Trotwood Post Office May Close

If the United States Postal Service has its way Trotwood residents will be driving an extra 5 to 7 miles, one way, to find a post office next year. The USPS released a list of over 3,600 post offices this week they are studying for permanent closure. Trotwood made this dubious list.

For the next three months the post office will conduct a study to see which of the post offices will be recommended for closing. By closing post offices the USPS hopes to trim costs as they face declining revenues lost to competition like the Internet and other delivery services.

After the final list comes out the Post Office will hold a community meeting for public comment and will accept written comments for 60 days. The earliest any of the offices might actually be closed is December.

Trotwood’s Post Office has experienced a drop in traffic over the last few years and is evidenced by a reduced number of tellers. The local office could not release their actual counter sales figures.

Trotwood like the rest of the country has experienced the effects of the economic recession. It is estimated there is over 200 fewer businesses in town than existed in the late 1990s. Since the 2010 census the city has lost 2,989 residents.

The Trotwood post office is the only post office in this 4th largest city of Montgomery County with a current population of 24,431. Covering nearly six square miles it has the second largest land area in the county.

This is not the first time a post office has closed in Trotwood says Regina Klinehanz of the Trotwood Madison Historical Society. The Taylorsburg Post Office on Salem Av near Gettysburg closed in 1915. Prior to that there were also offices in Hays Corner, Air Hill, Amityville, and Mummasville.

Since the late 1800’s the Trotwood post office has occupied space in several grocery stores, from a boxcar on a siding at the Trotwood Depot, and then in 1936 it occupied part of the Farmers Citizens Bank (now 5th/3rd Bank) at Main and Broadway. In 1975 the USPS built their present facility on Beardsley.

The Trotwood City Council has indicated preserving the Trotwood branch is a high priority. A local citizen’s group is also working to fight the closing. Readers can participate with that group by joining the ‘Save The Trotwood Post Office’ Facebook group.