Rhode Island Tercentenary Issue First Day Cover
300th Anniversary of the Settlement of Rhode Island
Issued on May 4, 1936 in Providence, RI - Scott #777

Unofficial Town Cancel - Wood River Junction
1st John Kilton Cachet - Planty #777-61a

The Richmond Switch Post Office, (Richmond Township, Washington County) was established on January 25, 1870 under Postmaster George N. Ennis. On June 14, 1889 while operating under Postmaster Rouse F. Hoxsie the name was changed to Wood River Junction Post Office. This Post Office is currently in operation under Postmaster Maureen A. Black appointed on September 4, 2004.

The village of Wood River Junction is located in the township of Richmond. It is home to the main campus of the Chariho School District. Wood River Junction sits between the Wood River and the Pawcatuck River. The main enterprise in the area is turf farming.

The Wood River Branch of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was chartered in 1872 and completed in 1874. The Branch was built to provide service from the Hope River Valley to the main line of the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad and was only six miles long. The New Haven Railroad took over operation of the Branch in 1892. The railroad was abandoned on August 8, 1947 and the tracks removed shortly thereafter. The railroad operated three locomotives in it's heyday after 1900, one of which was a classic 1870s twenty ton 4-4-0 named "Gardner Nichols."

Sources:
Check List of Rhode Island Post Offices 1790-1994 - Del Beaudreau
Rhode Island Postal History: The Post Offices - Merolla, Jackson & Crowther
The Rail Lines of Southern New England - Ronald Dale Karr