Earliest History

• In 1653, Frenchman De Valayer established a postal system in Paris. He set up mail boxes and delivered any letters placed in them if they used envelopes that only he sold. An enemy put live mice into the letter boxes and ruined De Valayer's business.
  
  

Terms

• Newspaper delivery used to be part of the postal service.newspaper image by Byron Moore from Fotolia.com
  
  The term "post" came from the Latin postum, meaning "position" or "place," and referred to the system of "posts" or relays that were set up along roads to transfer messages from one runner (or rider) to the next.
  
  According to the Maynard (Mass.) Historical Society website outlining the history of the Maynard Post Office (1850-2000), before the invention of the telegraph, relaying was the primary means of transmitting not only personal messages, but news in general--The Washington Post or the St. Louis Post Dispatch, for example.
  
  In Medieval times, mail referred to a pack or traveling bag. Centuries later, it became necessary to create a name for the particular bag that carried letters. Mail seemed a convenient choice.
  
  

Early Post Office Boxes

• The English postal system--which spread to the British colonies--opened to the public in 1635.victorian post box image by Karen Hadley from Fotolia.com
  
  Starting in 1635, the Royal Mail service in England transported only the monarch's letters. The English Parliament then created a public postal system controlled by a single office--the "Post-Office of England"--and by a single officer, the postmaster-general of England. This new post office system soon stretched into the colonies of the British Empire in the New World. Appointed by the Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin served as the first U.S. postmaster general.
  
  

Postage Stamps & Mailboxes

• The Black Penny Stamp displayed Queen Victoria in profile.english stamp image by hugy from Fotolia.com
  
  According to the International Federation of Inventors' Associations website, Sir Rowland Hill--an English inventor, social reformer and teacher--invented the first postage stamp. Dissatisfied with the current English postal system--and finding no improved system in the world--Hill created penny postage. Instead of the established system, which charged the recipient of a letter, the penny post system created a uniform rate of postage paid by the sender, using stamps. The first postage stamp made an appearance on May 6, 1840. The Penny Black was printed in black and white and displayed a portrait of Queen Victoria. The stamp system spread around the world.
  
  By the mid-1800s, postage stamps were used around the world. In 1863, the U.S. Postal Service announced Free City Delivery. Letter carriers brought mail to private residences. Post office departments began building and distributing mailboxes throughout U.S. cities.
  
  

Post Office Boxes vs. Mailboxes

• Immigrants to the U.S. who arrived at the train station found relatives by using their P.O. box addresses.train station image by Peter Helin from Fotolia.com
  
  However, residents could still choose to keep their Post Office boxes. In 1913, the post office was responsible for some emotional reunions. According to the Maynard Historical Society, immigrants from Poland and Finland arriving at the downtown Maynard, Massachusetts, rail station had the P.O. box number of their relatives written on a tag attached to their coats. Without their relatives' home addresses, it would have been difficult to find their kin, but the Post Office's public service reunited the immigrants to their U.S. families.
  
  According to Arago, the Smithsonian Postal Museum's educational and research website, before 1920 all mail arrived at a central post office where postal workers sorted it into boxes for residents. However, so many residents registered for post office boxes that main post offices maintained more than 1,400 boxes.
  
  

Postmaster Approval

• After 1923, appropriate mailboxes received an approval by the postmaster general.Mailbox Peak image by Brandon Wagner from Fotolia.com
  
  While residents could choose to keep a P.O. box address, according to Allison Marsh of the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., in 1923 the U.S. Post Office Department mandated that all residents provide a box or slot in order to receive mail at home as well. Businesses sold mailboxes of all shapes, sizes, colors and functionality. The Post Office Department quickly issued a list of standards for residential mailboxes and an indication that appropriate designs were "approved by the Postmaster General."
  
  

Zip Codes & Modern Postal Service

• Zip codes, and the four extra digits, identify mailing vicinities and individual addresses.american Mail box and freeway sign image by Ashle Whittle from Fotolia.com
  
  In 1983, the United States Postal Service (USPS) introduced the ZIP+4 code, adding a hyphen and four digits to the existing five-digit ZIP Code. The first five numbers continued to identify an area of the U.S. and a delivery office to which mail is directed.
  
  The United States Postal Service offers post office boxes to residents who either live far from a central post office and do not receive free carrier delivery or who prefer a post office box for security and privacy reasons. Fees apply when an individual who wants the service for extra security and privacy reasons also has free home delivery. However, no fee exists for those who cannot receive mail at home. Because the United States Postal Service owns the boxes, staff workers keep all boxes clean and protected. As of May 2010, fees for a six-month term start from $12.
  
  As of May 2010, according to the USPS.com website, U.S. citizens can opt for P.O. boxes online by filling out a printed PO Box Application form (PS Form 1093), emailing receipt of purchase and supplying two forms of ID. Online P.O. boxes are ideal for residents and small businesses that want to find, renew or manage a P.O. box.