Elizabeth D Barnard came to Port Tampa in 1900 as the bride of Captain U. Grant Barnard. After he died, she began work as a secretary in the post office for former postmasters Bean (1914),  James McKay (1915), E.D. Lambright (1918)

She was an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and professed the need for women to understand government, world politics, and prohibition in 1920 while secretary to Postmaster E.D. Lambright. In 1921, she resigned from her position after serving nearly fifteen years to take a job for a national brand radiator manufacturer in Washington, D.C. Reports say that she moved to D.C., but she wasn’t gone long. At that time, the postmaster position was a 4-year appointment with candidates examined by and recommended by the Postmaster General, then selected by the President. When politics changed as Warren G Harding was elected, it was known that Barnard would most likely be appointed once Lambright’s (appointed by a democrat) term was up, and she returned to Tampa early that same year.  In 1922, she was promoted to assistant superintendent of mail.

Lambright did not go easily. He surprised many when he filed an application for re-examination for the position. A total of seven people qualified for the postmaster exam, a position paid $6,000 per year. In the end, it came down to three names; Lambright, Assistant Postmaster C.L. Patch, and Barnard. In January 1923, Barnard was named the first female postmaster of Tampa by President Harding. She served in that position for ten years, leading the Tampa postal service through the boom of the 1920s. She died in Jacksonville in 1960.

In 2017, Barnard was added to the historical monuments along the Tampa Riverwalk downtown.

© Chip Weiner. oldtampaphotos.com