A year after Susan Barnhart perished in an Upper Makefield flash flood with six others, the longtime postal employee will have the Washington Crossing Post Office named for her.
The U.S. Senate passed the legislation for the name change last week and the bill was to be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law, according to U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-01, of Middletown, who first introduced a bill in Congress last year, to rename the office.
Barnhart was trapped on Route 532/Washington Crossing Road with other motorists when a heavy rain burst dropped some nine inches of water on the area within an hour. It sent surrounding creeks and streams over their banks, and water crashing onto the roadway.Some of the travelers attempted to flee their cars, but were swept away. Two children, Matila Sheils, 2, and her brother, Conrad, nine months, were killed along with their mother. Conrad’s body was never found.
Barnhart loved her job, serving both at the Washington Crossing and Newtown Post offices. She also loved dogs, and was with her dog, Koda, when the flooding came. Koda was found wandering a neighborhood two days later, dragging his leash, headed toward the post office.