City residents began receiving free mail delivery at their homes in 1863, but Americans living in rural areas had to wait more than 30 years for the same convenience.

Until the late 19th century, people in the countryside generally had to travel to the nearest post office to collect their letters, newspapers and packages. Depending on the distance, weather and condition of local roads, retrieving the mail could require an entire day.

Efforts to bring delivery service to rural homes gained momentum during the 1890s.

John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department-store magnate who served as postmaster general from 1889 to 1893, was among the first prominent officials to push for an expansion of home delivery. In 1893, Georgia Congressman Tom Watson introduced legislation that provided funding for the idea.

The proposal did not immediately produce a nationwide program. It took another three years before Postmaster General William L. Wilson authorized an experiment called Rural Free Delivery, commonly known as RFD.

The first experimental routes began serving three West Virginia communities in 1896.

Bad Roads and Underpaid Carriers

Delivering mail in the countryside presented challenges that urban carriers rarely encountered.

Many rural roads were little more than dirt paths. Rain could turn them into mud, while heavy snow and ice made winter travel dangerous or impossible. Bridges were often primitive, damaged or nonexistent.

Rural mail carriers also earned less than many of their urban counterparts and were expected to provide their own transportation. Depending on the location and weather, they traveled by horse, wagon, sleigh or other locally practical means.

Despite those obstacles, Rural Free Delivery quickly proved popular.

For isolated families, the service offered much more than the convenience of receiving letters at home. Carriers brought newspapers, magazines, catalogs and information from the outside world. Their regular visits also provided valuable human contact for people who lived miles from their nearest neighbors or town.

Communities that wanted RFD service were required to petition the Post Office Department. Thousands of rural residents gathered signatures and worked to satisfy the government’s conditions.

In many places, residents repaired roads, replaced dangerous bridges and improved routes so carriers could reach their homes safely. The prospect of dependable mail delivery therefore helped accelerate the improvement of rural transportation networks.

The government steadily expanded the service as demand grew. On July 1, 1902, Rural Free Delivery became a permanent national program.

For the first time, nearly every American—except those living in the most remote and inaccessible locations—could reasonably expect mail to reach the road near home.

Rural Mailboxes Were Initially a Mess

Creating regular delivery routes solved one problem but exposed another: Many rural households did not have proper mailboxes.

Some residents placed soap boxes, food containers and other homemade receptacles beside the road. These makeshift boxes varied wildly in size, quality and weather resistance. Some leaked, some fell apart, and others were too small to hold anything larger than an ordinary letter.

The Post Office Department attempted to standardize rural mailboxes in 1901. Officials established minimum dimensions and approved 14 manufacturers that could produce acceptable sheet-metal boxes.

Many residents continued building their own receptacles, however, and the problem became more noticeable after the introduction of Parcel Post in 1913. Carriers were now delivering larger items that could not fit inside many homemade boxes.

A postal engineer named Roy Joroleman supplied the lasting solution in 1915.

Joroleman designed the rounded-top metal receptacle now commonly known as the tunnel mailbox. Its curved roof helped shed rain and snow, while its larger interior could accommodate letters, newspapers and small packages.

The box also included a movable flag on the side. A homeowner could raise the flag to tell the carrier that outgoing mail was waiting inside. The carrier could lower it after collecting the mail.

Beginning July 1, 1916, newly installed rural mailboxes were required to follow the approved design.

Joroleman’s practical metal box soon appeared along roads throughout the country. Its rounded top, hinged front door and red signal flag became familiar features of the American landscape.

What began as a solution to a mundane postal problem eventually became one of the most recognizable symbols of rural America—and a design that remains largely unchanged more than a century later.

About Post Author

MichCon

See author's posts