New Dover post office to open in old location

DOVER — The new site of the future Dover post office might be familiar to some.

After all, the location — 105 Fourth St. — has served as home to the post office in the past. Dover officials said the site operated as the post office from the 1930s to 2009 when it was moved to its current location on Jackson Avenue. At that time, the old post office was demolished.

With Dover's post office having been located in several different buildings during its 100-plus years of existence in the city, it is fitting that its latest home will be where it once stood, Dover Mayor George Eskridge said.

"Dover is headed back to its past," he added.

The city's former fire station was transformed into the new post office after the owners of the Fourth Street site were unable to reach a deal with the U.S. Postal Service on a lease extension. The building's owners said they could no longer afford to operate the branch on the amount paid by the U.S. Postal Service, prompting months of discussions, disagreements and concern.

Residents worked with postal officials to identify possible locations, ultimately deciding on the Jackson Avenue site. It also led to a community meeting to give residents a chance to share concerns and voice support for a Dover facility, according to Daily Bee news coverage at the time.

"I hope it gets settled, because I'd hate like the dickens to lose our post office," then-mayor Randy Curless said.

In response, residents formed the Dover Post Office Committee and worked to remodel the former fire station into the city's post office. At first, it looked like the efforts would be denied when the Postal Service denied the move despite it gaining the stamp of approval from the Dover City Council.

However, Mayor George Eskridge, then a state representative, and U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo contacted the Postal Service and asked them to reconsider.

A week later, the agency had changed its mind and the former fire station was approved.

Had the efforts been unsuccessful, Dover would have lost its post office boxes and residents would have only received mail from a rural letter carrier.

“It moved steadily in one direction, but slowly,” committee member Paul Nowaske said in 2009. “The post office had their own hurdles to make and we had some ourselves. We had to do conditional use permits and variances and building permits to renovate the fire house. So those projects took time.”

Now, 15 years later, the post office is moving back.

The project, Dover officials said, has moved quickly. So quickly, that there wasn't even time for a groundbreaking.

Site work is expected to begin Monday, June 10. Construction is expected to continue through spring 2025.

Businesses in the area and the Selkirks-Pend Oreille Transit bus stop will remain open. No road closures or detours are expected at this time, Dover officials said.

However, the property will not be available for parking for the duration of construction.

    An architect's rendition of what the new Dover post office will look like when its completed next spring.