmaster, John B. Chapman. At that time all the area which is now our county was Turkey Creek township in Elkhart county. Chapman's home was a short distance northeast of Leesburg; the postoffice was soon moved to that town.

The last town in our county to be visited by the traveling postoffice today will be Milford. A postoffice was established there in 1839 with Dr. Nathan Chamberlain as the first postmaster.

Warsaw Times-Union Sat. Oct. 18, 1953