History of Hope's Post Office

By Barb Johnson

By the year 1833, Martin Hauser had been the minister of the town for three years. Many new settlers were moving into Goshen now that it was no longer a closed community. The church had decided to sell the lots of the town to anyone who would like to live there instead of leasing them only to Moravians. This decision was quite a concern for Hauser who longed for the opportunity to continue his Congregational Town without the influence of others.

Hauser was always looking for ways to improve his town. He applied for a post office that year. The nearby town of St. Louis (Old St. Louis) had also applied for a post office for its Methodist community. Hope was chosen to receive the post office; however, Hauser was informed that the town's name would need to be changed since there was already a Goshen, Indiana. After much consideration, the town members agreed to call the town Hope after the town in North Carolina that had been home to many.

The post office was actually started in 1834 in John Hager's general store, which sat on the northeast corner of the town square. Hauser purchased the store from Hager and added the jobs of merchant and postmaster to his roles of farmer and minister for the next 11 years.

It is said that the lack of a post office caused St. Louis to dwindle in size as people moved to Hope. That town had been formed by a group of Methodists in 1829, just months before Martin Hauser came to begin the town of Goshen.