Establishment of the Pabor Lake Post Office (1893)
The Pabor Lake post office was officially authorized by the United States Post Office Department on 10 April 1893, but the Pabor Lake Pineapple did not formally enter as second-class mail matter there until 25 July 1893. This three-and-a-half-month gap reflects the regulatory and physical realities of establishing a new rural post office in the 1890s.
Page 4 of the April 1893 issue announcing the establishment of the Pabor Lake post office. Courtesy of University of Florida Digital Collections.[pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-04]
The timeline
January 1893: The Pineapple reported that a petition was in circulation to establish a post office at Pabor Lake. The paper claimed that one-third of the mail coming to and going from Avon Park was bound for the Pabor Lake colony.[pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-01]
10 April 1893: The post office was officially established. W. E. Pabor, editor of the Pineapple, was appointed postmaster. In the April issue, Pabor announced the new office but noted that correspondents should continue addressing mail to Avon Park “as soon as papers are completed in the case.”[pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-04][florida-history-blog]
June–July 1893: The physical equipment for the post office, ordered from the North, arrived and was installed. Pabor described it as consisting of “a counter cabinet, containing eighty-four call boxes and all modern conveniences for handling the mails,” alongside a Victor Safe.[pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-06]
25 July 1893: The Pineapple formally transferred its second-class mail registration from Avon Park to the new Pabor Lake office. Under the Postal Laws and Regulations of 1893, a publisher had to apply to the postmaster at the office where the publication was to be entered. This required the office to be physically open and operating before the permit could be granted.[pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-09-15][postal-laws-1893]
Masthead stating entered at the postoffice at Pabor Lake, Fla., as second-class mail matter, July 25, 1893. Courtesy of University of Florida Digital Collections.[pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-09-15]
References
- pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-01 — William E. Pabor. The Pabor Lake Pineapple, Vol. 1, No. 3 (January 1893), p. 4. University of Florida Digital Collections.
- pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-04 — William E. Pabor. The Pabor Lake Pineapple, Vol. 1, No. 7 (April 1893), p. 4. University of Florida Digital Collections.
- pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-06 — William E. Pabor. The Pabor Lake Pineapple, Vol. 1, No. 9-10 (June-July 1893), p. 8. University of Florida Digital Collections.
- pabor-lake-pineapple-1893-09-15 — William E. Pabor. The Pabor Lake Pineapple, Vol. 1, No. 12 (September 1893), p. 4. University of Florida Digital Collections.
- florida-history-blog — Florida History Blog. “The Lost Colony of Pabor Lake.”
- postal-laws-1893 — United States Post Office Department. Postal Laws and Regulations of the United States of America, 1893.
Where this comes from
- Evidence
- corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
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- unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
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- public-domain
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