Flatiron Building

The Flatiron Building is not a single original structure but two separate sections joined together around 1889. The small rear two-story section was built at least thirty years before the front section and appears to have been a residence owned by John I. Blair. The larger front addition was built in 1889 specifically to house the post office, with the entire first floor dedicated to that purpose. Before then, the post office usually operated out of a general store and moved frequently with the political climate; immediately before 1889 it had been located in the store of M.L. Wilson, who served as postmaster from 1887 to 1889. In 1897, the Blairstown Press moved its business to the second floor. Stagecoaches stopped at the rear of the post office to unload mail bags through a door intended for that use, and the mail remained in the rear for sorting while the front right-hand portion held the postmaster's office and other business was conducted in the remaining space. In 1900, a large boulder was placed along the street side and chiseled into a horse trough to provide water for stagecoaches' four-horse teams; after it was no longer needed as a trough, it was filled with dirt and planted with flowers. The post office has since moved to a modern building on Main Street, and the Flatiron Building has passed through many owners and uses while remaining a distinctive part of the village.

Blairstown, New Jersey · United States