1859 LOGAN TO BRIGHAM CITY PIONEER PONY EXPRESS MAIL TRAIL SUP #122

“One day a young man came over the mountain carrying mail. He was on horseback and only had one arm. His name was Samuel Along Whitney (Sr.). There were Indian vs. Settler conflicts at the time. But the Native Americans recognized him a long way off because of his “missing arm.” They knew he was a friend and could speak their language fluently. They called him, “Burrowitz” a Shoshone word meaning, “one arm gone.” They often rode along with him so he could always get the mail through. Sam A. Whitney is credited with carrying the very first mail from Logan to Brigham City. When he visited with the settlers, he spoke with them in their own immigrant languages. They said he had the “gift of tongues.”

“At one time, Chief Washakie came to Logan to confer with Bishop Whitney. The government interpreter was called to talk with the great chief. After a few moments of conversation, Washakie asked for Burrowit to come to Logan. He said, “I’ll wait to talk to Burrowit. He speaks good Indian. I don’t understand this man.”

“Samuel had the misfortune to have his right leg amputated when he was 50 years old. His leg was crushed in a canyon accident. His wife, Fanny, would not consent to an amputation. But infection set in again and again until he did lose his leg above the knee.

Chief John, a Mormon convert from the Sioux tribe who came to visit the Whitney home often, was a firm believer in prayer and had implicit faith that God would heal the sick. During Samuel’s severe illness, Old Chief John spent hours in the Whitney home, attending to his friend and offering a continuous prayer to God that Burrowit would live.”

POSTMASTER 1897 - 1898

Orson Smith was appointed as Postmaster at Logan 19 November 1897, a position he held for only 17 months, due to tragic business mistakes.

He was a prominent man with many interests including the accumulation of wheat and speculation on wheat prices. While attending to the post office, his ecclesiastical duties, and many other obligations, he lost track of the situation of his wheat stores and seeking to sell a large quantity on a bigger market, went to San Francisco where he learned that his negligence had cost him and his investors dearly. His losses were enormous, and he was bankrupt. Seeing no other way to meet his creditors, he sent a letter home to Logan and then set off for the gold mines of the Klondike.

Upon returning home, he learned that everything he owned had been sold and his families were managing things the best they could. He stood in front of a large gathering of his friends and apologized deeply for his folly and promised to do all he could to earn back their trust and his good name. He was offered forgiveness and treated kindly; he worked tirelessly to rebuild his fortunes until his death in 1935.

Orson Smith donated to the people of Logan the land (53 acres) for the Logan Cemetery from his original homestead. The 1881 land patent signed by President James Garfield granting 160 acres to Orson Smith is shown here, as well as a map showing the location of his land.

ARCHITECT

Logan’s new Federal Building was designed by James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury. He is credited as the architect of hundreds of buildings during his tenure, 1897-1912, including many post offices across the country. An article placed in The Logan Republican 18 July 1908 called for proposals to build the new Logan Post Office, according to the drawings and specifications of the supervising architect, James Knox Taylor. James Knox Taylor retired from his career and relocated to Florida after the death of his wife.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

George Hinchliff was a builder out of Chicago, Illinois, who submitted the lowest bid for the post office building project in Logan: $57,500. He was apparently awarded the project as his sign was found in an early photograph of the building site. The final cost of the building came in at about $69,700, more than $12,000 over bid price. However, that was under the appropriated amount of $70,000.

George and his wife Minora lived on the now historic area of Jackson Boulevard on Chicago’s west side, where she practiced as a founding doctor of naprapathy. They raised three children. George was the son of English immigrants, his father being a builder also. He was born in Chicago in 1853 and died in Texas in 1916.

POSTMASTER 1904 - 1933

Joseph O’Dell was appointed Logan Postmaster by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Born 15 March 1870 in a log cabin in Ogden, Utah, he came toLogan in 1890 and married his wife, Louisa Torgeson, a daughter of Norwegian immigrants, 15 May 1895 in Logan. They raised a family of four children and lived in a lovely home at 230 W. Center Street, where he also operated a photo studio for several years. He spent his early years in the printing industry and began his service as postmaster 29 January 1904.

Joseph O’Dell was Postmaster as the new post office was completed and opened. The building was described in detail in The Journal, 16 February 1911, the day of the opening, and states that “through the courtesy of Postmaster O’Dell, the Journal man was permitted to inspect the building yesterday...and he marveled at the elegance, and convenience, of the appointments.”

Joseph O’Dell was reappointed and served several terms as Postmaster until he resigned 31 May 1933. He served as director and vice president of the Logan Chamber of Commerce, vice president of the Logan Public Library Board, head of the motor vehicle license department for Utah, and member of the board of directors of the Logan Home Building Society.