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Customers and Communities
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Customers and Communities uses a series of exhibits to examine the evolution of mail delivery to vastly expanding urban and rural populations in the 20th century.
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Serving the Cities
For most of the 19th century, the Post Office Department succeeded in delivering mail to Americans scattered across vast territories. By the 1880s millions of newcomers were surging into cities, posing unique obstacles to standard mail delivery as mail volume climbed dramatically.
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Reaching Rural America
Long after city dwellers began to enjoy free home mail delivery, rural Americans still had to travel to the post office—which was often located in a country store—to pick up their mail. Experimental rural delivery finally began in 1896.
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What's in the Mail for You!
The museum's most interactive gallery, What's in the Mail for You!, is home to a series of films, displays, and computer stations that guide visitors through the contemporary mail-order process.
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