Huntley History Through Postmarks?

          You probably wouldn't think that history could be told through a simple postmark, but you'd be surprised! In fact, there is more to a cancellation than meets the eye. Here is a run through of some examples running from Huntley's earliest history to a more recent time.

          This envelope was the first type of pre-stamped envelopes issued by the U.S. government. The year was 1854, three years after Huntley was officially founded, and judging by the size of the cancellation (approximately the size of a half dollar coin), this probably dates to about 1854. Note how the name was Huntley Grove. At that time, Huntley was called either Huntley Station or Huntley Grove. Later the name was shortened to Huntley. (Note: anything that says "Huntley's Grove" was not Huntley IL but actually De Kalb IL before being renamed)

          This envelope was easy to date with the receiver marking it's arrival in 1865. Although the diameter of the cancellation changed from the size of a half dollar to the size of about a quarter, two things really stick out with this envelope: the color of the cancellation and the mark over the stamp. This envelope shows a cancellation that was clearly done in blue ink, which was different from the usual black ink found on majority of the items cancelled during that time and beyond. 

          The other interesting detail deals with the mark over the stamp. This mark was made by a carved cork from a bottle. It was typical practice for post offices around the country to make their own mark by taking a cork and carving a certain design in it. It's hard to tell what Huntley's was, but that is the explanation of the odd blue mark on the stamp.

          One minor detail that differs with this envelope from the previous and the later envelopes is that there is no day included in the postmark. Just the month appears. What accounts for this difference is unknown. The stamp may not have been pressed down hard enough, or maybe the inclusion of the day was missed, but either way, the day is clearly missing, and as I have not seen any other Civil War era postmarks from Huntley, I cannot say if this was a common occurrence or not.

          About a decade after the previous envelope was canceled, this envelope went through the post office. The company that sent this was creamery located in Huntley, with a few other locations in southern McHenry County. The largest of D. E. Wood's fleet was located in Huntley, with the first portion of the building being constructed in 1875, 

          This envelope probably dates to between 1875 and 1878, judging by the years the company was in operation, the year that this pre-stamped envelope was produced, and by the watermark used on the paper. The postmark is in green on this envelope, and the cork mark can be seen once again over the stamp. One main difference with this cancellation from the the previous is the inclusion of a printed day, which will continue to be seen from this point on.

courtesy of the Huntley Area Public Library

          Starting in July of 1884, the Huntley Grove post office began to include the year in their postmarks. This example from July 14th shows the year, however an envelope postmarked seven days prior (not pictured) did not include the year. One side note: This envelope was sent TO Huntley, as the rest of the envelopes on this page were sent FROM Huntley. When they were sent from Huntley, the cancellation would be on the front of the envelope. With the envelope sent to Huntley, the other town's postmark was on the front while the Huntley postmark was on the back, being stamped once the envelope arrived.

          Another big change in Huntley cancellations can be seen on this envelope. This example, dating to around 1890, shows the name of the village shortened from "Huntley Grove" to "Huntley."  The size of the cancellation remains consistent with the previous thirty years, but the style has changed slightly. The lettering size had changed, and although having a year in the postmark started in 1884, this envelope is lacking a year. The center seems to be too light to see, however, so a year may have been included, but the stamp may not have been pressed hard enough.
          One final detail about this envelope is the removal of use of the cork stamp. The old cork marking would no longer make an appearance on Huntley postmarks, as it had for over thirty years.

          As the years continued, the cancellations changed very little. Stylistically, the size was reduced from the size of about a quarter to the size of nickel. Another addition was the zip code. One final detail that can be seen is the abbreviation of Illinois being reduced to "IL." Other than those minor details, postmarks remained unchanged for decades.



          Even over a decade since the last postmark, it is nearly identical, with the only exception being the placement of AM or PM. These basic postmarks would remain used through the 1990s, but eventually, due to the dwindling use of the postal system and due to the post office falling upon hard times, there are no more Huntley postmarks. Instead, once the mail is delivered to the Huntley post office, it, along with other town's mail, is shipped to Carol Stream, where it is sorted and postmarked. Gone are the days of seeing the differences in Huntley's own postmarks, but the history left by the changes in their designs still tells a fine tale.