Garards Fort post office a finalist for inclusion in Carnegie miniature display
At 165 square feet, the post office in Garards Fort is the smallest standalone post office in Pennsylvania.
If all goes well, there could be soon an even tinier version.
The historic post office building is one of three finalists to be added as a model at the Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad and Village.
The miniature railroad’s manager, Nikki Wilhelm, had stopped by the office to tell the news to Trinity Crist, postmaster relief at Garards Fort. It came as a pleasant surprise to Crist, who began working at the post office only a month and a half ago.
“I’d love for the post office to be a part of history,” she said. “The people that have lived here, the locals that have lived here for years, have always had good things to say about the post office, and they’re worried it’ll eventually be removed because we don’t get a lot of customers or bring in a lot of money.”
Over a week, about 10 customers might come to the post office, collecting their mail from the outdoor postal boxes, Crist said. The building itself is open from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday through Saturday.
“It’s only a two-hour-long office, but I enjoy my job,” she said.
The post office has been in its current home since 1942, continuing a tradition that began in 1828 when the first mail service in the area opened up nearby.
The building’s distinctive size and evocation of a bygone era — “the interior of the building has remained untouched for 83 years,” according to the center’s Facebook post introducing the candidates — launched it into contention.
Located at the Carnegie Science Center since 1992, the railroad and village specializes in recreating historic scenes from western Pennsylvania from roughly the 1880s to the 1930s.
Also up for inclusion are the Bethel Township High School building in Bethel Park and the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library in Bellevue.
More than 7,600 people had voted as of Thursday afternoon. People can cast one vote per day through July 31.
Last year’s vote winner, Pittsburgh’s Chinatown Inn, was unveiled in October 2024.
To vote and read about the three finalists, go to carnegiesciencecenter.org/mrrv-poll-2026.