| Delivering hundreds of millions of messages a day | | | | established in 1864 between Chicago and Clinton, |
| to more than 141 million U.S. homes and | | | | Iowa on the Chicago and North Western Railroad. |
| businesses is no small feat. Tracking the evolution | | | | Terminals were established adjacent to major |
| of the United States Postal Service is a journey | | | | railroad stations to allow parcels to be sorted in |
| into the history of transportation, economics, | | | | the mail room and loaded onto mail cars. By 1930, |
| industrialization, communications and government. | | | | more than 10,000 trains moved the mail. And |
| With an act of the Second Continental Congress | | | | although there was a decline in the use of the rail |
| in 1775, the birth of the Post Office Department, | | | | to deliver mail, the nation's freight railroads |
| predecessor to the U.S. Postal Service, was put | | | | continue to carry mail through their intermodal |
| into place. According to the Congressional act, "a | | | | service today. |
| line of posts [should] be appointed under the | | | | In the early 1900s, the Post Office authorized |
| direction of the Postmaster general, from | | | | experimental flights at fairs, carnivals, and air |
| Falmouth in New England to Savannah in Georgia, | | | | meets in more than 16 states. These flights |
| with as many cross posts as he shall think fit." | | | | convinced the Post Office that the airplane could |
| At the time, the postal system mainly carried | | | | carry a payload of mail. In 1918, the Post Office |
| communications between Congress and the | | | | began scheduled airmail service between New |
| armies, under the direction of Benjamin Franklin, | | | | York City and Washington, D.C. with military |
| the first Postmaster General. From him was | | | | personnel flying Army planes. In 1918, the Post |
| established the basis of the system that has | | | | Office took over all phases of its airmail service. |
| continued to serve the needs of the American | | | | The very first commercial airmail flight took place |
| people since its inception. According to the United | | | | in 1926. |
| States Postal Service, Franklin set out on a long | | | | With all of its advances through the decades, the |
| tour to inspect the Post Offices in the North and | | | | Post Office almost came to a grinding halt in the |
| as far away as Virginia. New and shorter mail | | | | mid-1960s. Years of financial neglect and |
| routes were laid out and milestones were placed | | | | fragmented control over elements such as |
| on principal roads. Post riders carried mail, for the | | | | equipment and wages created a crisis. In Chicago, |
| first time, at night to speed service between | | | | 10 million pieces of mail were logjammed. The |
| Philadelphia and New York. By the time he left | | | | mailroom floors were bursting with millions of |
| office, post roads were operating from Maine to | | | | letters, parcels, circulars, and magazines that could |
| Florida and from New York to Canada. | | | | not be processed. Years of neglect finally added |
| When Washington D.C. became the seat of | | | | up. In response, Congress created a postal |
| government, the post office was moved there | | | | reformation that improved pay, improved |
| from Philadelphia. A two horse-drawn wagon | | | | workforce benefits, and gave the postmaster |
| carried all postal records, furniture and supplies to | | | | more control, to name a few. |
| the new capitol. During the 19th century, the Post | | | | As letters account for the greatest amount of |
| Office made great gains, developing new services | | | | mail volume, the Postal Service introduced new |
| that have lasted into the 21st century, as well as | | | | equipment and technology in the 1990s to speed |
| subsidizing the development of every major form | | | | up letter processing. It also began to automate |
| of transportation. | | | | the processing of catalogs, magazines, and other |
| Steamboats began traveling the rivers, replacing | | | | oversized envelopes. It has also turned its |
| boats, rowboats, and rafts as a means to carry | | | | attention to speeding up the processing of parcels. |
| the mail. As the West lagged behind the rest of | | | | Its newest focus is to provide customers with |
| the country in the receipt of its mail, the Pony | | | | more information on each mailpiece as it travels |
| Express was established and began its run in 1860. | | | | through the system. The goal is to have an |
| The fastest delivery was in March, 1861 when | | | | intelligent mail system in place by 2009, which |
| President Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address was | | | | would operate like a Global Positioning System for |
| carried from St. Joseph to Sacramento in 7 days | | | | mail, using a standardized barcode on each piece |
| and 17 hours. | | | | of mail and mail container, enabling customers to |
| The first U.S. railway post office route was | | | | see where their mail is each step of the way. |