The year 1936 marks the seventh of The Great Depression which does not end until December 1941 with bombing of Pearl Harbor; same month Germany declares war against the United States.
In 1936, conditions leave little money to build anything, men have difficulty finding or keeping a job; a dollar is worth very little.
How could any town think the government would build a post office?
Post Master Addison Lysander Lincecum had friends at the state and federal level including JJ Mansfield who he asked to front his request. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain if approved. El Campo postal gross receipts for 1935: $17,252.59; 1930 $15,015.79; and 1920 $11,254.66.