POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT RECORDS OF THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT The Office of the Postmaster General was created by an act of September 22, 1789, which continued regulations that originated with the appointment on July 26, 1775, of Benjamin Franklin as Postmaster General by the Continental Congress. The first act to provide in detail for a Post Office Department was passed February 20, 1792, and subsequent legislation enlarged its duties. The Postmaster General has been a member of the Cabinet since 1829, but the Post Office Department did not attain the status of an executive department until June 8, 1872. Assistant Postmasters General, authorized by acts of 1792, 1810, 1836, and 1891, were assigned administrative supervision over specific functions of the Department. See Wesley E. Rich, The History of the United States Post Office Department to the Year 1829 (Cambridge, Mass., 1924). There are 2,893 cubic feet of records dated between 1773 and 1968 in this record group. RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL. 1773-1953. 877 lin. ft. The functions of this Office, which is responsible for the general supervision, direction, and management of the Department, include the appointment of departmental officers and employees; issuance of orders and promulgation of rules and regulations concerning the organization and operations of the postal service; determination of appeals from decisions of the Assistant Postmasters General; and consideration of claims against the Department. The records include journals containing orders of the Postmaster General, 1835-1953; outgoing correspondence, 1789-1952 (with gaps); a few incoming letters, 1837-43; and correspondence sent by the private secretary, 1867-1901 (with gaps), the administrative assistant, July-December 1929, and the executive assistant, 1930-35. Records of the Office of the Chief Clerk, whose duties originally concerned field and investigative activities but after 1872 related almost solely to administrative and housekeeping functions, include a fair copy of the journal of Hugh Finlay, Surveyor of Post Roads and Post Offices for the British Post Office Department, containing reports and comments about post offices and their services in the northern and southern districts of the North American Co' onies, 1773-74; sample cashbooks, bonds, forms, and printed material relating to American and foreign post offices, 17941894; manuscript copies of Department annual reports, 1836-40 and 1846; some congressional correspondence, 1839-58 (with gaps); inquiries of the Keep Commission about administrative procedures, 1906-7; outgoing correspondence, 1873-1910; records relating to buildings occupied by the Department, 1827-55; records concerning the experimental telegraph line built in 1843 under the general direction of S. F. B. Morse and the Postmaster General, 1837-46; telegraph rate agreements under an act of July 24, 1866, authorizing the Postmaster General to set rates for telegrams sent by the Government, 1866-1913; correspondence concerning personnel and operation of the Censorship Board, 1917-18; general correspondence and reports relating to personnel, 1904-13; and a scrapbook of circulars, notices, instructions, and newspaper clippings relating to postal activities, 1823-71. Records of the Disbursing Officer include correspondence, inventories, and fiscal records relating to the purchase of office supplies and equipment, sale of property, payment of salaries, and maintenance of buildings and equipment, 1862-1913; records of the Division of Service Relations relate to a cooperative store operated for the benefit of Department employees at Washington, D.C., 1917-21, and to postal employee welfare programs developed through national, county, local, and departmental councils and boards, 1921-30. Records of the Office of the Solicitor consist of case files with indexes, docket books, registers, and transcripts of hearings concerning use of the mails for fraud, sedition, lotteries, false advertising, transportation of obscene matter, and other violations of postal laws and regulations, 1905-51; records relating to Federal operation of telephone, telegraph, and cable companies, 1918-21, with related indexes; records relating to enforcement of the Espionage Acts of World War I, 1917-21, and World War II, 194245, which denied second-class mailing privileges to certain publications; correspondence and reports relating to investigations of airmail and ocean mail contracts, 1934-40; office files of the Solicitor, 1912-22; opinions, 1868-74 and 1895-97; outgoing letters, 1877-79 and 1906; registers of postmasters' claims for reimbursement, 1882-1929; and records relating to bonding of mail route carriers, 1901-2 and 1908. Records of the Office of the Purchasing Agent consist of letters sent relating to supply and equipment purchases, 1904 and 1910. RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF This Bureau establishes and manages post offices; selects and nominates postmasters for first-, second-, and thirdclass post offices; and appoints postmasters to fourth-class post offices. It administers city, village, rural, and spe cial delivery service and handles unmailable and undeliverable mail. The title of the Bureau was changed to the Bureau of Post Office Operations in 1950. The records include letters sent, 1793-1800, journals (orders), 1867-1905, and miscellaneous correspondence and statements, 1911-41, relating to legislation, appropriations, credit unions for postal employees, and postmaster conventions; records of the Division of Postmasters consist of a record of first returns received from postmasters, 1789-1818, and records relating to appointments of postmasters and to the establishment, discontinuance, and change of name and site of post offices, 1815-1950; records of the Division of Post Office Clerical Service relate to appointments and salaries of clerks and other personnel in first- and second-class post offices, 18891907, and operations of second- and third-class post offices, 1916-36, of contract stations and branches, 1916-35, and of Sunday service at post offices, 191112. Records of the Division of City Delivery Service relate to mail carriers employed in first- and second-class post offices, 1888-1907; carriers separated from the postal service, 1863-99; inspections of city delivery service at Baltimore, Md., Kalamazoo, Mich., and Pittsburgh, Pa., 1929-31; and Detroit River steamboat service, 1895-1928. Records of the Division of Rural Delivery Service consist of correspondence, 1898-1936, issuances of the Superintendent of the Free Delivery System, 1901-6, and statistical data, 1896-1910; records of the Division of Rural Mails consist of correspondence, memorandums, reports, issuances, and accounting records concerning the operation of rural mail routes and the administration of the Division, 1906-34, and records relating to the employment of rural mail carriers, 1901-20; records of the Division of Post Office Service consist of correspondence and reports relating to classification of employees and measurement of work in post offices, 1912-34; and a small quantity of records relating to the Division. of Dead Letters, 1897-1930. RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF This Bureau supervises transportation, routing, and distribution of mail and manages the international postal service. Its title was changed in 1949 to the Bureau of Transportation. The records include administrative records, 18891957, reports, 1911-31, memorandums, 1914-29, letters sent, 1891-1934, correspondence concerning airmail service, 1921-27, notices to railway companies concerning mail transportation, 18851909, and a roster of Bureau employees, 1893-1912; and records of the special administrative aide, consisting of budget estimates and reports relating to appropriations, 1920-33, and reports of personnel changes, 1918-33. Records of the Division of Railway Mail Service include issuances, correspondence, 1902-29; 1912-55; rosters of clerks and agents, 1855-97; divisional newsletters, 1918-51; registers of railroad and electric car mail route contracts, 1877-1948, and star route mail contracts, 1814-1960 (with gaps), containing information about service to small post offices not on railroad lines; records relating to special service contracts, 1920-41; lists of star route mail contractors, 1833-77; paybooks for star route service, 185166; records relating to Governmentoperated star service by motortrucks, 1917-24, and establishment of highway post office routes, 1940-59; orders, contracts, and correspondence relating to powerboat and steamboat mail route service, 1859-1953; and records relating to construction and maintenance of railway post office cars, 1930-62. Records of the Division of Railway Adjustments consist of correspondence relating to rates paid for mail transportation, 1907-46, case files and correspondence concerning transportation of mail matter by means other than the Postal Service in violation of Federal statutes, 1896-1933, public carriers' reports of railway mail service performed, 1916-22, and registers of the employment of mail messengers, 187781 and 1900-1947. Records of the Division of International Postal Service include record copies of postal conventions with foreign countries, 1857-1929; records relating to postal congresses and conventions, 1847-1927; correspondence, reports, and questionnaires relating to vessels and routes employed in the ocean mail service, 1929-39; correspondence relating to military postal service during the Spanish-American War, 1898-1902; records relating to the operation of postal services in Cuba, 1896-1908, the Philippine Islands, 1895-1903, and Puerto Rico, 1899-1900; and correspondence, airline schedules, financial statements, surveys, and performance reports relating to the foreign airmail service, 191839. Records of the Division of Airmail Service consist of correspondence, reports, and memorandums of the Service, 1918-25, of the general superintendent of the Service, 1926-42, and of the Second Assistant Postmaster General concerning air transport, 1926-52; publicity material about airmail service, 1918-37; records relating to airmail routes and autogiro and helicopter service, 1919-49; correspondence and reports concerning National Airmail Week, 1938-39; performance and efficiency reports on domestic airmail service, 1920-41; and blueprints and specifications for airplanes, hangars, and equipment, 1918-25. RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF This Bureau collects and deposits postal revenues, receives and disposes of all moneys coming directly to the Department, and keeps accounts showing the fiscal operations of the postal, money order, and postal savings systems. The title of the Bureau was changed in 1949 to the Bureau of Finance. The records include those of the Division of Finance, consisting of accounts, ledgers, and journals of the General Post Office, 1775-1803; cashbooks used by the General Post Office, 1791-95; correspondence of the Division, 1922-37; and records showing quarterly receipts of post offices, 1895-1956. Records of the Postal Savings System consist of correspondence relating to the establishment and operation of the system, 1913-20, annual reports, 1913-36, and records relating to post office boxes, 1894-1934. Records of the Division of Money Orders consist of correspondence, memorandums, reports, and accounts, 1868-1936; and copies of international money order conventions, with related correspondence, 1856-1966. Records of the Division of Stamps consist of plate-proof stamp sheets, 18701962 (on permanent loan to the Smithsonian Institution), and stamp billbooks, 1870-97; a ledger showing quantities and costs of stamps furnished to postal services in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, and Guam, 1898-1900; records of the postal card agent, 1893-1923; and a historical file on early postage stamps, 1847-1901. There are a few records of the Division of Newspaper and Periodical Mail relating to an increase in secondclass rates, 1917-20; and records of the Division of Parcel Post, consisting of international parcel post agreements, with related correspondence, 1887-1966, and miscellaneous records relating to foreign parcel post facilities, 1911-12. RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF This Bureau administers, operates, and maintains Government-owned post office buildings; authorizes allowances for operating non-Government-owned postal quarters and vehicles used for collection and delivery services; distributes equipment and supplies; supervises the screen wagon, pneumatic tube, and Government-owned motor vehicle services; supervises shops for the manufacture and repair of mail equipment; and produces and distributes post route maps and parcel post zone keys. In 1949 the Bureau became the Bureau of Facilities. The records include correspondence, memorandums, reports, and issuances of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, 1905-32; records of the Division of Topography, consisting of letters sent, 1901-11, reports of site locations (ca. 1837-1950), and geographical information forms submitted by postmasters to aid the Department in the preparation of postal maps; and records of the Division of Motor Vehicle Services, consisting of advertisements, contracts, and correspondence concerning manufacture and operation of mail transportation vehicles, 1858-1939, and correspondence relating to shipment of farm products by postal trucks, 1919-29. Records of the Pneumatic Tube Service consist of correspondence, contracts, reports, surveys, issuances, statistical data, and blueprints relating to the establishment and operation of the Service, 1892-1953; and records of a congressional commission established to investigate the desirability of Government ownership of the Service, 1912-14. Records of the Division of Post Office Quarters consist of correspondence and reports, 1916-42; records relating to leases of postal quarters, 1916-32; blueprints, plans, and estimates for construction of postal quarters, and reports con cerning space accommodations and conditions of Federal buildings, 1911-30; and records relating to dedications of post office buildings, 1933-42. Records of the Division of Equipment and Supplies consist of periodic reports of work performed in mail-equipment shops, 1915-24, and miscellaneous records relating to operations of the Division, 1868-1911. RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF Established in 1921 to perform auditing functions previously handled by the Treasury Department, this Bureau examined accounts of the postal services and certified quarterly to the Postmaster General accounts of postmasters' funds and general expenses of the services. The Bureau was terminated in 1953, and its functions were assigned to the Bureau of Finance. The records consist of correspondence, memorandums, and issuances, 1862-1924; a register of mail routes, ca. 1838-61; accounts relating to postal services between the United States and foreign countries, 1883-1915; and accounts of postmasters, 1862-74. RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF THE CHIEF INSPECTOR. 18641935. 177 lin. ft. The Bureau investigates mail depredations and violations of postal laws and regulations and inspects Department finances, property, and equipment. The records consist of letters sent by the Chief Special Agent, Office of Mail Depredations, 1875-77; case files of investigations, 1877-1903; statements of arrests for offenses against postal laws, with related registers and indexes, 186499; records relating to an investigation of the Railway Mail Service, 1925; annual reports, 1905-35; rosters of inspectors and other employees, 1898-1909; records of Inspection Offices at St. Louis, 187678, Denver, 1879-1907, Philadelphia, 1896-1909, and New York, 1907-8; and a collection of bimonthly general intelligence press reports of the Justice Department, relating to radical publications, 1918-22. CARTOGRAPHIC AND AUDIOVISUAL RECORDS. 18391966. 3,920 items. Cartographic records (2,948 items) include a post route atlas of the United States and individual States and territories compiled under the direction of David Burr, 1839; several series of State, county, city, and rural post delivery route maps, 1867-1966, prepared by the Division of Topography and its predecessors, showing post offices, mail delivery routes, frequency of mail service, distances between post offices, mailcarrying railroads, navigable waters (1917), and congressional districts (193540); and maps and plans of landing fields and airmail routes, prepared by the Division of Airmail Service, 1918-41. Photographs, 1920-52 (903 items), relating mainly to airmail service, of pilots, including Charles A. Lindbergh; planes; accidents; the Pan American Airline Service; airports and mail facilities; and exhibits and trophies. Motion pictures, 1921-57 (69 reels), showing activities and facilities of the Department, including the Dead Letter Office; mail handling and delivery; transportation of mail by air, land, and water; parcel post; manufacture and repair of mail bags; printing and issuing stamps; protection of the mails from use for purposes of defrauding the public and from robbery; the postal savings system; instructions to mail users; post office buildings and the construction and dedication of the New Post Office, Washington, D.C., 1931-34; and Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt, Postmasters General, and other prominent persons. A scenic film about Mt. Rainier National Park and German propaganda films relating to the conquest of Belgium, Holland, France, and Poland during World War II are included. |