Early 20th century mail delivery took unusual forms

There were many unique ways of mail delivery in the early 20th century. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

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In almost 250 years of service, the U.S. Postal Service has tried out scores of vehicles and methods of delivery. Some of the most unusual ones were experiments and inventions of the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.

In digging through the archives of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum, we found interesting photos of these inventions.

Check out some of the unusual ways the United States delivered mail back in the day.

In 1885, letter carriers in cities used handcarts to collect and deliver mail. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

In 1900, the Railway Post Office streetcar was used to transport both passengers and mail. This one in particular traveled between Charlestown and Post Office Square in Boston. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Rural Free Delivery was a program that helped deliver mail directly to rural areas. Carriers like this one, photographed in 1905, used horse-drawn wagons. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Another Rural Free Delivery carrier is featured here in 1905, with his two-wheeled mail cart and patrons. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

In urban areas, sometimes letter carriers traveled with contracted drivers. This photo, taken in 1906, featured a U.S. Mail truck with a letter carrier from the Postal Service retrieving mail. The driver was not considered a post office employee. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Even boats were used to transport mail in the early 20th century. This is the J.N. Teal, whose route ran the Columbia River in Oregon in 1911. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Three-wheeled Indian motorcycles also showed up around this time in the Postal Service on an experimental basis only in Washington. This photo is on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th street in 1912. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Parcel Post Service also used wagons. Here is a group of carriers with Knoxville, Tennessee, Postmaster Cary F. Spence in 1913. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Dog sleds often delivered mail in norther parts of the United States and Alaska throughout wintery conditions. This is an unidentified man with his dog team resting during transport between Susitna and Seward, Alaska in 1913 (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Lt. Torrey Webb grabs a bag of letters from New York Postmaster Thomas G. Patten to deliver through airmail in 1918. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Learn more about the dangerous job of delivering mail by air in the early 20th century. 

This unique vehicle was improvised by the carrier himself, Lloyd Mortice, for easier travel in snowy conditions in New England. He fitted a Model T with tracks on the rear drive shaft so he could drop wheels or skis in front in 1926. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

In 1941, the first Highway Post Office bus was inaugurated in Strasburg, Virginia, thanks to a decline in bus passengers due to the growing popularity of trains. This was the first bus used for postal transport and traveled between Washington and Harrisonburg, Virginia. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

The experimental Trans World Airlines Skymaster was an aircraft that allowed for onboard mail sorting and routing in 1946. The idea was based on operations used by the Railway Post Office, but standing on a plane to work proved much more difficult than on a train and the program did not come to fruition. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

Looking closer to today’s Postal Service delivery trucks, this letter carrier delivers mail in a snowstorm in 1954. The van was painted with the blue and white color scheme we know today, with a middle red stripe separating the colors. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

The unique-looking “mailster” was used to deliver mail during a boom in letter sending after World War II in 1955. However, conditions needed to be ideal to operate with even terrain, and the vehicle often tipped over when turning at more than 25 mph or even in strong wind. (Photo: National Postal Museum)

FreightWaves Classics articles look at various aspects of the transportation industry’s history. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter!

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