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 Valencia Post Office and General Store
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 The
lumberjacks, mill workers and families needed provisions... so Hihn built a
General Store. The Post Office was incorporated a year later. The building also
provided a place to relax and catch up on local news while waiting for the stage
coach.
This structure was built in
1882 as a general store measuring just under 15 feet by 32 feet. The
construction techniques used are similar to those of the Valencia Hall, minus
the supporting stumps.
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| Men, woman and child wait on wooden bridge for stagecoach.
Post Office is seen in background. |
In 1883, the post office
function was incorporated into the building. In 1896, the Town of Valencia was
described as "a neat settlement of houses, with a good school, store,
public hall and other comforts of living." Hihn closed the mill in 1902 and
sold the remaining parcels of land.
Post Office and General Store is converted to residence
The Post Office and General
Store building was converted to a residence in 1910, following the move of the
post office functions to Aptos Village. In 1989, additions to this historic
structure were severely damaged in the Loma Prieta Earthquake and the structure
was "Red Tagged."
The quake tore the rear
living additions away from the original 1882 portion. The owner offered the building to County Parks for inclusion in the
Valencia Park Project. On the recommendation of the County's Historic Resources
Commission, the Post Office and General Store building was moved across the
street to the County owned property on November 14, 1990. An agreement accepting
the structure from the owner of the building was approved
by the Board of Supervisors on January 15, 1991.
A community effort
was mounted by the owner and Aptos Neighbors Association to save
the original portion of historic structure. The rear additions of the building
were removed, the rear exterior wall was stabilized and the movers transported
the building to the Park site approximately 150 feet across the street.
This structure is currently
missing it's rear wall due to structural modifications to the building over the
years and the destructive force of the earthquake and is now sitting on blocks. | 
