Newport Post Office

(October 26, 1875 – April 16, 1876; May 25, 1882 – September 14, 1901)

Newport was the post office for the Gospel Swamp area, south of Santa Ana, not the coastal community of Newport Beach (see). Santa Ana founder W.H. Spurgeon helped to secure a post office for the area in 1875, but no one was willing to be postmaster for the low pay offered and it closed less than six months later. Revived in 1882, the Newport Post Office survived until 1901 when like many smaller offices it was closed in favor of rural free delivery. 

James M. Brown, 1875-1876 

Olwyn T. Stacy, 1882-1885

Olwyn Stacy ran the store in Gospel Swamp at the time. 

Walter B. Tedford, 1885-1887

Walter Tedford came to Gospel Swamp in 1868 as a boy in 1868. He moved to Santa Ana in 1887 where he again served as postmaster (1888-1890) and was for many years a prominent banker. He died in 1940 at age 86. 

Charles L. Tedford, 1887-1888

Charles Tedford was Walter Tedford’s brother. He later lived in Seattle for many years but returned to Orange County in the 1930s. 

William H. Macy, 1888-1890 

Leopold Goepper, 1890-1895

Leo Goepper (1858-1927) came to Santa Ana as a boy and worked at a variety of jobs, including house painter, blacksmith, and restauranteur, hotelkeeper, and cigar maker. Though he owned some farm land in Gospel Swamp, he retained his business connections in Santa Ana while he was postmaster – which is probably a good thing, since he seems to have made only $82 in his first year in office. He later moved to Newport Beach, where he served as Justice of the Peace from 1914-1925. 

Belle Nuckolls, 1895-1900

Mrs. Perry Nuckolls, though widowed at a young age. She was still living in Orange County in the 1930s.           

Benjamin M. Watts, 1900-1901 

(You can find more about Orange County’s post offices and postmasters here)