Rodney Davis (1808-1891) was the son of Gideon and Nancy (Hughes) Davis, natives of western Loudoun County.  About 1812, Gideon and Nancy moved their young family from Goose Creek, Virginia, to Maryland, and eventually settling in Georgetown, D.C., where Gideon worked as a machinist and cabinetmaker. Gideon was famous for inventing and patenting a more durable plough for heavier soils. He was considered by many a pioneer in the manufacturing of agricultural implements. An example of his plough is preserved in a collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History[1].

As a young man, Rodney followed in his father’s footsteps as a machinist. He moved to Winchester, Virginia, where he built and sold ploughs in his father’s design to customers in the region. Some of the Davis ploughs used in Loudoun County were possibly assembled by him. Many others were sold to settlers migrating west. Gideon encouraged his son to join that migration with his plough-making business, but Rodney moved back to Georgetown instead. In 1835, he married Elizabeth Boone (1812-1897), a close family friend and a distant cousin to Daniel Boone. They came to Goose Creek to live.  According to local oral history, the community needed someone who could make and mend anything. Rodney set up his shop at Goose Creek. He also became the first caretaker of the Quaker meetinghouse property.

Goose Creek was home to a significant Quaker population. Known for their pacifism and strong anti-slavery beliefs, Quakers faced significant harassment in slaveholding states. For Goose Creek residents, like Rodney, who customarily sent and received their mail at Purcell’s Store in what is now Purcellville, the tensions were increasing in the years leading up to the Civil War. In response, Goose Creek Quakers petitioned Congress for a post office of their own and offered to name it after President Lincoln.  Congress approved ‘the Lincoln Post Office at Goose Creek Village” and, in 1861, Rodney Davis was selected as its first postmaster. The post office would not be established and his official appointment would be delayed until after the conclusion of the Civil War.  During this time, he voluntarily carried mail to and from the post office at Point of Rocks, Maryland, a strategic Union-controlled crossing.[2]  It was the closest reliable location for loyal Union families to receive their mail due to the disrupted mail service caused by the hostilities. Traveling over land that was often occupied by the two opposing armies, Rodney risked his own life to preserve a vital link of communication with the North. Finally, on 3 July 1865, he was officially appointed postmaster and Goose Creek became known as Lincoln. Rodney served continuously until 1889.

In addition to being remembered as a devoted public servant with the United States Postal Service, he also volunteered to teach the newly emancipated at the Lincoln Colored School, and he was an active member of the temperance movement to abolish alcohol consumption.  But perhaps one of the most profound sources of information on Rodney’s life can be found in the condolence letters sent to his wife, Elizabeth, upon his death in 1891. He was described as a father figure, a best friend, so dear and indulgent, someone who had a kind word for all and was ever ready to help others.  J.L. Holmes of Iowa City, Iowa, wrote “I can imagine how much he is missed – so many years of kindness and usefulness. He will be remembered. No doubt history of his life will be repeated to many of the young in that old neighborhood with the hope that they may follow the example set by him.”[3]

We owe Rodney Davis a huge debt of gratitude. The Lincoln Post Office today is a valued part of our local history, cultural heritage, and village identity. It is a geographic and social center, a gathering place for neighbors near and far, where community pride and connectiveness is still fostered.

 

[1] USNM 161555, Gift of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

[2] Loudoun Discovered, Volume 4, Eugene M. Scheel

[3] Rodney and Elizabeth Davis Papers (M 023), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

​​

​

​