“Whether
great or small, a post office was the visible form of the Federal Government in
every community and to every citizen. Its hand is the only one that touches the
local life, the social interests, and business concerns of every neighborhood.”
John Wanamaker, Postmaster General, 1889-1893.
In 2019, the United States Postal Service
reported that it delivered 143 billion pieces of mail to 160 million addresses,
of which about 46 million were rural.
Additionally, it operated 31,000 local post offices.
That year at least 1.3 billion of those
pieces of mail were Christmas cards, and many of the packages held Christmas
gifts. In 2020, about 64 million were ballots, representing a pivotal role in
the recent General Election.
This column, the first of two, explores
the development of the postal system, including its impact on local
communities. The information comes from newspapers, books and online sources on
the history of both the national postal system and those of our two states.
Mostly, private carriers were responsible
for mail service before the American Revolution. If someone was going to a
distant community, they might notify neighbors of a willingness to carry
letters. Delivery was slow and often not reliable.
In 1776, John Balch was appointed
post-rider to deliver mail from Portsmouth to Haverhill, once every two weeks.
At this time, riders announced their arrival with the blowing of a horn.
The first postal route in Vermont was
established in 1783 and included mail delivery from Brattleboro to Newbury. Early
mail routes changed over time, sometimes replaced by different ones.
For a time, the independent republic of
Vermont maintained its own postal system. But in 1795, the federal government
took possession and postal routes to Newbury and Haverhill were established.
Mail was distributed to area towns from those two locations until more post
offices were established.
At the beginning of the 19th century,
express wagons or coaches replaced individual riders. Stagecoach lines were
encouraged by the federal postal subsidy.
Prior to 1845 inland mail was given to the lowest bidder who agreed to
provide “due celerity, certainty and security of transportation.” As stars
identified these three conditions, these privately-operated routes were
designated “star routes.”
Post offices were located in taverns,
stores, or private homes. Some postmasters profited by taking subscriptions,
selling books, or from the increased traffic in their place of business. The
income from the sale of stamps or collecting postage was small. In 1801, the
postmaster in Newbury received a quarterly salary of just $5.64. But in return, postmasters were allowed to send
their own mail free-of-charge.
While early offices might be a table or,
in the case of East Thetford, the slots on a tavern’s stair banisters, larger
offices evolved with oak window units with numbered locked post boxes.
The number of post offices locally
increased dramatically with openings in Orford (1794), Haverhill (1794),
Bradford (1804), Thetford (1807), Lyme (1812) and Piermont (1814). At one time
both Thetford and Newbury had six each, somewhat unique in the state. Haverhill also had six. The ones in Newbury included Newbury Village, South Newbury, West
Newbury, Wells River, Boltonville, and Newbury Center. Later openings included Warren (1820), East
Topsham (1823) and Woodsville (1853-55, 1860).
Postal rates were very high and based on
the number of sheets in the letter. Newspapers were much cheaper at 1cent each
for delivery under 100 miles. To avoid the higher costs, letter writers put as
much as possible on one sheet or wrote in the newspaper margins. “Ingenious
people contrived to evade postage by means of dotted words or letters in
newspapers,” a practice that was made illegal in 1847.
Two
years earlier, there had been a significant change in postal rates. Articles in
Vermont newspapers extolled the system of uniform rates used by Great Britain.
The adoption of a uniform rate regardless of distance allowed the profits from
urban post offices to offset the higher cost of mail distribution in rural
areas. One newspaper went so far as to say “No greater revolution ever
accomplished the good for humanity” as that which resulted from this common
postage.
Congress authorized the first US postal
stamp in 1847. Stampless letters, with the postal cost paid by the receiver,
were phased out. The use of stamps was
made mandatory in 1855. These adhesive stamps
bore the likeness of an American president or statesman. In the 1890s,
realizing the possibility of increased revenue, commemorative stamps began to
be issued.
For a time there were incorrect suggestions
that a private stamp introduced by Brattleboro postmaster Dr. Frederick Palmer
in 1846 was the first American stamp. Palmer introduced this stamp for use from
the Brattleboro office only to “overcome the annoyance of the system, or lack
of system, in regard to the payment of letter postage.”
They
were used until July 1, 1847 at which time the Post Office Department ordered
all unused Brattleboro stamps to be destroyed.
In 2000, an 1847 letter with two Brattleboro stamps sold for $100,000 at
a New York auction.. It was described as being among the most outstanding
examples of rare stamps.
During the administration of President
Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), the practice of presidential appointment of
postmasters became common. That meant that a change in the political party in
the White House brought about a flurry of dismissals and new appointments of
party supporters, sometimes causing local resentment. The Bellows Falls Times
reported in 1866, “the Union Postmaster at Bradford has been removed and a
bitter copperhead appointed in his place.”
The impact of this immense patronage was
evident in 1885 when Democrat Grover Cleveland assumed office. Republicans had
enjoyed the privilege of appointments since Abraham Lincoln was president.
Newspapers reported, “there’s a great rush for Federal offices in Vermont…as
many as 25 sound democrats were given postmasterships in the Green Mountains.”
Cleveland lost re-election to Republican
Benjamin Harrison, but successfully ran for re-election in 1893. These changes
were reflected in Bradford postmasters. Democrat Asa Dickey (1886) served
during Cleveland’s first term but was succeeded by Republican Harry Parker
(1890).
Cleveland’s second term resulted in
Democrat George Dickey assuming the postmaster’s role but in 1897 Republican
Trescott Chase took over. He remained in
office for 16 years until Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1912. Similar
shuffling was experienced in other area towns.
For
many years the Democratic Party’s primary function in Vermont was to provide
appointees when there was a Democratic administration. The practice of postal
patronage came to an end in 1971.
Postmasters were generally men. In 1862
one national magazine suggested “female postmaster is a monstrous combination
in our taste.” Nevertheless, by 1878, there were 72 female postmasters in the
nation, and in 1881 there were 14 in Windham County, Vermont. The number continued to grow and, by 1893,
there were 6,335 women postmasters with other women serving as clerks and carriers.
There were concerns about women carriers
being married and also whether they should be asked to deliver mail to saloons
or other unseemly places. While they were sometimes referred to as
postmistresses, that was never their official title. One early female
postmaster firmly states that she was not to be known as “any man’s mistress.”
Retired Piermont postmaster Gloria Randall says she and her predecessor
Marjorie Wardrop used that retort, offering in a friendly fashion, to those who
considered calling them “postmistress.”
In 1810, federal law required local post
offices to be open on Sunday for at least one hour. This hour usually coincided with the end of
church services. Exceptions were made if there was no new mail. Post offices
located in taverns gave men a convenient opportunity to check to see if there
was mail on Sunday.
Sabbatarians opposed commercial activities
on the Sabbath and, by the 1840s, were lobbying for Sunday closures. The belief
was “the practice was contrary to the laws of God.” In 1845, Montpelier’s
Vermont Watchman included editorials in favor of suspending Sabbath mail, but a
proposal before the US Senate was rejected.
By 1848, Sabbath mail had been mainly been
discontinued in New England. But by the 1880s, the St. Johnsbury newspaper
reported that when mail was delivered on Sunday, the number of towns where the
post office is open “is much greater each year.” By that time, Bradford’s
office was open for at least a half-hour each Sunday, beginning at noon.
In 1912, Sabbatharians were joined by
labor groups to advocate for a six-day workweek. The Postmaster General ruled
that local post offices “shall not be open on Sunday for the purpose of
delivering mail.”
To the best of my knowledge, this rule
continued until 2013 when Sunday delivery of packages to large metro areas commenced.
Currently, regional distribution centers operate, the Postal Service conducts online
options and local offices may allow access to lobby boxes on Sundays, but there
are no retail operations.
When I went to mail several Christmas
packages at the Bradford Post Office on Dec 9, there was a notice that the
dramatic increase in mail volume was a challenge to the Postal System. I hope
that your holiday packages and cards were sent in a timely fashion and have
arrived safety to brighten the darkness of the season and help to meet the
challenges of this extraordinary year.