First Rural Routes by State

Below is a list of the establishment dates of the first rural route(s) in each state, along with the names of the Post Offices served.

Lists of dates that the first rural routes were established at Post Offices through December 31, 1904, by state, can be accessed by clicking on the “PDF” or “RTF” file for the state. These lists were compiled using data from the 1901 Annual Report of the Postmaster General and issues of the Postal Bulletin through 1904. Lists for Alaska and Hawaii are not available.

These lists are intended as guides only—all of the dates have not been verified. In some instances more than one date is listed for the establishment of service at a particular Post Office. Verification of rural route establishment dates and further details on specific routes may be available from the National Personnel Records Center, Civilian Personnel Records.

First Rural Routes by State