by Don Steen
The Spencer County Historical Society braved a cold and blustery Thursday evening last week for their 34th annual Historian of the Year Banquet. The event was once again hosted and catered by the Rockport Church of the Nazarene.
Society President Steve Sisley told the crowd that the society currently boasts a membership of around 150, with many active participants working to preserve and rediscover as much of the county’s heritage as possible. The group’s meeting area in the genealogy room of the Spencer County Public Library has become quite the repository of resources, and many members are actively adding to the written record.
Sisley noted the examples of Daryl Lovell, who has focused his writings on the history of Dale, and John Hargis, who recently published a history of the 1937 Flood.
“Any time you write a book it’s a lot of work,” he said.
For the last few decades, with sole exception of 2020 during the pandemic, the society has honored current and past historians. This year saw both honorees intimately connected to the county’s Christmas tradition.
This year’s Historian of the Year is Kathleen Crews, director of Santa Claus Museum & Village, who was honored for her work promoting the history of the town of Santa Claus as well as programs centered on the area’s Lincoln connection. This year’s Commemorative Historian of the Year was none other than James Martin, the postmaster who put Santa Claus on the map.
Commemorative Award
Sisley spoke on the long-lived legacy of Postmaster James Martin, as well as his family. In fact, the Martins held a reunion at the Santa Claus Museum & Village back in May, and four of James’ relatives were present to receive the award in his honor.
James F. Martin was born October 16, 1874 in a farmhouse built by his grandfather, John. The homestead was located halfway between Fulda and the town then known as Santa Fee. John served in the American Civil War and returned home to take up farming.
John’s son, Louis, married Louisa (Weiss) and the two had two boys and six girls, with James being the third oldest of the brood. In 1903, Louis bought the Samuel Weiss General Store in Santa Fee, which also served as the Post Office for the community. Louis inherited the duties of Postmaster from the previous owners, effectively making the newly minted L. Martin & Sons General Merchandise Store a central hub for the community.
James spent years helping his father run the store, and manage the postal service operating there. He married his wife, Anna A. Singer, on New Years Eve of 1911, and replaced his father as Postmaster three years later.
The town of Santa Fee had long since adopted its current name of Santa Claus, or Santaclaus, as it was known to the USPS immediately after the name change in 1856. Getting the town name split into two words was Martin’s doing, a feat accomplished in 1927, but it’s not what he is best known for today.
The town had gained some notoriety for its name by the time Martin took the helm, with kids who learned of the Indiana town taking to addressing Santa letters there. It was Martin who decided to actually write back. As it happened, that was a genie that could not be put back in the bottle, even if he had wanted to.
“The old saying, ‘no good deed goes unpunished’, was never truer in James Martin’s case,” said Sisley. “His goodwill increased his workload. Other post offices began a ‘courtesy custom’ of forwarding letters addressed to Santa on to the Santa Claus Post Office.”
Read more on this story in this week’s issue of the Spencer County Leader!
Featured Image: Kathleen Crews receives her “Historian of the Year” award from Barbara Hevron at the Spencer County Historical Society banquet
A series of photos from the SC Historical Society banquet featuring presenters, a large meal, and the recipients of this year’s Commemorative Award: Four descendants of Postmaster James Martin
