About the Evinston Paintout...

Little has changed since 1882. The Wood & Swink Old Store & Post Office is Florida’s oldest working post office and one of the last working general store post offices in the nation. An old wood stove and sixteen of the original brass mailboxes are still in use today. In addition to being a post office, the Wood & Swink is also a gathering place for locals to sit around the old wood stove in the center of the store and swap stories.

The store has been in the Wood family since 1906, and family members have served as Evinston’s Postmaster since 1913. The Wood family owns the building and the USPS rents space from them for the Post Office. Wilma Sue Brown Wood has been the Postmaster since January 13, 1979 and plans to retire soon after 28 years of service. That is why the Evinston Paintout was started; to raise funds to renovate the building. Without renovations, it will be extremely difficult to find a new Postmaster who will work without heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. There is concern that they won’t find someone willing to work under these conditions and they would have to retire the 32633 zip code or move the Post Office to another building. The fate of the Post Office is a concern for the entire community because the store lacks the minimum modern amenities.

The Conservation Trust for Florida (CTF) joined forces with the Wood family in 2006 and they hosted the first Evinston Paintout. It was a big success and they raised some money but not enough for completion of the project. The Evinston Paintout will be an annual event until we raise all the money needed to ensure the preservation of the Wood & Swink Old Store & Post Office.

The Wood Family has since been notified by the USPS stating that they do not intend to close the Post Office if renovations are made. The Architectural design and plans have already been generously donated by Alan McKellips of Hunter McKellips Associates, free of charge. The restoration will include the following: central heat and air; a handicap ramp; two new restrooms; a glass “alcove” to enclose the solid, double-hung wood doors; and restoring the solid wood plank floors and windows. The total cost for all of these upgrades is $50,000. In addition, we must raise another $150,000 as an endowment to pay the yearly insurance costs of $6,200. The Wood family has recently formed the Wood & Swink Preservation Society to help them reach this goal.

In order to protect the building itself from being demolished in the name of progress to erect a new building on the site, there is a historic preservation easement in place so it is protected in perpetuity. The building and the property are preserved as they are forever.

They have a goal of raising 10% of the funds on their own and is also searching for additional funding from agencies and private foundations in the form of grants. An account has been established for public contributions at Campus USA Credit Union.