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In the early 19th century, the United States seemed a land of
boundless promise and possibility. The federal government believed
that the acquisition of territory was of little use unless those
lands could be exploited, especially the sparsely-traveled region
between the Mississippi River and the west coast settlements.
Stagecoach companies, funded
largely through mail contracts, helped to secure those areas, turning
meager trails into well-traveled roads. Just as the frontier military
forts gave emigrants a better sense of security the somewhat regular
appearance of the mail coach connected them to the rest of the
world.
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Letters from the
Territories
As they enter The Expanding Nation, museum visitors follow a
unique timeline into 19th-century America. The timeline uses
reproductions of letters sent from new American territories to chart
the nation's growth.
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Moving Mail on Rivers and Lakes
In 1823 Congress declared all steamboat routes to be "postal routes,"
allowing steamboat companies to obtain mail contracts.
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Ocean Steamers
Before mail traveled across America's western frontier, it was carried
by clipper ships traveling around Cape Horn and steamships that could cut
transportation time to under two months.
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Post-Haste Surface Table
This Surface Table interactive challenges visitors to choose a route and vehicle to carry the mail across the nation as quickly, safely, and cheaply as possible.
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