Existing comment:
Free Home Delivery:
Free mail delivery was not available before 1863. Many large post offices had letter carriers, but they weren't paid by the government. The carriers earned their wages by charging recipients one or two cents for each delivered letter. Most people saved their pennies and picked up their own mail.
City Free Delivery Service began during the Civil War in Cleveland, Ohio, when postal employee Joseph Briggs saw women and children waiting in long lines for letters from their loved ones at war. He persuaded postal officials to deliver letters to the city's citizens for free. The service was an instant success. |