BAMBERG, S.C. - Emma Dowling of Bamberg was a senior in high school in 1938 when the Bamberg Post Office was being built. She remembers watching the mules and wagons haul the dirt from the sight as the basement was dug.

Wednesday, Dowling, along with other lifelong Bamberg residents and out-of-town dignitaries, were given a front row seat to help celebrate the placement of the 70-year-old post office building on the National Register of Historic Places.

“When they gave out post office boxes, nobody wanted Number 13, so my daddy said he’d take it, and that’s still my box number today,” Dowling said.

For Nancy Foster of the Historic Society of Bamberg County, Wednesday’s dedication brought together all the facets of preserving one of Bamberg’s most historic structures which is still in use. Foster, along with Tracy Power and Andrew W. Chandler of the State Historic Preservation Office, S.C. Department of Archives & History, prepared the documentation and saw the lengthy process of registration to the end.

“I am truly excited that we now have this wonderful building on the National Register of Historic Places,” Foster said.

Foster gave the history of the post office building from its construction in 1937-1938 as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal” to the present day. At the time it was built, the building was not considered very impressive by some of the locals, she said. However, the building reflected the times, Foster pointed out, mirroring the design philosophy of the Public Works Division and the economy.

“When you go inside today, you will notice the many fine features of the building,” Foster said.

She mentioned some of the distinguishing interior features of the historic building such as the beautiful fanlight above the doorway, charming multi-paned vestibule, marble wainscoting finished with oak chair-rail and brass hardware. The mural over the door to the postmaster’s office, titled “Cotton the World Over,” by artist Dorothea Merisch tells the story of the production and processing of one of South Carolina’s major agricultural crops. Bamberg is depicted for its role in the growing and transport of cotton.

Bamberg Postmaster Jean Doster said the community owed a special thank-you to a very special person, the late LeGree Daniels who passed away in 2005.

“Ms. Daniels, a native of Denmark, led an exemplary career in government service, ultimately becoming a member of the Board of Governors for the U. S. Postal Service,” Doster said. “It was Ms. Daniels and former Bamberg Postmaster Jack Izlar Jr., along with Greater South Carolina District Postal Finance Manager Millard Bessenger, that led the way in ensuring this building was selected for the National Register of Historic Places. Today, I’d like to dedicate this ceremony in Ms. Daniel’s honor.”

Powers, historian with the S.C. Department of Archives & History, said the National Register of Historic Places only works when local people take the initiative. He complimented Foster on her dedication to the lengthy process involved.

“This is one of the few (original) post office buildings that is still in use as a post office today,” Powers said.

He emphasized the architectural integrity of the building, which is in the modern classic style. The one-story brick building on Heritage Highway, originally Railroad Avenue South, is built on a smooth cast stone basement. One of two large oak trees which stood on the lot in 1937 is still a part of the landscape.

U.S. Congressman James Clyburn spoke to the large crowd about the importance of the history of the Bamberg community. He recalled his first meeting with Nancy Foster years before, when the town was looking at widening its main downtown streets.

“Nancy Foster really educated me about the history of Bamberg and its importance,” Clyburn said. “Preserving the buildings on Main Street, this (post office) building and the Heritage Corridor is important. It’s all a part of what we are.”

Clyburn encouraged residents to “hold fast and learn to honor the struggles that have brought us to where we are today” and to remember that “there is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t get hung up on who gets the credit.”

Also contributing to the program Wednesday were Dr. Webb Belangia, Bamberg Mayor Alton, McCollum, longtime Bamberg businessman Jimmy Birch, the Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School Army ROTC Honor Guard and Bamberg artist Joe Jones.

“Nubbin Ridge Sugar Cane” the mule, owned by Henry Nicholson of Denmark, was on hand, representing the mule and wagon days of 1937, when the Bamberg Post Office was constructed.

T&D Correspondent Minnie Miller can be reached by writing to her at 138 Nature’s Trail, Bamberg, SC 29003.

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