Old Ashley Post Office (2) Markers

Before Vernal existed there was Ashley Town, and its lifeline was this log room. Wilbur and Finley Britt built the post office in 1878–79 from hand-hewn logs joined with wooden pegs and square nails — dirt roof, mud chinking, a log partition dividing the mail from a grocery store. Wilbur became the valley's first postmaster, and carriers packed the mail to and from Green River, Wyoming, weekly, by horseback or on snowshoes. The building survived its 1899 closure and still stands here, owned by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and recently restored.

What the plaque says

The Ashley Post Office was established in the center of Ashley Town on December 27, 1878. At that time there were about 300 settlers in Ashley Valley. Wilbur Carlton Britt and Finley Britt used logs from nearby mountains, wooden pegs, and square nails in constructing this building. It had a dirt roof and wide board floors. The cracks between the logs which were filled with mud. A log partition separated the post office from a grocery store. Wilbur Britt was appointed first postmaster on April 16, 1879. The Ashley Post Office is also on the Utah Register of Historic Places.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Vernal — 2.4 mi
  The self-proclaimed Dinosaur Capital of Utah
• Utah Field House of Natural History — 2.4 mi
  A dinosaur museum with life-size replicas in an outdoor garden
• Steinaker State Park — 2.5 mi
  A warm-water reservoir popular for swimming in the desert heat
• McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs — 5.0 mi
  Massive Fremont-era rock art panels on private ranch land open to visitors

More markers nearby

• First Log House — 0.5 mi
• Reynold's Flour Mill — 1.3 mi
• Fort Thornburgh — 1.5 mi
• St. Paul's Episcopal Church — 2.2 mi