Rural delivery is a service that provides mail delivery to rural and suburban communities throughout the United States. Rural carriers place letters and packages into boxes, most of which stand along curbs. Each carrier has an assigned delivery route. The carriers use their own automobiles or U.S. Postal Service vehicles to deliver mail. In the early 2020’s, about 45 million homes and businesses were served by the Postal Service’s rural letter carriers. Rural delivery continues to provide a vital link between urban and rural America.
Before 1896, there was no rural delivery system in the country. Farmers’ organizations, especially the National Grange, were active in getting the United States Congress to provide money for free delivery of mail to rural areas. In 1896, the first rural deliveries were made in West Virginia. The system was called Rural Free Delivery (R.F.D.). The number of delivery routes increased during the early 1900’s. In 1917, the service was extended to most rural areas.
The development of the rural delivery system was important to the development of farm areas. For the first time, the farmer could receive the newspaper daily by mail. The system led to parcel-post service and the development of great mail-order firms.
See also Postal services.
