FRENCH VILLAGE � The year was 1857 and President James Buchanan was in office when French Village was granted its U.S. Post Office. One-hundred and fifty years later the French Village Post Office is still open for business as area residents, historians and government officials gathered Friday to mark the sesquicentennial date of the post office.

Bob Schmidt gave the historical overview of the French Village community and of the post office.

�There were seven post offices in St. Francois County, including French Village, in 1857,� Schmidt said. �Big River Mills, Farmington, French Village, Kinkead, Locust Ridge, Silver Spring and Stono each had a post office. The only post offices that are still open are Farmington and French Village. Another achievement for this post office is that it has remained open continuously since 1857.�

Schmidt said U.S. census figures from 1857 indicated the population of French Village consisted of 438 Caucasians and 35 slaves.

�I think the main reason French Village got a post office was for economic gain,� Schmidt said. �Back then post offices used to be associated with general stores. Ferdinand Au Buchon had a store in French Village. He applied for a post office as an addition to his business. There were a lot of people who were receiving pension checks at that time. Another interesting piece of information is that the original name of French Village was Petite Canada because of the large number of French settlers from Canada. I am not for sure, but I suspect Ferdinand listed French Village on his post office application because listing Petite Canada would have been unpatriotic.�

Schmidt said in order for a Post Office to be successful it doesn�t have to be in a big town.

�French Village is not a large town by any stretch,� Schmidt said. �However, the success to the Post Office�s survival is the fact that the town is still here. When you look at the list of towns that had Post Offices in 1857, 90 percent of those towns don�t exist anymore.�

Schmidt�s mother, Eula Schmidt, was presented with a resolution from Rep. Brad Robinson, D-Bonne Terre, in recognition of being a retired school teacher and for serving as the French Village town historian.

The current site, on Route Y next door to the entrance of Goose Creek, is the fourth building to house the Post Office.

Those in attendance Friday had the opportunity to purchase cards commemorating the 150th anniversary of the French Village Post Office.

Commemorative postmarks were available on Friday, June 29, 2007,  for the 
150th anniversary of the French Village Post Office.