You've Got Mail! : A History of the Whitby Post Office
John B. Warren & Whitby's First Post Office
Panels
John B. Warren & Whitby's First Post OfficePostmasters Throughout the YearsThe Township of Whitby Post OfficesWhitby's Old Post Office: The BuildingPostal ServicePost StampsPostcards from the PastCostly PostPost Offices of TodayLinks
J.B. Warren Letter, 1831
John Borlase Warren, c.1875 Details
John B. Warren was born in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland on November 19, 1798. In 1821, he came to Whitby Township with his brother William. He opened a store at Hamer's Corners (corner of Dundas and Anderson Streets) and from 1824 to 1836 was the first postmaster for Whitby.
The position of the postmaster was considered to be a political appointment, and the appointee of this position at the time would have been the Postmaster General, William Allan. The postmaster was the holder of the keys to the post box, supplied the store to receive post, paid for all related expenses, all the equipment and additional staff when required, and worked long hours to accommodate the couriers and community.
The postmaster was a very prominent figure in the community. The general store/post office was a community hub for people to gather, socialize and hear news about local and current events. As there was no home delivery yet during this time period, people would also go to the store to pick up any mail that the post office had received.
