Postal history

Delivering the mail and more

  • Did You Know PDF

  • Delivering during the COVID-19 Pandemic: How the U.S. Postal Service Kept the Nation Connected PDF

  • Delivery: Monday through Saturday since 1863 PDF | RTF

  • City Delivery PDF | RTF

    • Deliveries per Day PDF | RTF

  • Rural Free Delivery PDF | HTM

  • Postal Service Mission and "Motto" PDF | RTF

  • Santa Letters: Gateway to Kindness PDF | HTM

  • State Abbreviations PDF | HTM

  • Universal Service and the Postal Monopoly: A Brief History PDF | HTM

  • Development of United States Parcel Post, 1887-1984 PDF

Past postal programs

  • E-COM, Electronic Computer Originated Mail PDF | RTF

  • Mr. ZIP PDF | RTF

  • Postal Savings System PDF | RTF

  • The Postal Service’s Role in Civil Defense during the Cold War PDF

  • Telegraph: Early Postal Role PDF | RTF

  • V-Mail PDF | RTF

Unique deliveries

  • Hope Diamond Delivered by Mail PDF | RTF

  • A Letter, a Lad, and a Lizard PDF | RTF

  • The Bank of Vernal: The “Parcel Post Bank” PDF | RTF

Featured sections

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Photo galleries

Images of past postal workers, equipment, vehicles, and scenes from postal history.

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The official history of the USPS

See our 156-page illustrated book The United States Postal Service: An American History.

To order a printed copy, see How to Order.

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Kids’ history of the USPS

A Kids’ History of the United States Postal Service, for young readers, shares USPS history in 40 fun-filled pages.