Lost place names: Groot-Schoot

Located on the Belgian-Dutch border, south of Budel, lies a village named Budel-Schoot. The hamlet is a merger of the hamlets of Groot-Schoot and Klein-Schoot, and this is reflected in the stamps. Klein-Schoot never had a post office and is now merely a street name. In 1918, an auxiliary post office was established in Groot-Schoot: Announcements No. 1921s of March 13, 1918: Effective March 16, 1918, an auxiliary post office is established in Grootschoot, for which the post office in Weert will serve as the head office. It was immediately noticed that the name Grootschoot was incorrect, and a new announcement was placed: Announcements No. 2077s of March 20, 1918: Correction. In Announcements XI/1918, p. 4, line 7 vo, Groot-Schoot is to be read instead of Grootschoot. However, the name stamp and the date stamp were spelled correctly. The auxiliary post office apparently did not meet the standards of the State Post and Telecommunications (PTT), and the office was closed in 1924: Announcement No. 1800S of February 20, 1924: Effective March 1, 1924, the auxiliary post, telegraph, and telephone office at Groot-Schoot is closed. Mail delivery will take place from Budel. However, a post station was maintained. The name stamp from 1918 was returned to the station master in June 1927, but not the date stamp. It was not until 1941 that a new date stamp was sent to the post station, because it had been upgraded back to an auxiliary post office.

In 1950, the name stamp went missing and a new one was issued. The office holder also received a new wax seal with the letters GRS. In 1962, the old date stamp was replaced, but a small error had crept into the name on the new stamp. It now read Groot Schoot, without a hyphen. Nevertheless, this stamp remained in use up to and including November 1967.

Effective December 1, 1967, the name of the auxiliary post office in Groot-Schoot was changed to Budel-Schoot. The auxiliary post office was closed on November 30, 1972, and effective December 1, 1972, a rural postal agency was established in Budel-Schoot under the Weert post office. Groot-Schoot had a great future to look forward to in the 19th century when the railway line between Belgium and Germany, the Iron Rhine, was put into service in 1879! A station was built in Groot-Schoot, which also included a customs office. However, after the first few decades, passenger traffic steadily declined, and the line was used solely for freight transport. Since 2005, the route has once again been the focus of attention, now that Belgium has requested the reopening of the section between the Belgian and German borders. In doing so, a nature reserve, the Meinweg, is being spared through the construction of a railway tunnel? Groot-Schoot, now Budel-Schoot, a new future? Or is the train going to pass this station without stopping?