Moving the Mail

Stories of a transportation pioneer.


Since 1775, when the Second Continental Congress called for “a line of posts . . . from Falmouth in New England to Savannah in Georgia,” the United States Postal Service has delivered for America, reaching further as the nation has grown and moving faster as technology has developed.

  • Steamboats PDF | HTM
  • Mail by Rail PDF | RTF
  • Star Routes PDF | RTF
  • Overland Mail to California in the 1850s PDF | HTM
  • Pony Express PDF | RTF
  • Airmail PDF | RTF

    • Airmail Pilot William C. Hopson PDF | RTF
    • Standard JR-1B Plane #1 PDF | RTF
  • Unusual Delivery Methods

  • Vehicles

    • Electric Vehicles in the Postal Service PDF | RTF
    • When Motorcycles Moved the Mail PDF | RTF

For Even More Information

Visit our online galleries of historic photographs relating to vehicles, airmail, and railroads.


Read More: Stamp ceremonies and events.