Rhode Island Zip Codes

Redding's Four Post Offices Avoid Chopping Block

Redding Ridge, Redding Center, West Redding, Georgetown.

These are the names of the four (4) post offices in Redding, population 9,158, according to the 2010 census .

Redding may be unique in the state for being a community with four post offices (and four zip codes). Next-door Weston has only one and Easton has only one.

The U.S. Postal Service announced plans last week to shutter post offices in the state’s five largest cities and elsewhere but, for now, it looks as though all four of Redding’s post offices will be spared.

“But just because Redding’s not on the list today doesn’t mean it won’t be on the list tomorrow,” said Christine Dugas darkly.

Dugas is Connecticut and Rhode Island spokesperson for the USPS, which announced it would likely close 3,700 of its 30,000 post offices, 15 of them in Connecticut, following a public comment period.

“From time to time you’ll hear ugly rumors that Redding Center is closing,” said Brent Colley, who created the “History of Redding” website, www.historyofredding.com .

Colley, Redding native and grandson of beloved Georgetown historian  and onetime Redding Center postmaster Harry Colley who died in February, is a treasure trove of interesting facts about Redding’s postal past.

“Back in 1984, the U.S. Postal Service planned to shut down the Georgetown Post Office,” he recalled. “But there was such an uproar they changed their minds.”

As Colley explained it, Redding's four post offices are creatures of historical happenstance.

“In the beginning, from the 1700s to the early 1800s, were the post riders,” he said. They traveled from shoreline outposts delivering mail to the scantily populated rural interior.

“Then came the stagecoach, which stopped at Darling’s Tavern [now a private home, located at the corner of Redding Road and Goodsell Hill Road],” he said.

In 1810, Billy Comstock established the first “post office” in Redding at his home across the street from the tavern.

Four years later, William Sanford opened Redding’s second post office under the name “Redding Town House” in Redding Center. The Old Town House survives as a meeting place for town land-use commissions while the post office relocated across the street from the town hall.

When the railroad came through in 1852, Georgetown and West Redding became business hubs. A new post office was established in the general store in Simpaug Turnpike in West Redding (later relocated across the street) and eventually Georgetown, with its “company-town” Gilbert & Bennett wire mill , had its own as well.

GoLocalProv | News | Follow the Money: Which RI Zip Codes Donate ...

Rhode Islanders have donated nearly $17 million to federal campaigns in the last three election cycles, with the overwhelming majority of the cash going directly to Democrats in the state and across the country.

Over 60 percent of the money donated since 2006 came from just 10 zip codes, which, to no surprise, also happen to be among the wealthiest zip codes in the state. Checking in at No. 1 was 02906 – the East Side of Providence. The rest of the top five included 02818 (East Greenwich), 02903 (downtown Providence), 02806 (Barrington), and 02865 (Lincoln).

Overall, the 2010 numbers were down compared with the previous two election cycles, perhaps because 2008 was a presidential election year, and 2006 featured the Lincoln Chafee/Sheldon Whitehouse Senate matchup. But Brett Smiley, founder of Campaign Finance Officers , had a different opinion. He believes Rhode Islanders are becoming more hesitant to offer large donations.

“I think we’re seeing a dwindling number of people who contribute at the highest levels,” Smiley said.

Smiley, who counts Congressman David Cicilline as one of his clients dating back to his days as mayor of Providence, said the key is to raise money from a diverse group of donors. He said it’s important to focus on bringing in low-level donations, because even though they might not cover the budget, the small donors are often willing to invest more time in a particular candidate.

He might be right. According to campaignmoney.com, the East Side of Providence raised $663,245 from 789 different donors to lead the pack during the 2010 election cycle. While that averages out to just over $840 per person, much of it came in the form of small donations.

In fact, the East Side’s top donor, Marcia Riesman, wasn’t close to the leading overall donor. Much of Riesman’s money actually went to out-of-state candidates like Patty Murray, Harry Reid, Blanche Lincoln and Martha Coakley. She has also donated to the entire Rhode Island congressional delegation.

Leading the way among individual donors were Michael and Elizabeth Perik in both Providence and Jamestown, Mark and Susan Weiner in East Greenwich, and Gerald Harrington in Wakefield. Quest Research pollster Vic Profughi said it was no surprise to see names like the Weiners at the top of the list.

Mark Weiner is a well-known fundraiser for the Democratic Party nationally, and he and Susan’s donations reflect that. The Weiners contributed to the national party and candidates like Reid, Coakley and Barbara Boxer. They also wrote a check to Jesse Jackson Jr. for Congress.

The Encyclopedia of Rhode Island

Census of Housing (1990):Rhode Island General Housing Characteristics

Census of population and housing (2000): Rhode Island Summary Population and Housing Characteristics

Directory of postsecondary schools with occupational programs

Gale directory of databases