Mary Nettles’ home and Palmetto’s first Post Office.

Palmetto, FL – Nestled within the heart (literally and figuratively) of the Palmetto Historical Park is Heritage Station, Palmetto’s first free-standing post office.

In the summer of 1880, Mary Nettles became postmaster — but she didn’t have a general store. Mrs. Nettles was a homemaker and people started stopping by her house when they wanted to mail a letter.

As you can imagine, Mary wasn’t really keen on turning her house into the post office, so she did the next best thing: She had them build a little post office right next door to her home. Mary was able to run back and forth and take care of her home, her family and be postmaster. She seemed to have figured out how to balance her career and family life better than many of us are managing 135 years later!

Since Mary’s time as postmaster, only one other woman has held the position in Palmetto, although a handful of women attained the title of “acting postmaster” or “officer in charge.” Edith Cox became Palmetto’s acting postmaster May 31, 1947, after her husband, William Cox, who had been postmaster for more than a decade, passed away.

Generally, an applicant would hold the title of “acting postmaster” for a few months, sort of a trial period, before they were actually given the job. In Edith Cox’s case, she acted as postmaster for more than two years before she officially held the title.

Manatee History Matters: Women postmasters honored in Palmetto Heritage Fest