LEAVING ITS POSTMARK: Old Destin Post Office reopens for tours after 60 years

More than half a century ago, the old Destin Post Office was a busy social center, full of good conversation. Today it’s one of the last remaining historical buildings from the early days of the sleepy little fishing village, and it’s open for business once more.

While residents can’t send a letter or package, they can take a tour of one of the city’s first institutions.

TO SEE MORE PICTURES FROM THE OLD DESTIN POST OFFICE, CLICK HERE.

“Uncle Billy built this building and everything in it,” said Kathy Marler Blue, associate director of the Destin History and Fishing Museum.

Early this year, the museum decided to resurrect the old building once more. Marler Blue spent three weeks cleaning and creating new exhibits to showcase the governmental history of Destin just in time for a soft opening on Founder’s Day.

“Everybody that came in seemed really excited,” said the longtime Destin resident. Marler Blue’s ancestors were in charge of the mail service from 1896 until 1972 when her father Ross Clinton Marler retired as postmaster.

With the Marlers having handled the mail for 76 years, “we have a unique history in Destin,” she said. And it all began with Uncle Billy in 1896.

William T. Marler moved to East Pass with his parents at the age of 13. Growing up, he worked for Captain Leonard Destin Sr. as a fisherman. He built boats and constructed most of his own furniture. He even became the village coffin maker and undertaker, services he provided at no charge to the early Destinites.

During the early 1920s, Marler’s home was the only one with a dock that extended out into the Choctawhatchee Bay where supply boats from Pensacola could dock and bring in necessities for the early settlers of Destin. He built a little store between his home and the water. For a short time, the little shop served as the town’s first post office.

In 1933, construction began on the Destin Bridge. Anticipating its arrival and the need for a location where trucks could bring in the bags of letters, Marler built a new post office building on his property facing Calhoun Avenue. He handmade all of the mailboxes, cabinets and counters, including a counter and drawer that were originally made for use in his dockside store.

The little building served the postage needs of residents for 17 years, until 1951 when a larger building was constructed on Highway 98. While the sleepy village has grown and changed all around it, the old Destin Post Office remains untouched by time.

In 1981, the Old Destin Post Office Museum group raised the funds to have the building moved from Calhoun to its current location on Stahlman Avenue across the street from the Destin History and Fishing Museum. The building was restored inside and out and filled with a collection of artifacts from the early families. The Old Destin Post Office Museum opened to the public on Nov. 11, 1983. Along with its dedication, Vivian Foster Mattee and Associates introduced the first account of Destin history in the book, “…and the Roots Run Deep.”

The museum was operated by volunteers, many of which were descendents of the pioneer families, until 2000 when it closed its doors again. In 2006, the Old Destin Post Office Museum merged with the Destin History and Fishing Museum.

With the doors open once more, Marler Blue is eager to take Destin residents and visitors back in time to the early days of the fishing village.

“The postal legacy is important to the history of Destin… but the new exhibits are also dedicated to the early leaders, who were a mouthpiece to convey the residents’ needs and point of views to the county and state,” said Marler Blue.

The old Destin Post Office will be open for tours during the same operating hours as the Destin History and Fishing Museum, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 850-837-6609 or visit them online at destinhistoryandfishingmuseum.org.�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�