Earlham Post Office

(March 2, 1887 – January 25, 1888)

The community here was originally known as Modena. The early residents took turns bringing the mail up from Orange themselves for more than a year before their application for a post office was approved. But there was a problem. “The Modena people are expecting the necessary documents for their new post office in a few days. The name ‘Modena’ seems to be objectionable to the department, for some reason, and the post office will be called ‘Earlham.’ We hope the matter will be settled soon.” (L.A. Herald, 2-25-1887) Less than a year later, someone came up with the bright idea of adding an “El” to Modena, and the post office got a new name. (See the listing for the El Modena Post Office for more of the story.)

Postmaster:

Ora Ross Boring, 1887-1888

Ross Boring had a store in El Modena at the time. He was the son of W.M. Boring, who at one time was postmaster of Laguna Beach. In later years, Ross Boring served as Deputy City Assessor for the City of Orange. He died in 1916 at about 55 years of age. 

(You can find more about Orange County’s post offices and postmasters here)