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34. TORONTO’S FIRST POST OFFICE
Toronto's First Post Office

James Scott Howard was Postmaster of York during a time of conflict and change. A rapid increase in population, an uprising in radical political fervour and the incorporation of Toronto all contributed to the sentiment of change and chaos(1). Population growth was the main factor which caused Howard to build this larger Post Office. It became the fourth Post Office in York, and the first one of Toronto.

Howard bought the land for 500 pounds sterling from the Bank of Upper Canada, after negotiating with President and former Postmaster Wiiliam Allan [site 50, 27](2). It was the eastermost sixty feet of the Bank’s lot on Duke (now Adelaide) Street. The agreement of sale specified that the new Post Office would be a respectable brick building to match its stately neighbour. This was not difficult for Howard who was the highest paid Postmaster in Upper Canada(3).

A staff of six kept Howard’s Post Office in operation. It was the busiest Post Office in Upper Canada, serving a population of over 9 000(4). Postage was written by hand directly onto the letters prior to the development of the modern stamp, and red ink was used to cancel the payment notation. Hours were from 8am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am to 10am on Sunday. People were notified in the newspaper that mail had been received for them, as a daily trip to the Post Office was not always possible or necessary.

The Rebellion of 1837 caused disturbances across York. It was an embarrassment for the colony’s Postal Service as many Postmasters were found to be open sympathizers of the Reform movement(5). Post Office Surveyor, Charles Albert Berczy
(1794-1858), was employed to examine all York mail for signs of treachery. Howard had always been a neutral figure, friendly to both sides, not even daring to vote and for this reason people had long been suspicious of him.

Berczy discovered that a letter sent to Howard was found to have a second letter inside it to be forwarded to a Reformer in York. For this Howard was considered a traitor and was dismissed. Berczy was made the next Postmaster, and in 1839 the
Post Office moved to a new location.

Later during the block’s restoration by Sheldon and Judy Godfrey, Judy discovered that the building had originally been built as a Post Office. Her research indicates that the Duke Street Post Office is the oldest remaining building in Canada built
as a Post Office(6).

Notes

Godfrey and Godfrey, p.25.
Dendy, 2nd ed., p.235.
Godfrey and Godfrey, p.28.
Ibid., p.26.
William Smith, The History of the Post Office in British North America 1630-1870, ([New York], 1921; rpt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973), p.213.
McKelvey and McKelvey, p.12.

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