History of Brielle Post Office

Link to the History of the Brielle Post Office

Brielle Post Office Historical Timeline

1818Initial mail route for central New Jersey established by an Act of Congress on April 20th, 1818
     The weekly route ran between Freehold and Tuckerton, by way of Squankum, Manasquan, Toms River, Cedar Creek and Manahawkin
     The post office initially was on Old Bridge Road at the Squan Bridge on the Manasquan River (close to the current Route 70 bridge)
     The post office’s location, the Osborn homestead, was a main stagecoach terminus for the area
     This post office served the entire area surrounding Manasquan, including Brielle and Point Pleasant
     Captain Samuel F. Allen was the postmaster
     The post office subsequently was moved to Union Landing and then back to the bridge location over the next twenty years
     During this period, Conover Osborn and Allen Osborn were the postmasters
1840In 1840, the post office moved again, this time to Squan Village, as a mail route was opened between Red Bank and Squan Village
1888The first Brielle post office was established on May 5th, 1888
The post office was located in the general store located adjacent to the historic Union House Hotel
Both buildings were located at the Manasquan River end of Union Lane on the west side of the street
The first postmaster was Henry Wainwright, who owned both the Union House Hotel and the general
1911 Following the death of Henry Wainwright in 1911, the role of postmaster was handed down to his son, Stanley B. Wainwright
1914 Stanley Wainwright served as postmaster until shortly after the fire that destroyed the Union House Hotel in 1914
1914 On April 1st, 1914, Henry K. Kroh was designated to be the acting postmaster
     The general store, that housed the post office was sold to a third party in early 1914; a new location was urgently needed
     The property selected was close by and was part of the Green estate on the corner of Green and Leslie Avenues
     The new post office was built in less than 60 days by Shem Bartley Pearce, assisted by Myron and Ralph Pearce, his nephew and son, respectively
     The building opened as a fourth-class post office
1927 Shortly after the death of her father, Ananette Kroh was appointed postmaster
     Ananette Kroh served as Brielle’s postmaster for 32 years until her retirement in 1959
     The Kroh family were Brielle’s postmasters for almost a half of a century from 1914 through 1959
1938 On July 1st, 1938 Brielle’s post office was officially raised to “third- class” status
1946
1946 Due to the tremendous increase in postal service activities, the general store operations were abandoned, in the post office building
1954The expansion of mail service activities for Brielle continued, and as a result, on July 1st, 1954 the post office was given a “second-class” designation
1956With the continued growth of Brielle and the start of home delivery, Brielle outgrew the small postal building on Green Avenue
On July 29th, 1956, the new post office, located at its current location on Higgins Avenue, opened to the public
It is noteworthy that at the time of the dedication of this new postal facility in 1956, only four people from two families had served as Brielle’s postmaster since the service’s inception 68 years prior in 1888:
     Henry Wainwright (1888-1911)
     Stanley Wainwright (1911-1914)
     Henry Kroh (1914-1927) and
     Ananette Kroh (1927-1959)
1959After 32 years as Brielle’s postmaster, Ananette Kroh retired
1967Brielle continued its rapid growth into the 1960’s; as a result, the post office was expanded and officially rededicated on Saturday, July 29th, 1967

Brielle Post Masters

1888Henry WainwrightPostmasterUnion House General Store
1911Stanley WainwrightPostmasterUnion House General Store
July, 1914Henry KrohPostmasterGreen Avenue Post Office
4/18/1927Ananette KrohActing PostmasterGreen Avenue Post Office
8/17/1927Ananette KrohPostmasterGreen Avenue Post Office
9/30/1959Michael TornilloActing PostmasterGreen Avenue PO & Higgins Avenue PO
8/10/1962John WhiteActing PostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
10/1/1964John WhitePostmasterHiggins Avenue Post office
8/16/1974Paul Peabody, Jr.Officer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
11/23/1974Paul Peabody, Jr.PostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
9/26/1992Melvin PriceOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
1/9/1993Robert WeldonPostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
4/30/1997Arlene FarrellOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
10/29/1997Steve RitterOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
12/4/1997Arlene Farrell MastersonOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
2/13/1999Constance KinderPostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
UnknownDonna ColbyOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
10/19/2002Donna ColbyPostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
4/3/2003Michael IoliOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
1/21/2004Robert SmithOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
2/5/2005John GalatroPostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
9/27/2006Angelo ImperialeOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
5/10/2008Angelo ImperialePostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
8/16/2011Ewa FursOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
11/8/2011Jamie FoltzOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
1/14/2012Arthur KiefferPostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
7/27/2012Anthony SmithOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
10/6/2012Richard Micallef, Jr.PostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
6/29/2013Jamie FoltzPostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
10/5/2013Richard BaumanPostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
9/2/2016Jane Van EerdeOfficer-in-ChargeHiggins Avenue Post Office
10/29/2016Jane Van EerdePostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office
1/1/2022Joseph Maranda, Jr.PostmasterHiggins Avenue Post Office

Historical Post Office Pictures