Existing comment:
Delivering Mail in Cities:
As cities expanded in size, so did new methods of mail transport. Trains and buses carried mail over long distances. At the turn of the 20th century, horse-drawn wagons and electric streetcars transported mail within most cities. By the 1920s, motorized postal trucks became the dominant form of urban mail transportation. In the United States, as railroads declined, the post office used buses and the new Interstate Highway System to move mail between cities and serve communities in-between.
Bridging Distances Over Land:
By the 16th century, the princely family of Thurn and Taxis had united most of continental Europe through a private postal system. In colonial America, similar attempts were made to build post roads along the eastern seaboard. None were successful until the 1750s. Water routes remained dominant until the 19th century, when stagecoaches and then railroads enabled large-scale delivery of mail on land. |