July 26, 1775

On this day in history in 1775 the U.S. Postal Service was established.

Forming a Postal Service

During early colonial times there was little mail being sent between colonists. If they were sending mail it was likely to someone back in Britain. As a result, there were no post offices in the colonies and any mail that was sent between them was usually left at inns and taverns.

Benjamin Franklin has been on over 130 U.S. postage stamps. The one above is from 2006.

Benjamin Franklin was instrumental in the first postal service being created, and successful, in the U.S. While still under British rule he had been Postmaster General for the Crown. In this role he surveyed roads for postal service routes and post office locations. He also introduced an accounting method for postmasters. Additionally, he had riders carry mail by day and night to ensure speedy service. He set up new and efficient colonial routes that cut delivery time in half between Philadelphia and New York. He even created the first rate chart that standardized delivery costs based on distance and weight.

An artist's depiction of a colonial mail carrier

The Second Continental Congress established their own "U.S. Postal Service" in 1775 with Franklin as the first postmaster general. He was open for the job because he'd been fired by the British a year earlier when they deemed him too sympathetic to the colonists, along with the revolutionary activities he was involved in. He only served in the position for a year when he was then sent to France as a diplomat. However, he left having vastly improved the mail system with routes stretching all the way from Florida to Maine. Samuel Osgood was made the first postmaster general of the new American nation by President George Washington in 1789.