The Euless Post Office
by Gary McKamie, Deputy City Manager
The Euless Post Office has a long history of service to our community. Retired Postmaster Robert Nail presented the colorful history to a group of Euless residents recently. With his permission, much of his material was utilized for this article.
The first Post Office was established in the Euless community in 1886. The handwritten application for the facility was apparently misread by the U.S. Congress and the office was established as the "Enless Post Office". While the name was an obvious mistake, the correction would take a literal "act of Congress" and as a result, the name was never corrected. Rather, the Enless Post Office was closed in 1910. For the next 39 years, residents of the rural community received mail through rural delivery from Grapevine, Arlington, Irving, and Smithfield.
In the late 1940's, a local goat farmer, Mr. Hoffman, began a petition drive to establish a Post Office in Euless. With the aid of local Congressman Wingate Lucas, a postal facility was authorized for Euless to open on February 1, 1949. This time the name was the Euless Post Office. In preparation for the opening, a Postal Inspector was sent to Euless to find a place to be used as the post office. The Inspector happened to stop at the Fuller Brothers and Nail Grocery and Mercantile on the Southeast corner of State Highway 183 (now SH10) and Main Street. A young man named Robert Nail was working in the store and after a discussion with the Inspector, Mr. Nail and his father-inlaw, Homer Fuller, decided that their store could accommodate a 6 foot by 6 foot space to host the Post Office. In addition, at the encouragement of Mr. Fuller, Mr. Nail applied for and was appointed the first Euless Postmaster. For his service, Nail was paid $500 per year. When the Post Office opened in 1949 a postage stamp was 3 cents and a post card was 1 cent. The population of Euless was 250.
In 1954, the Post Office was moved to an adjoining building and expanded to 750 square feet. The population of Euless had exploded to 656. The Post Office remained in this space until a new 4,500 square foot facility was built on the Northeast corner of North Main at East Fuller in 1961. This facility served a population that rapidly expanded from 4500 residents in 1964 to nearly 30,000 in 1978 at which time the current Post Office on Ector Drive was completed.
During his 31 year career, Mr. Nail saw many changes in the Postal Service including the introduction of Zip Codes in 1966. He also witnessed many humorous events such as Mail Carrier, Herb Jacoby being sprayed by a skunk, and attacked by a fighting rooster. Mr. Nail said his most embarrassing moment came when his own dog bit Mr. Jacoby. Mr. Nail retired as Postmaster in 1980. He and his wife Iva continue to live in Euless. They are active in the Euless Historical Preservation Committee and First United Methodist Church.
