File:Burdick, Indiana, April 6, 1883 - Postal Cover.jpg

English: Postal Date: April 6, 1883, Burdick, Indiana

Scott Catalog Number of Postage Stamp: UX7 Collection: Steven R. Shook

SENDER: O. J. Sackman Burdick, Indiana

RECIPIENT: Nile & Kramer La Porte Ind

REMARK: Burdick was a small village and station located along the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad (1876) near the intersection of present-day 475 East and East Burdick Road (Jackson Township - SW¼ of NE¼ of Section 3). The village was named in honor of Ambrose Cortland (A. C.) Burdick, a lumber dealer from Coldwater, Michigan. In 1876, A. C. Burdick owned the majority of the northeast quarter of Section 3 in Jackson Township, where the village of Burdick is located. The village was a significant shipping point for cordwood used by the railroads. Two charcoal kilns were also located near the village, which also provided fuel for the railroads. The original plat of the town included nine lots located south of the railroad tracks that were laid out by a Swede named Peterson Anderson. A wood yard for the railroad was located across the tracks from the platted village. There were seven houses, a boarding house, and a small general store in the village. A pump house located about one-qaurter mile east of the village was used to water locomotives on the New York Central Railroad. In 1912, the population numbered 75 and a public school was located within the village. A post office began service within the village on July 18, 1871, with John M. Bedell serving as the first postmaster. Otto John Sackman served as the second postmaster of the village, beginning his service on September 11, 1877. The post office was discontinued on May 15, 1933, when Ralph Barnard was the postmaster, with service forwarded to Chesterton. Occasionally, the village was referred to as Burdick Station and New Burdick in the local newspaper.

The sender of this postal card was Otto J. Sackman, who was the grocer in Burdick, as well as the postmaster. Sackman was born in 1846 and died in 1913; his remains were interred in the Chesterton Cemetery. Nile & Kramer was a wholesale grocery company that operated out of LaPorte, LaPorte County, Indiana. The company later operated under the name Kramer & Sons with operation located in LaPorte and Michigan City in LaPorte County.

Copyright 2013. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.