It gives us great pleasure to announce the installation of a new flag pole at the Pineland Post Office, replacing the worn and corroded pole that stood through Hurricanes Charley and Irma.

Andy Jendrusiak, RRC Groundskeeper, raises the flag outside the Pineland Post Office.
Andy Jendrusiak, RRC Groundskeeper, raises the flag on the new flag pole he installed at the Pineland Post Office. (Photo by Bill Marquardt.)

The Pineland Post Office was established in 1902. Until 1917, it was located in a small building on a Calusa midden-mound across from where the Tarpon Lodge sits today. In 1924 or 1925, under postmaster Ruby Vance Gill, a storm washed it away. Soon after, Ruby built a post office just west of her two-story home on Pineland Road. It is unknown how long that structure stood, Pine Island resident Florence Hiltbrand, interviewed by author Elaine Jordan, noted, “you could see the daylight all  the way through it”.

The current building was constructed in 1925, precisely when is uncertain. Buffered by a fringe of mangroves, the distinctive building has endured nine hurricanes and subsequent repairs. It is our hope the new pole, replacing the rusted one, does justice to the resilience of Pineland.