The first Post Office in Brandon Mb.
8/1/2009 at 8:02 AM
Settlers coming to the Canadian plains were attracted by locations that had Schools, Churches, the Railway, and a Post Office. It also helped if there was a Land Titles Office. When the CPR selected Brandon as a divisional point, and the first train arrived in 1881, all those things were possible, and Brandon grew rapidly.
The Post Office was established on August 1, 1881, almost a year before Brandon became a city. Before that, the nearest Post Offices were at Grand Valley, and Brandon Hills. Mail destined for Brandon was sent to Brandon Hills, often via Rapid City, where it was picked up each day, and deposited on the floor of a Brandon hardware store. Conveyances were Stages, (Stage Coaches) and Buggies, (Horse and Coach without a roof).
Source: Brandon (a prospect of a city) by Mary Hume. 1981.
http://bnaps.org/philatelic/brandon125/page3.htm