Dates: Tuesday, March 25th or Thursday, March 27th, 9:30am

Location: Online - see your e-mail for the Zoom Link!

Website: https://postalmuseum.si.edu/

This week we are talking to the National Postal Museum! It falls under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution. You can visit their website, and even take a virtual tour through Google Arts, here: https://postalmuseum.si.edu/

Let’s quickly review the background of the Smithsonian, before we take a short look at an overview of the postal system!

The Smithsonian 

So how did THE Smithsonian get its start? We owe it all to a man named James Smithson, who died in 1829. James was the illegitimate son of a wealthy Englishman who actually never even visited America! For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Smithson left the entirety of his estate, a half million dollars, to the United States government. He dictated that his gift be used to establish an institution dedicated to knowledge gathering and learning. Though it would take until 1846 for the Senate to pass an act to organize the institution, its legacy continues to inspire and impact generations.

To read more about the Smithsonian’s history, you can check out their retrospective on 175 years here: https://www.si.edu/175

The Smithsonian is now the largest museum, education, and research complex in the world, with 21 museums, the National Zoo, and 9 research facilities! Check out the list of museums that make up the complex:

Let’s take a quick look at some postal history highlights!

1775 - The Second Continental Congress established a postal service for the colonies in rebellion. They named Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general. To read more about Benjamin Franklin’s career with mail (which is most interesting than it sounds, I promise), click here: http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/postmaster-general/

1789 - Constitution gave Congress the power to ‘establish Post Offices and post Roads’. At the time, the Post Office was part of the Treasury Department. It would remain there until 1829. By 1789, there were 75 Post Offices and 2,400 miles of post roads serving almost 4 million Americans!

1820s - After Robert Fulton had created a viable steam engine for steamboats in 1813, the Post Office began contracting with steamboat companies to move mail up and down waterways. In 1848, U.S. mail even traveled by steamship to the Panama Isthmus before it was transported overland, then back on a ship. The journey took approximately three weeks; no overnight delivery there!

1860 -  The Pony Express began its relatively short stint of service. Stretching from Missouri to Sacramento, California, the Pony Express was the quickest way to send messages to California from the east. The fastest delivery was a trip in 6 days, which delivered the news of Lincoln’s assassination. To read some more ‘fun facts’ about the Pony Express, check out this article here: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/537885/facts-about-pony-express

1869 - The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, making cross country mail delivery overland a possibility.Constructed from 1863 - 1869, the railroad became the first continuous railroad line across the United States.

• 1890s - As mail delivery continued to expand, the post office continued to look for new ways to deliver mail to more customers. But by 1890, roughly 65% of Americans lived in rural areas, which meant they didn’t receive direct mail services. Even though those who had to travel to pick up their mail were paying the same amount of postage as those receiving direct delivery. In 1895, the Post Office tried out 2 rural routes for delivery. It was so well received, that within a year, it expanded to 44 routes in 29 states. In 1896, legislation made Rural Free Delivery an official service of the Postal Service. In 1899, they introduced the electric automobile as part of their delivery services. Use of automobiles increased after 1913, when postal carriers began including packages in their deliveries. By 1933, only 2% of urban deliveries were horse-drawn. 

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• 1911 - The first authorized US mail flight took place between Garden City and Mineola, New York. By 1918, scheduled airmail service was formally launched, first using pilots and planes on loan from the U.S. Army. In 1924, a transcontinental airmail flight took 1 day, 10 hours, and 20 minutes, as compared to the 7 hours it might take today.

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• Early 1900s - Postal facilities began using underground systems of pneumatic tubes. Canisters could be packed with up to 500 letters and sent in the tubes at speeds reaching 30 mph. The use of tubes lessened as automobiles became more ubiquitous. The system was revived in New York and Boston in the 1920s but finally truly retired in the 1950s. 

Some quick facts about the postal service from 2023!

The USPS:

• is the heart of a $1.58 trillion mailing industry.

• processes and delivers 44% of the world’s mail.

• employs nearly 73,000 military veterans. It is one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.

• has 34,000 retail locations, gets more than 7 million visits at usps.com and services 153.9 million residences and 12.6 million businesses 6 days a week.

• serves everyone equally. Every person living in the US and its territories of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the N. Mariana Islands) has access to postal services and pays the same for First-Class mail postage. 

• is diverse. Historically underrepresented racial groups make up 53% of the workforce.

• is self funding. The USPS receives no tax dollars for operating and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. 

• employs 6,600 carriers who deliver mail on foot, known as the “Fleet of Feet”.

• processes 23,5 million packages every day.

• processed 318 million pieces of mail each day (that’s 3,684 pieces per second)!

• operates out of more than 1,4000 buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• paid $2.03 billion in salaries and benefits every 2 weeks. 

• receives, on average, $258.9 million in revenue each day.

Tune in this week to talk to the National Postal Museum! It should be lots of fun!

https://www.history.com/articles/post-office-mail-delivery

https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/postal-service

https://news.usps.com/2023/03/24/the-more-you-know/