Publication 119

September 2004

on Post Offices,

Postal Employees,

Mail Routes, and

Mail Contractors

Sources of

Historical

Information

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE®
Sources of

Historical

Information

on Post Offices,

Postal Employees,

Mail Routes, and

Mail Contractors

Publication 119

September 2004
The Postal Service shall have as its basic

function the obligation to provide postal

services to bind the Nation together

through the personal, educational, literary, and

business correspondence of the people. It shall

provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to

patrons in all areas and shall render postal

services to all communities.

—Title 39, United States Code, Section 101

The history of the United States Postal

Service® is one of transformation—from the

first use of railroads to carry the mail in the

1830s, to online stamp sales in 1997, to new

developments in the 21st century. Within the

history of the Postal Service lies the history of

the nation as a whole, as mail routes and Post

OfficesTM spread westward, keeping the

growing nation connected.

Historians, postmasters, genealogists, and

others who want to learn more about the

history of their communities will discover

valuable sources of historical information on

Post Offices, postal employees, mail routes,

and mail contractors in this publication.

Sources are listed chronologically and then

discussed by subject. Following that, they are

described in alphabetical order. The final

pages list addresses for these resources and

provide further references.
Sources Chronologically

1700s– Newspapers

1773–1774 Hugh Finlay’s journal

1775–1778 Benjamin Franklin’s ledger

1782–1799 Ledgers of the General Post

Office

1789–1818 Record of First Returns Received

from Postmasters

1789–1952 Letters Sent by the Postmaster

General

1789– Annual Report of the Postmaster

General

1789– Congressional Serial Set

1789– Federal Statutes

1803– Lists, tables, and directories of

Post Offices

1814–1960 Contract route registers

1814–1971 Record of Appointment of

Postmasters

1816–1911 Official Register of the United

States

1830s–1940s Post route maps

1835–1953 Orders of the Postmaster General

(“Journals”)

1837–1950 Site location reports of Post

Offices

1861–1865 Confederate Post Office

Department records

1874–1954 United States Official Postal

Guide

1880– Postal Bulletin (Daily Bulletin

prior to 1919)

1890s–1986 Record cards of postmaster

appointments

1896–1970s Rural route cards

1901–1934 Rural free delivery records

ca. 1910– Personnel records

1986– Postmaster Finder

Sources of Historical Information 3
Sources by Subject

Post Offices and Employees

F

or information on Post Offices and

postmasters before 1814, major sources

include:

■ Record of First Returns Received from

Postmasters.

■ Letters Sent by the Postmaster General.

■ Hugh Finlay’s journal, a survey of post

roads.

■ Benjamin Franklin’s ledger.

■ Newspapers.

For information after 1814, the primary

source is the Record of Appointment of

Postmasters.

For concise listings of Post Offices by state

and alphabetically, sources include the lists,

tables, and directories of Post Offices, as well

as the United States Official Postal Guide and

Official Register of the United States.

For postmaster salary information and lists of

other Post Office employees, refer to the

Official Register of the United States.

Personnel records may be available for

employees whose service ended after

about 1910.

Site location reports of Post Offices provide

geographic and other information on specific

Post Offices.

Mail Routes and Contractors

For information on mail contracts and

contractors before 1814, sources include:

■ Letters Sent by the Postmaster General.

■ Hugh Finlay’s journal.

■ Newspapers.

Contract route registers are available

beginning in 1814.

4 Publication 119
Sources of Historical Information 5

Names and salaries of contractors are listed in

the biennial Official Register of the United

States.

Rural route cards provide rural route

establishment dates,as well as the names,

dates of service, and salaries of rural carriers.

The historian of the United States Postal

Service has compiled tables showing first rural

routes established, by Post Office, through

1904, from issues of the Postal Bulletin and

the 1901 Annual Report.

Names and salaries of rural and city carriers

are listed in the biennial Official Register of the

United States.

Personnel records may be available for rural

and city carriers whose service ended after

about 1910.

Sources Alphabetically

Annual Report of the Postmaster

General, 1789–

Early editions of the Annual Report (title

varies slightly) offer only brief

summaries of a few pages each on mail

service nationwide, but by the 1840s the

report begins to include statistical tables on

everything from missent mail (by state) to

international money orders issued (by state).

Although the subjects of the statistical tables

vary year by year, the following remain fairly

constant (year of first appearance given in

parentheses):

■ The lengths of mail routes and modes of

conveyance, by state (1836).

■ Railroad and steamboat contracts (1843

and 1845, respectively).

■ The number of Post Offices by state (1847).

■ Receipts/expenses by state (1851).

■ Statistics on city delivery (1873).
■ Establishment dates of rural free delivery,

by Post Office (1897–1901).

More detailed financial statistics are often

available on the largest U.S. Post Offices — for

example, receipts, expenses, and money

allowed for clerk hire and rent, light, and

fuel. The 1970 Annual Report has a statistical

overview of the history of the Post Office

Department from 1789 to 1970 (number of

Post Offices, revenue, etc.). In 1971, the

report reverts to a limited format, with

statistics available for the most part on only a

national basis.

Selected editions of the Annual Report may be

available from your local library through

inter-library loan.

Benjamin Franklin’s Ledger,

1775–1778

Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first

postmaster general under the Continental

Congress on July 26, 1775. He and his

successor, Richard Bache, kept a ledger of the

quarterly accounts of the General Post Office

from 1775 to 1778. This ledger includes sums

paid to and received from Post Offices —

serving as a useful list of early Post Offices —

with postmaster names sometimes noted.

A facsimile of the original ledger was

reproduced in 1976 as The Ledger of Doctor

Benjamin Franklin, Postmaster General, 1776, by

the Historic Documents Publishing Company

in Vineland, New Jersey. This book may be

available from your local library through

inter-library loan.

Confederate Post Office

Department Records, 1861–1865

Surviving records of the Confederate

Post Office Department are located at

the National Archives and at the Library

of Congress. 

6 Publication 119
Records at the National Archives include:

■ A list of Post Office establishments,

discontinuances, and name changes in the

Confederate states beginning in 1861

(undated).

■ A register of accounts, 1864 to 1865, for

Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, listing

name of Post Office, county/state, and

receipts.

■ An undated list of Kentucky Post Offices,

by county.

■ Confederate records on mail contracts and

routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,

Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North

Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,

and Virginia.

Confederate Post Office Department records

at the National Archives are part of the War

Department Collection of Confederate

Records, Record Group 109.

Records at the Library of Congress include:

■ An Appointment Bureau list of Post

Offices, 1861 to 1865, with establishments,

discontinuances, and name changes noted,

along with names of postmasters and

appointment dates, for Arkansas,

Louisiana, and Texas.

■ A register of accounts for the quarter

ending March 31, 1862, for Tennessee,

Texas, Arkansas, and Florida (includes Post

Office and postmaster name and financial

information on the office — sometimes

incomplete).

■ An Appointment Bureau list, 1861 to 1865,

in no discernable order, of postmasters

appointed in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana,

and Indian Territory (provides dates of

appointment, bond and commission of the

postmaster, the name and reason for

leaving of the previous postmaster, the

county of location, sureties’ names, and

miscellaneous remarks).

Sources of Historical Information 7
■ Journal and Orders of the postmaster general

(contains lists of hundreds of postmaster

appointments in the summer of 1861).

■ Letters sent by the postmaster general,

1861 to 1862 (contain occasional

references to postmaster appointments). 

■ Appointment Bureau letters sent, 1861

to 1865, partially indexed through

November 4, 1863.

■ Letters sent by the Contract Bureau,

1861 to 1864, mainly to contractors

and postmasters, which are indexed by

recipient or Post Office name and provide

details on mail service.

■ Confederate records on mail contracts and

routes in the states of Mississippi

and Virginia.

Confederate postal records at the Library of

Congress are in the Manuscript Division as

part of the Records of the Confederate States

of America and have been reproduced on

microfilm, which may be available from your

local library through inter-library loan.

Congressional Serial Set, 1789–

From about 1817 to 1890, the Serial Set

contains records of mail contract routes (also

called “star routes”). Reports show the termini

of the routes, the names of the contractors

selected, and other information. General

indexes to the Serial Set provide the years and

volume numbers of mail route records, but

they contain few references to specific mail

routes.

The congressional Serial Set is generally

available in federal depository libraries.

8 Publication 119
Contract Route Registers,

1814–1960

Registers of contract routes (also called “star

routes”) from 1814 to 1817, in 1824, from

1828 to 1870, and from 1917 to 1960 (years

vary by state) usually list names of stops

along routes, names of bidders for the

contracts, frequency of service, distances

involved, and modes of transportation.

They generally do not show the names of

subcontractors employed by the contractors.

In some time periods, there are indexes to

mail routes by Post Office. 

Contract route registers are located at the

National Archives as part of the Records

of the Post Office Department, Record 

Group 28.

Sources of Historical Information 9

Route 65112, Snyder to Stoneham, Colorado, as recorded in

contract route register in 1918.
Federal Statutes, 1789–

In 1792, the Statutes begin to list post roads

established and discontinued by Congress,

with stops on the routes noted. While there is

a general index by subject (“post roads”),

there is no index by Post Office.

Federal Statutes are generally available at your

local library.

Hugh Finlay’s Journal, 1773–1774

Hugh Finlay was appointed surveyor of post

roads by the British postmaster general in

1772. He kept a journal from September 13,

1773, to May 24, 1774, in which he described

in rich detail the Post Offices, postmasters,

and mail routes he encountered in his

journeys through New England and the

South. Finlay also included a description of

his travels through Quebec and touched on

mail service in the cities of New York and

Philadelphia.

The journal was originally typeset and printed

in 1867, and in 1975 it was reprinted by the

U.S. Philatelic Classics Society as The Hugh

Finlay Journal: Colonial Postal History

1773–1774. This book may be available from

your local library through inter-library loan.

Ledgers of the General Post Office,

1782–1799

The Ledgers of the General Post Office contain

the quarterly accounts of the General Post

Office. These accounts include mail

contractor names, their routes, and sums

paid, and an alphabetical listing of Post

Offices, including the postmaster’s name,

letter and newspaper postage collected and

the postmaster’s commissions on the same,

and sums paid for ship letters.

The Ledgers of the General Post Office are

located at the National Archives as part of the

Records of the Post Office Department,

Record Group 28.

10 Publication 119
Letters Sent by the Postmaster

General, 1789–1952

The earliest letters sent by the postmaster

general, between October 3, 1789, and

December 31, 1836, are arranged

chronologically in 50 volumes with an index

of names of addressees. The letters reference

specific Post Offices, postmasters, and mail

contracts, and discuss mail transportation,

Postal laws and regulations, and budgetary

matters, among other things.

These volumes have been reproduced as

National Archives Microfilm Publication 601,

Letters Sent by the Postmaster General,

1789–1836, which is available for purchase

from the National Archives and may be

available from your local library through

inter-library loan.

Lists, Tables, and Directories of Post

Offices, 1803–

Lists, tables, and directories of Post Offices are

available for nearly half of the years from

1803 to 1870, and continuously from 1955 to

the present. (For information on the

intervening period, see the entry below for

the United States Official Postal Guide.)

Although there is some variation by year, the

earliest lists typically provide an alphabetical

listing of Post Office names, along with the

name of the postmaster, county and state,

and the distances from the Post Office to the

state capital and to Washington, D.C. The

1831 Table of Post Offices in the United States

provides the first listing of Post Offices by

county, which is regularly featured beginning

in 1859. Directories of Post Offices since 1955

list Post Offices, as well as stations and

branches, alphabetically and by state and

county, and provide the class of the Post

Office, as well as names of postal units

discontinued in the preceding year. They do

not show names of postmasters. Since 1957,

Sources of Historical Information 11
numbers of boxes served by Post Offices are

listed, and beginning in 1979 city delivery

statistics are also available.

Selected editions of the List of Post Offices in

the United States, Table of Post Offices in the

United States, and the Post Office Directory (title

varies slightly) may be available from your

local library through inter-library loan.

Current copies of Publication 65, National

Five-Digit ZIP Code and Post Office Directory,

can be ordered through your local Post Office.

Newspapers, 1700s–

Early newspapers often contain

advertisements for mail route bids and for

service on various routes. They also might

contain the schedule of mail arrival and

changes to mail service, Post Offices, and

postmasters. Note: In the 18th and early 19th

centuries, postmasters were sometimes also

the local newspaper editor/printer.

Microfilm copies of many newspapers may be

available from your local library through

inter-library loan. A useful guide to early

American newspapers is the United States

Newspaper Program at www.neh.gov/projects/

usnp.html.

Official Register of the United

States, 1816–1911

The biennial Official Register lists Post Offices

and Postal employees and their financial

compensation in 1816, and in odd-numbered

years from 1817 to 1911. The earliest editions

of the Official Register list Headquarters

employees, postmasters, Post Office clerks,

and mail contractors. Route agents and mail

messengers are first listed in 1855. Railway

Mail Service employees and city carriers are

listed beginning in 1867, and rural carriers

beginning in 1899. From 1877 to 1905, the

Official Register is indexed by employee name.

12 Publication 119
Selected editions of the Official Register of the

United States may be available from your local

library through inter-library loan.

Orders of the Postmaster General

(“Journals”), 1835–1953

The Orders of the Postmaster General,

referred to as the Journals, are arranged

chronologically in bound volumes covering

the period from July 7, 1835, to March 5,

1953. Noted in these volumes are Post Office

establishments, discontinuances, and name

and site changes, as well as information on

mail routes, contractors, and carriers. Also

noted, upon their dates of appointment, are

the names of postmasters appointed to Post

Offices, as well as the names and reasons for

leaving of the previously appointed

postmasters (“moved away,” “resigned,”

“declined position,” etc.). Although these

volumes are unindexed, they are useful to

Post Office historians as a secondary source to

verify pre-1880 information found in the

Record of Appointment of Postmasters. (After

1880, the Postal Bulletin is available and is

easier to use.) The Journals are also helpful in

identifying individuals who were appointed

to the position of postmaster but who did not

take office.

The Journals are located at the National

Archives as part of the Records of the Post

Office Department, Record Group 28.

Personnel Records, circa 1910–

Personnel records for many Postal employees

whose service ended after approximately 1910

are available at the National Personnel

Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Note that some employees at smaller Post

Offices — such as clerks and assistant

postmasters — were employed directly by the

postmaster, so federal personnel records are

not available. Also, personnel records were

Sources of Historical Information 13
not kept for people who carried mail on a

contractual basis.

Personnel records are available by writing to

the National Personnel Records Center,

Civilian Records Facility. Researchers should

provide as much identifying information as

possible about the former employee and

his/her place and dates of employment.

Postal Bulletin, March 1880–

The Postal Bulletin (entitled Daily Bulletin of

Orders Affecting the Postal Service prior to 1919)

lists postmaster names and dates of

commission until 1942. Acting postmasters

are listed from 1884 to 1942. Star (contract)

route establishments, discontinuances, and

14 Publication 119

Prior to 1919, the Postal Bulletin was titled the Daily Bulletin

of Orders Affecting the Postal Service.
schedule changes are listed from 1880 to

1942, and rural route establishments,

discontinuances, and changes are listed from

1898 to about 1934. The Postal Bulletin also

gives Post Office establishment and

discontinuance dates, as well as information

on Post Office name and site changes.

Beginning in 1907, the establishment and

discontinuance dates of Post Office stations

and branches are also provided. Note: Since

the Postal Bulletin is largely unindexed, it is

useful mainly as a back-up reference.

The Postal Bulletin may be available from your

local library through inter-library loan. Issues

since January 1995 are available on the Postal

Service’s Web site at www.usps.com.

Postmaster Finder, 1986–

Postmaster Finder is a database maintained by

the historian of the United States Postal

Service. It provides the establishment and

discontinuance dates of Post Offices and the

names and appointment dates of postmasters,

acting postmasters, and officers-in-charge

who serve in between the tenure of two

postmasters. Dates of Post Office name and

county changes are also recorded. Since its

creation in 1986, Postmaster Finder has been

the sole national repository of postmaster

names and appointment dates, by Post Office.

Pre-1986 information on Post Offices is

gradually being added to the database and

currently is available for about 15 percent of

active Post Offices.

Postmaster Finder is available on the Postal

Service’s Web site at www.usps.com/

postmasterfinder. 

Sources of Historical Information 15
Post Route Maps, 1830s–1940s

Post route maps of counties, states, and

groups or portions of states depict mail routes

and show stops (Post Offices), distances

between them, and frequency of service.

Bodies of water, railroad lines, canals, and

recently discontinued Post Offices are also

sometimes shown. Statistics are sometimes

given for the states depicted, including area in

square miles, population and population

density, number of Post Offices, and miles of

railroads and canals.

Post route and rural route maps are located in

the National Archives’ Cartographic and

Architectural Branch, at the National Archives

at College Park, Maryland, and in the

Geography and Map Division of the Library

of Congress.

Record Cards of Postmaster

Appointments, 1890s–1986

The record cards of postmaster appointments

(PS Forms 1094, 1095, and 1084) are index

cards of postmaster and acting postmaster

appointments and officer-in-charge

installations at Post Offices from the late

1890s through 1986, filed alphabetically 

by state and Post Office. Post Office

discontinuance/establishment information is

16 Publication 119

Sample record card of postmaster appointments, showing

appointments at Oro Grande, California, from 1943 to 1979.
also provided, along with dates when a Post

Office was advanced to or relegated from the

presidential class. (The president appointed

postmasters at first-, second-, and third-class

offices from 1864 to 1970. Classes were

dropped in 1975.) These records are often the

sole source of information on postmaster

appointments at Post Offices from 1971 to

1986, although prior to 1971 they largely

duplicate information found in the Record of

Appointment of Postmasters.

The record cards prior to about 1971 are

located at the National Archives as part of the

Records of the Post Office Department,

Record Group 28. Cards after 1971 are located

in the office of the Historian of the United

States Postal Service.

Record of Appointment of

Postmasters, 1814–1971

The Record of Appointment of Postmasters

consists of ledgers of postmaster

appointments by Post Office from 1814 to

September 30, 1971. The records prior to 1832

are arranged alphabetically on a national

basis, by Post Office name and state. County

names are given beginning in 1824. After

1832, the records are arranged by state or

territory, then by county, and then

alphabetically by Post Office. The records

show the names of Post Offices, the dates of

their establishment and discontinuance, any

name changes, and the names and

appointment dates of postmasters. Surety

information is sometimes provided prior to

1844. Beginning in the 1840s, presidential

appointments are noted. Money order offices

are noted beginning in the 1860s. After about

1870, the records show the names of Post

Offices to which mail from discontinued

offices was sent. Names of acting postmasters

are listed beginning in the 1910s. (See also

the description of this record at www.nara.gov.

Search for post office records.)

Sources of Historical Information 17
The postmaster appointment ledgers have

been reproduced as National Archives

Microfilm Publication M1131, Record of

Appointment of Postmasters, October 1789–1832

(Rolls 2, 3, and 4), and M841, Record of

Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–September 30,

1971 (145 rolls). They are available for

purchase from the National Archives and may

be available from your local library through

inter-library loan.

Record of First Returns Received

from Postmasters, 1789–1818

The Record of First Returns Received from

Postmasters is a volume containing names of

postmasters at Post Offices from October 1789

to July 1818, along with the dates of their

first financial returns. Since postmasters were

required to submit quarterly financial

statements for their Post Offices, their first

financial returns generally postdated their

appointment by several months, although

delays in submitting accounts were not

uncommon. This volume is especially useful

since records of postmaster appointments

prior to 1814 were destroyed by a fire at

Headquarters in 1836. (It is sometimes

possible to find pre-1814 appointment dates

for postmasters by searching for them in the

index to the Letters Sent by the Postmaster

General in the months preceding their first

return date.)

This record has been reproduced as Roll 1 of

National Archives Microfilm Publication

M1131, Record of Appointment of Postmasters,

October 1789–1832. It is available for purchase

from the National Archives and may be

available from your local library through

inter-library loan.

18 Publication 119
Rural Free Delivery Records,

1901–1934

Among the records of the Division of Rural

Mails from 1901 to 1917 and from 1930 to

1934 are correspondence, reports, and

supporting documents (sometimes including

maps and petitions) regarding proposed rural

route establishments and changes, filed by

state and county. The Division records also

include correspondence, filed by state and

Post Office, from 1909 to 1929 and from 1930

to 1932. Inspection reports, referenced in the

above files and arranged by state and report

number, contain further details on proposed

route changes (discussions of local

topography, existing mail service, customers

served, etc.).

The records of the Division of Rural Mails are

located at the National Archives as part of the

Records of the Post Office Department,

Record Group 28.

Rural Route Cards, 1896–1970s

Rural route cards, filed by Post Office, list

route lengths, establishment dates, and

names, dates of service, and salaries of rural

carriers.

Rural route cards are housed at the National

Personnel Records Center in St. Louis,

Missouri.

Site Location Reports of Post

Offices, 1837–1950

The reports of site locations are forms

completed and submitted by postmasters,

mostly from 1845 until 1945, giving the

location of their Post Offices and other

geographical information. They typically

show Post Office locations in relation to

nearby Post Offices and transportation routes.

Some reports show locations in terms of legal

land descriptions and/or small grid maps of

the vicinity of the office. Reports submitted

Sources of Historical Information 19
20 Publication 119

Site location report for the Berkeley Springs, West Virginia,

Post Office, with a hand-drawn map of Morgan County, West

Virginia, submitted by Postmaster Ann M. Mead in 1868.
for proposed Post Offices, referred to as

“applications to establish the Post Office,”

also list the number of patrons the Post Office

would serve. (See also the description of this

record at www.nara.gov. Search for post office

records.)

These reports have been reproduced as

National Archives Microfilm Publication

M1126, Post Office Department Reports of Site

Locations, 1837–1950 (683 rolls), which are

available for purchase from the National

Archives and may be available from your local

library through inter-library loan.

United States Official Postal Guide,

1874–1954

The United States Official Postal Guide provides

alphabetical lists of Post Offices nationwide,

by state, and by state and county. Monthly

supplements to the Guide show the latest Post

Office establishments, discontinuances, and

name and county changes.

Selected issues of the United States Official

Postal Guide may be available from your local

library through inter-library loan.

Locations of Records

National Archives and Records

Administration

700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20408-0001

The Records of the Post Office

Department, Record Group 28, and 

the War Department Collection of

Confederate Records, Record Group 109, are

housed here. Many of the records most useful

to researchers have been reproduced on

microfilm and are available from the National

Archives and its regional branches, and they

may be available from your local library

through inter-library loan. For further

information, write to the above address 

or go to www.nara.gov.

Sources of Historical Information 21
National Archives at College Park

8601 Adelphi Road

College Park, MD 20740-6001

Post route maps are located in the

Cartographic and Architectural Branch of the

Archives’ College Park facility. For further

information, write to the above address or go

to www.nara.gov.

National Personnel Records Center 

Civilian Records Facility 

111 Winnebago Street

St. Louis, MO 63118-4126

The Civilian Records Facility has personnel

records for many Postal employees whose

service ended after 1910. It also houses rural

route cards.

Library of Congress

101 Independence Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20540-0002

The Library’s Manuscript Division houses

some records of the Confederate Post Office

Department. The Geography and Map

Division has early post route maps.

United States Board on Geographic

Names

U.S. Geological Survey

523 National Center

Reston, VA 20192-0523

The United States Board on Geographic

Names, the branch of the federal government

tasked with standardizing geographic name

usage, has a wealth of place name reference

material that may provide details on name

origins. Post Office names were typically

suggested by prospective patrons; there are no

postal records that explain their origin.

22 Publication 119
Historian, United States Postal

Service

475 L’Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC 20260-0012

While the historian’s staff cannot respond to

requests from the public for information on

Post Offices and former postal employees,

they can provide guidance in researching

specific aspects of postal history.

Corporate Library, United States

Postal Service

475 L’Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC 20260-1540

Copies of many of the publications described

in this booklet can be found in the collection

of the Corporate Library. While the library

does not lend out its historical materials, its

collection is open to the general public during

regular business hours. The library staff

cannot respond to requests for research.

Further Reading

Adetailed description of many of the

postal records in the collection of the

National Archives and Records

Administration can be found in Preliminary

Inventory Number 168: Records of the Post

Office Department, prepared by and available

from the National Archives.

Many private researchers have compiled

books on Post Offices by state, using postal

records at the National Archives as well as

local records. Your local library might be able

to help you locate copies of these and other

local postal history sources.

Alaska Helbock, Richard W. United States Post

Offices, Volume I — The West. Lake Oswego,

Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1998.

Sources of Historical Information 23
Arizona Theobald, John, and Lillian Theobald.

Arizona Territory: Post Offices and Postmasters.

Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona Historical

Foundation, 1961.

Arkansas Patera, Alan H., and John S.

Gallagher. Checklist of Arkansas Post Offices.

Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1983.

California Salley, Harold E. History of California

Post Offices, 1849–1976. La Mesa, California:

Postal History Associates, Inc., 1977.

Colorado Bauer, William H., James L. Ozment,

and John H. Willard. Colorado Postal History:

the post offices. Crete, Nebraska: 

J-B Publishing Co., 1971.

Connecticut Warmsley, Arthur J. Connecticut

Post Offices and Postmarks. Portland,

Connecticut: self-published, 1977.

Delaware Smith, Chester M. Jr., and John L.

Kay. The Postal History of Maryland, the

Delmarva Peninsula, and the District of

Columbia: The Post Offices and First

Postmasters from 1775 to 1984. Burtonsville,

Maryland: The Depot, 1984.

District of Columbia Smith, Chester M. Jr.,

and John L. Kay. The Postal History of

Maryland, the Delmarva Peninsula, and the

District of Columbia: The Post Offices and First

Postmasters from 1775 to 1984. Burtonsville,

Maryland: The Depot, 1984.

Florida Bradbury, Alford G., and E. Story

Hallock. A Chronology of Florida Post Offices.

[Vero Beach, Florida]: The Florida Federation

of Stamp Clubs, 1962.

Idaho Patera, Alan H., and John S. Gallagher. A

Checklist Of Idaho Post Offices. Burtonsville,

Maryland: The Depot, 1984.

Illinois Helbock, Richard W. United States Post

Offices, Volume III — The Upper Midwest. Lake

Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications,

1999.

24 Publication 119
Indiana Baker, J. David. The Postal History of

Indiana. Louisville, Kentucky: Philatelic

Bibliopole, 1976.

Iowa Patera, Alan H., and John S. Gallagher.

Iowa Post Offices, 1833–1986. Lake Oswego,

Oregon: The Depot, 1986. 

Kansas Baughman, Robert W. Kansas Post

Offices, May 29, 1828–August 3, 1961. Topeka,

Kansas: Kansas Postal History Society, 1961.

Information from this book is available at

www.kshs.org; search for post offices.

Kentucky Patera, Alan H., and John S.

Gallagher. A Checklist of Kentucky Post Offices,

Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, 1989.

Louisiana Germann, John J. Louisiana Post

Offices. Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot,

1990.

Maine Dow, Sterling T. Maine Postal History and

Postmarks. Portland, Maine: Severn- WylieJewett Co., 1943.

Maryland Smith, Chester M. Jr., and John L.

Kay. The Postal History of Maryland, the

Delmarva Peninsula, and the District of

Columbia: The Post Offices and First

Postmasters from 1775 to 1984. Burtonsville,

Maryland: The Depot, 1984.

Massachusetts Merolla, Lawrence M., and

Frank M. Crowther. The Post Offices of

Massachusetts. North Abington,

Massachusetts: Massachusetts Postal Research

Society, 1981.

Michigan Ellis, David M. Michigan Postal

History: The Post Offices, 1805–1986. Lake

Grove, Oregon: The Depot, 1993.

Minnesota Patera, Alan H., and John S.

Gallagher. The Post Offices of Minnesota.

Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1978.

Missouri Schultz, Robert G. Missouri Post Offices,

1804–1981. St. Louis, Missouri: American

Philatelic Society, 1982. Information is also

Sources of Historical Information 25
26 Publication 119

available at www.mophil.org; click on Missouri

Postal History Society.

Montana Lutz, Dennis J. Montana Post Offices &

Postmasters. Minot, North Dakota: publisher

unknown, 1986.

Nevada Frickstad, Walter N., and Edward W.

Thrall. A Century of Nevada Post Offices

1852–1957. Oakland, California: Philatelic

Research Society, 1958.

New Hampshire Smith, Chester M. Jr., and

John L. Kay, The Postal History of New

Hampshire: The Post Offices and First

Postmasters from 1775 to 1985. Lake Grove,

Oregon: The Depot, 1986.

New Jersey Kay, John L., and Chester M. Smith

Jr. New Jersey Postal History. Lawrence,

Massachusetts: Quarterman Publications

Inc., 1977.

New Mexico Helbock, Richard W. A Checklist of

New Mexico Post Offices, 1849–1988. Lake

Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications,

1989.

New York Kay, John L., and Chester M. Smith

Jr. New York Postal History: The Post Offices

and First Postmasters from 1775 to 1980. State

College, Pennsylvania: American Philatelic

Society, 1982.

North Dakota Patera, Alan H., and John S.

Gallagher. North Dakota Post Offices,

1850–1982. Burtonsville, Maryland: The

Depot, 1982.

Ohio Gallagher, John S., and Alan H. Patera.

The Post Offices of Ohio. Burtonsville,

Maryland: The Depot, 1979.

Oklahoma/Indian Territory Helbock, Richard

W. Oklahoma Post Offices. Lake Oswego,

Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1987.

Oregon Helbock, Richard W. Oregon Post Offices,

1847–1982. Lake Oswego, Oregon: Raven

Press, 1985.
Pennsylvania Kay, John L., and Chester M.

Smith Jr. Pennsylvania Postal History.

Lawrence, Massachusetts: Quarterman

Publications, Inc., 1976.

Rhode Island Merolla, Lawrence M., Frank M.

Crowther, and Arthur B. Jackson. Rhode Island

Postal History: the post offices. Providence,

Rhode Island: Rhode Island Postal History

Society, 1977.

South Dakota Patera, Alan H., John S.

Gallagher, and Kenneth W. Stach. South

Dakota Post Offices. Lake Grove, Oregon: The

Depot, 1990.

Tennessee Frazier, D. R. Tennessee Post Offices

and Postmaster Appointments 1789–1984.

Dover, Tennessee: self-published, 1984.

Texas Wheat, Jim. Postmasters and Post Offices

of Texas, 1846–1930. [Garland, Texas]: 

self-published, ca. 1974. Information from

this book is available at www.rootsweb.com/

~txpost/postmasters.html.

Utah Gallagher, John S. The Post Offices of Utah.

Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1977. 

Vermont Slawson, George C., Arthur W.

Bingham, and Sprague W. Drenan. The Postal

History of Vermont. New York, 

New York: Collectors Club, 1969.

Washington Boardman, Tim, and Richard W.

Helbock. Washington Post Offices. Lake

Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications,

1986.

Wisconsin Hale, James B. Wisconsin Post Office

Handbook. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin

Postal History Society, 1988.

Wyoming Helbock, Richard W. A Checklist of

Wyoming Post Offices, 1850–1988. Lake

Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications,

1989.

Sources of Historical Information 27
28 Publication 119

F

or information on United States Post

Offices prior to 1811, see the following

publication: Stets, Robert J. Postmasters &

Postoffices of the United States, 1782–1811. Lake

Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1994.

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