MPS 48-46-12

The location of this building and its various Mail Pouch signs was based on the analysis provided below. Due to the many changes to Grafton over the years Old maps and Aerial views are difficult to interpret. After the Civil War Grafton and the immediate area became a major retail and industrial area. Coupled with that, the area became a primary RR Hub particularly for the Baltimore and Ohio RR (B & O). From around the turn of the century (1890’s – 1920’s) many buildings were constructed along Main St. and Latrobe St. Population growth began around 1890 at 3200 until it peaked, in 1920 at around 8500. Factory closings reversed the population growth trends (except for a brief increase during 1970 & 1980) until it has reached its current population of around 4600. The large RR presence actually added to the city woes. Situated in a valley during the day of coal fired steam locomotives created a significant air pollution problem. During the same time period Bloch Brothers began (in the 1890’s) sending their painters out to advertise their MAIL POUCH TOBACCO product. The idea has always been to get the signs in areas where they would get the most advertising value. The fact that there are so many Mail Pouch signs in Grafton is a testimony to the importance Bloch Brothers attached to Grafton as a significant advertising venue. It should be noted first that there are probably Mail Pouch signs in Grafton or the immediate area that are not recorded in the website; and, second, that R. J. Reynolds also produced plug tobacco and predated Bloch Brothers. We have noted two RJR tobacco signs on the Barnstormer’s website for Taylor Co, WV. In locating this Mail Pouch sign the following resources have been consulted. 1) A 13 year span of Historic Aerial images from 1955 to 2020). 2) A 4 sheet map collection of Grafton, WV, dated 1895, created by Sanborn Fire Insurance C. 3) The old photographs presented and cross referenced. The resulting study reveals many buildings have existed and subsequently been razed and removed, over the years. No Aerial imagery or Grafton maps have been available to adequately trace the building history. To further complicate the investigation original named streets and alleys have simply disappeared!

Photo 1 is an enlarged inset view from Photo 2, Photo 3 is an enlarged inset view from Photo 4; and, Photo 5 is an enlarged inset view from Photo 6..

Photo 9 is an old photo on which someone has numbered and labeled certain buildings in the view. Note that ID # 6 designates the 'Theater'. This is not correct. The 325 seat Hyppodrome Theater was built in 1912. In 1923 the building was renamed 'The Strand' and it was enlarged at that time. In a 2015 post from The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, it states that the Manos Theater was not 'built on the site of the Strand' but that the Manos Theater is the old Strand Theater building extensively remodelled. The Manos Theater is at 14 E. Main St. 0.1 mile to the east of the Mail Pouch building of this entry and would not have been visible in any of the old photographs.

Photo 10 is a view of the Archdeacon & Murry Store on Latrobe St. (1925). The building to the left with the Mail Pouch sign is the same building shown in Photos 1-9 with extensive modifications including removeal of upper floors and lowering the roof line. The space between the Archdeacon Store and the Mail Pouch building is Brinkman Alley which no longer exists. The Historic Aerials' imagery shows the building in Photos 1-9 with the Alley to the west side of the building. The Photo 10 is noted as Latrobe St. The street in front of the store seems to be rising to the left, whereas the street from which the photo was taken (Main St.) is descending to the left where the two streets meet.

Additional notes regarding the photos: 1) Photos 7 & 8 the Mail Pouch building circled in yellow. MPS 48-46-13 is circled in lime. Other buildings exisitng in both Photo 7 & Photo 8 are circled in red. 2) Photo 5 the entrance to Brinkman Alley is circled in white. 3) Photo 6 MPS 48-46-04 is circled in red. 4) dates for the photos were provided with the photos.