The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-March 15, 2022, will mark the 150th anniversary of the operation at the Dayton Post Office. Originally a post office by the name of Touchet was established in 1864. When city of Dayton was officially founded in 1872, the post office's name was changed from Touchet to Dayton.

Dayton was platted as a town by Jesse N. Day in March of 1872. After the name change for the post office, Jesse N. Day was appointed postmaster in September of 1872. The first postmaster of Dayton was George W. Miller, who served as postmaster of Touchet at the time of name change.

To mark the 150th-anniversary event a commemorative cover has been designed by Robert Keatts, author of Postal History of Southeastern Washington.

The cover has been designed and formatted for a No. 10 official envelope.

The cover will be available for $2.50, including a stamped envelope with the Dayton Post Office cancellation of 15 March 2022. Each cover will be autographed by Postmaster Malinda Thrall.

An insert gives a brief history of the Dayton Post Office and a list of postmasters and their appointment dates from 1872 to 2022.

The commemorative cover is not an official USPS item but will be available at the Dayton Post Office on March 15, 2022. After that date it may be available at the Depot gift shop or from the author by emailing robert_wwscc@yahoo.com. Interested individuals may pre-order, but the covers will not be available until after the commemorative date. All orders will be mailed in larger envelopes to prevent USPS mail distribution center spray cancels being applied to the commemorative cover.

Below is a sample of the commemorative cover to be canceled at the Dayton Post Office on 15 March 2022. The cover will be limited to 100 copies.