PLANES, TRAINS, and PONIES
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Postal motto that we all have heard of but is really their motto? This is not their official motto, but one that has identified the strength and commitment that these men and women have to carry out their work. The saying was carved in stone over a doorway in a New York post office, and the mail system took it up as their unofficial slogan.
Before an established postal system was in place, most people received news and family information from word of mouth. Imagine today if we had to rely on that way of getting messages, a relative could be dead for months before the whole family could be informed, and business would have little advertising, and our bills would never reach us. In my blog today when and how the postal system came to be, and the institution that keeps us running.
The First Postal System
The first official postal system was set up on July 26, 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin was named the first postmaster and while holding this office he invented, and orchestrated many of the systems still in use today. Here are the methods he put into practice: 1.more efficient colonial routes [remember at this time we were still under British rule] 2. cutting delivery time in half from Philadelphia to New York using delivery wagons traveling both day and night by using relay teams. I guess in todays terms that would be like using airplanes, and trucks to get it there fast. 3. Another wonderful innovation he added was the first-rate chart, which standardized delivery costs based on distance and weight. Without this creation individual post offices could have set their own rates. He acted as postmaster until 1776 when he was sent to France to become a diplomat, but before he departed for his new position he left behind a mail system with new routes from Florida to Maine.
After the American Revolution, George Washington was elected the countries first president, and he appointed Samuel Osgood as the first Postmaster General in the year 1789. The mail system had expanded to 75 post offices, and approximately 2000 miles of post roads. The first business he attended to was to make the post office in Baltimore MD, the new regional headquarters. Osgood was a hard worker and continued his job until retirement in 1791.
How do you imagine a letter or parcel was paid for in the early years you couldn’t use credit, couldn’t use debit, and sometimes not even cash if you didn’t have it. There was no post pick up at this time , so everyone had to bring their mail to the post office themselves. The person mailing the letter or package could pay for it’s shipping then, or they could choose to let the recipient pay when picking it up. Seems strange now but back then you got so little mail they didn’t mind paying for it when it arrived. While this was the standard for many years, the government wanted a better way. So in 1847, Congress authorized the United States postal stamp.
The First Official Stamps produced for all letters and packages going thru the new nation.
The stamps went on sale in New York on July 1, 1847. They started out with the George Washington on a 5 cent stamp, and later a one cent stamp with Franklin on it was used when mail went up to 6 cents. The post office had to glue the stamps at first on the letters, after cutting them out by hand ,but then a new adhesive stamp was invented by Alexander Greig, and all you had to do was lick these and it was less messy. Many of us have used this type when mailing letters.
!n 1893 the very first Commemorative stamps appear on the scene. They honored that year’s World Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. The regular postage stamp was to small to print the picture needed to represent the exposition, so a larger sized stamp: 7/8 inches high by 1-11/32 inches wide had to be manufactured .It was almost double the size of the regular stamp.
Pony Express
Now we have a post office, official stamps, and a system set up to handle the mail, but how did it reach all the different locations post offices were springing up in? Lets start with the Pony Express, we have all heard about how riders would get the mail to it’s destination no matter what, but lets investigate how it started. In 1860, a man by the name of William H. Russell advertised for riders to work a route called the Overland Express via Salt Lake City. The company he invented fell flat of it’s promise and other partners were brought on board with fresh ideas to upgrade it. The route starting out in Salt lake city was thought to be only viable for half the year due to weather and terrain. So they went a new route, and formed the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. They bought the best horses available, ones that could handle deserts and mountains, thirst in the summer, and snow in the winter. They hired riders, but before they took their first run, they had to swear on the Bible not to cuss, fight, or abuse their animals ,and while on a run they had to conduct themselves honestly. The Pony Express was a very demanding job to have and it only lasted for a short while. The Pony Express officially ended it’s run on October 26, 1861. Interesting side note , There was a Motion picture made about the Pony Express June 1953 starring Charlton Heston, and Forrest Tucker, and because of that time frame, kids really liked westerns so in the 1960’s A TV show called The Pony Express Rides Again was on for a short period.
Alternative Mail Delivery
As the mail system grew and people were sending more and more correspondence and packages, bigger, and faster ways of getting from one place to another had to be developed. After Pony Express, the stage coach was used as they brought passengers to new destinations, they carried the mail also. Post riders were employed to help meet the stage coaches in bigger towns. They had a system in place to hire these riders called “Star Bids” When a person or company put in a bid to carry the mail the only requirement’s were to be 16 years of age for the person, and that they could be bonded. Whoever won the bids took a oath of office. This worked for a while then steamboats came into the game, and even sleds, snowshoes, and skis for the winter months in rough terrain. In todays world the Postal Service uses different ways to deliverer mail to hard to reach places like the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and Alaska, using airplanes, and hovercrafts, and snowmobiles in winter. The rail system also played a major part in the delivery of mail. As the trains became a bigger part of the post system they would gather the mail from the post offices and sort it right on the train, plus 1930 more than 10,000 trains moved mail. Now for the last mode of mail transfer: airplanes! The Postal service began airmail service between New York and Washington D.C. on May 15, 1918. Army pilots and the Army Curtiss JN-4H “Jenny” a training plane were used for this experiment. The planes had no reliable instruments or radio’s or navigational aids. How did we win the war? For this reason it is reported that around 34 airmail pilots lost their lives doing this work. When they thought that they had a handle on the day deliveries, they started night flights. To help with this they gave them luminescent instruments, navigational lights, and parachute flares .In 1922 and 23 the department was awarded the Collier Trophy for important contributions to new practices in aeronautics, safety, and for the feasibility of night flights.
To finish this topic, I will leave you with some important Postal dates.
1.1874-general Postal Union established.
2. 1896-Rural free delivery began and it was started out of my home state of West Virginia.
3. 1950- Residential deliveries reduced to one time of day instead of two.
4. 1963- Zip Codes were issued.
5. 1971- Labor contracts negotiated through collective bargaining, a federal first.
6. 1994-Postal service launched public internet site.
7. 2007- The “Forever” stamp issued.
I hoped you enjoyed our travels thru the years of Postal Service information, I know I learned a lot. I feel after researching this I have a new appreciation for our mail carriers, and the job they perform more.
Join me next week when i tell you the story of the first amusement park.
Rollercoasters, Cotton Candy, and Danger!