Phoenixville Post Office and the Hearse Shed before Relocation during the Greenfield Village Restoration Project, September 2002

The Phoenixville Post Office, built around 1825 in northeastern Connecticut, was always more than a post office. Under Lorenzo Bullard, who probably built the structure, it was a grocer's and apothecary shop. By 1850 it was the post office and community gathering place for this rural town. It sold stamps and stationery--and was the place to go to talk about local happenings.

This shed, originally built in Newton, New Hampshire, around 1850, was located near the local cemetery. Horse-drawn hearses, usually owned by the local community, were used to carry the coffin during funeral processions through town to the cemetery.