Rural Free Delivery
New Stanton, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
On November 24, 1896, the U.S. Post Office Department established Pennsylvania's first two rural mail routes here in Westmoreland County. One operated from the post office here in New Stanton; the other operated out of nearby Ruffsdale (later spelled "Ruffs Dale"). The nation's first five rural carriers had started out the month before on routes in West Virginia, and by 1905 the U.S. had 32,000 routes. They proved instrumental in breaking down rural isolation.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
For most of the 19th century, country families had to travel miles to a town post office to collect their mail. That changed on November 24, 1896, when the Post Office Department launched two of the nation's earliest rural routes here in Westmoreland County â one from New Stanton, another from nearby Ruffsdale. The experiment, begun weeks earlier in West Virginia, spread with astonishing speed: by 1905 some 32,000 routes reached into the American countryside.
Why it matters
Rural Free Delivery ended the isolation of farm life, bringing news, catalogs, and connection to the national community right to the farmhouse door.
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Related events
- ¡ Establishment of Rural Free Delivery
Themes & tags
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