ADDRESS: 640 Main St., McKenzie, Tennessee 38201
ARTIST: Karl Oberteuffer
TITLE: Early U.S. Post Village
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The former McKenzie building is no longer a post office. The mural was moved to the newer post office and is on display behind the retail counter. It is only viewable during business hours.
YEAR: 1938
For mural information please see our article on the current McKenzie, Tennessee Post Office.
Today’s featured post office is the former McKenzie Tennessee Post Office. As I was waiting for an answer from the supervisor at the new post office, I had time to swing by this one and photograph it. I’m glad to see this nice old building repurposed as a genealogy library. The library is named after Gordan Browning the former governor of Tennessee.
And now for the rest of the story, when I first posted about my visit in Tennessee, I mentioned the slow and difficult start. McKenzie was one of the first towns I started to tour during my visit. I knew I wanted to find the old post office and I was happy I did. As you can see by the hours the library was closed, of course I said to myself. I visited on a Wednesday, so the library was closed. I never got inside the building but at least I was able to visit and get a few pictures of the exterior of the building.
I’ll be back to Tennessee to finish up my work but for now here is the Former McKenzie Tennessee Post Office.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 3/31/2013 and 12/23/2014 by David, Post Office Fans
- Tennessee Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
- Tennessee Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
- Gordon Browning Museum Genealogical Library
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- (affiliate link): Tennessee Post Office Murals: Howard Hull