CHICOPEE – The Chicopee Historical Society hosted a presentation focused on the United States Postal Service located at 28 Main St. Inside the confines of the Post Office lies a mural commissioned by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) administration depicting the rich history of Chicopee.

Vice President of the Historical Society Jacqueline T. Lynch detailed the background behind the mural and the history of mail distribution throughout the city during the Historical Society’s April 20 meeting. During the 1700s, mail would arrive to citizens via horseback riders delivering to a local tavern. Stagecoaches allowed for the streamlining of mail delivery in 1823, while the advent of post offices in the mid-1800s developed inside local general stores.

In Chicopee, the first post office opened on Exchange Street in 1840, according to Lynch. Two post offices would soon open after in 1855, including one in the Cabotville Mill and the other in Chicopee Falls. The Chicopee Falls post office represented one of the area’s many innovations at the time.

“The Falls early on became an important manufacturing center,” said Lynch.

Post offices took on newfound importance in the 1930s as the country reckoned with The Great Depression. FDR spearheaded the construction of over 1,000 post offices, with the developing projects infusing crucial construction jobs during a time of economic downturn. A post office in Chicopee Center was constructed in 1935, while a new Chicopee Falls post office soon followed in 1936. The projects inspired a sense of rebirth within the community as a symbol of FDR’s New Deal programs, according to Lynch.

Both projects represented a classical, Federalist architecture approach. “They had kid of an early colonial retro-feel to them,” said Lynch. The post office developments also offered jobs to artists throughout the country, with FDR igniting the country’s dormant art scene in the aftermath of the Great Depression.

“The New Deal gave work to artists throughout the country for post offices,” said Lynch, who shared that FDR intended to leave a legacy of free, easily accessible public art for communities. The commissioned paintings each attempt to convey the history of their specific areas through social realism, with Lynch comparing the artworks’ tone to the wistful sentimentality of Frank Capra films like “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

“[The paintings] celebrates the American spirit during challenging times,” said Lynch.

For the Chicopee Falls mural, German artist Ernst Halberstadt took on a unique approach. While most murals conveyed a historical event through one set image, such as South Hadley’s mural of Mount Holyoke College students, Halberstadt conveyed Chicopee through a collage of historical time periods.

Halberstadt researched the mural for two months and spent roughly two and a half months painting it on an oil canvas. Traversing from a business negotiation between settlers and local natives to the development of local manufacturing centers, Lynch shared that the mural conveys Chicopee’s history while spotlighting New England’s seasonal weather through the gradually changing color tones.

Lynch explained that the mural stands as a unique artifact, capturing Chicopee’s history before a time of transformation for the city. “It connects us to the past, but it does not tell us about the future,” said Lynch, who mentioned the incoming developments of Westover and the shifting of several industrial areas.

The mural was officially unveiled on July 28, 1938, a few weeks after the city hosted its 300-birthday celebration. Lynch expressed that while the party was likely a fun celebration, the mural remains as an expressive reflection of the city’s distinct history.

“I invite you to have a good look at the painting the next time you visit the post office,” said Lynch.

The Historical Society will host their next presentation in May about Westover. Readers can learn more about the Historical Society at https://www.facebook.com/ChicopeeHistoricalSociety/.