OK, so the Postal Service isn’t expanding – quite the opposite. But, with all of the recent discussion of the decline of the U.S. Postal Service, we were intrigued by the attached, very cool, graphic illustrating the dramatic Post Office expansion from 1700 – 1900 (the Postal Service was officially formed in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin appointed as its first Postmaster General).
As you would expect, it is representative of the larger demographic trends experienced by our growing nation, namely:
- 1776 – Post-Revolutionary War East Coast Expansion.
- 1848 – First offices established on the west coast with the start of the Gold Rush.
- 1870s – Growth along the railroad lines in Nebraska and Kansas.
- 1890s – A series of land rushes throughout Oklahoma and the midwest.
For more detailed information, check out Derek Watkins cartography blog.