Skip to main content

Search

My Visit
Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Maps and Brochures
    • Dine and Shop
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Group Visits
      • Group Sales
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current
      • Upcoming
      • Past
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
  • Explore
    • - Art & Design
    • - History & Culture
    • - Science & Nature
    • Collections
      • Open Access
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Asian Art Museum Archives
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries' Special Collections
    • Podcasts
    • Stories
  • Learn
    • For Caregivers
    • For Educators
      • Art & Design Resources
      • Science & Nature Resources
      • Social Studies & Civics Resources
      • Professional Development
      • Events for Educators
      • Field Trips
    • For Students
    • For Academics
    • For Lifelong Learners
  • Support Us
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Make a Gift
    • Volunteer
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Ambassador Program
      • Museum Information Desk
      • Docent Programs
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Participatory Science
  • About
    • Our Organization
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
        • Contact
      • Museums and Zoo
      • Research Centers
      • Cultural Centers
      • Education Centers
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Office of Human Resources
        • Employee Benefits
        • How to Apply
        • Job Opportunities
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • SI Civil Program
        • Contact Us
      • EEO & Small Business
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Small Business Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Contracting Opportunities
          • Additional Resources
        • Special Emphasis Program
      • Sponsored Projects
        • Policies
          • Combating Trafficking in Persons
          • Animal Care and Use
          • Human Research
        • Reports
        • Internships
    • Our Leadership
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

Minneapolis, Minnesota Postal Operations History Collection

Object Details

Names
United States Postal Service
Aldrich, Cyrus
Ankeny, John J.
Austin, Cleve R.
Coan, John R.
Fletcher, Hezekiah
Godfrey, Ard
Hale, William D.
Hogan, Walter John
Holbrook, Franklin G.
Keith, George H.
Laraway, Orlo M.
Layer, Morton E.
Purdy, Edward A.
Ramberg, Leonard F.
Wilcox, Carlos
Place
Minneapolis (Minn.)
Fort Snelling (Minn.)
Topic
Celebrations
Postal service -- Employees
Letter carriers -- United States
Christmas
Christmas decorations
Post office buildings
Postal service -- Equipment and supplies
Bands (Music)
Scrapbooks
Post office stations and branches
Provenance
Donated by an anonymous donor, 2024.
See more items in
Minneapolis, Minnesota Postal Operations History Collection
Summary
This collection consists of scrapbooks, photographs, forms, manuals, a ledger book, brochures and clippings related to postal operations and postal related activities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Subjects covered include Christmas delivery preparation and display guides; photographs of postal employees, postal buildings, postal operations and processing facilities, letter carrier bands, and conferences; postal exhibits; Postal People Day activities; Postal Week for Our People and Families activities; a register of postal position appointments; and accounting forms. The materials in this collection document postal operations and activities in the post offices in Minneapolis, revealing the day-to-day activities that occurred and the people behind those activities.
Biographical / Historical
The first post office in the Minneapolis area dates to 1847 when a post office and sawmill office was established at St. Anthony Falls on the bank of the Mississippi River, facing Main Street, near the end of Second Avenue, Southeast. Ard Godfrey, of Maine, was commissioned to build the sawmill and was appointed the first postmaster. Before the building of the post office, mail was inconsistently being brought by carrier from Fort Snelling, but now the new post office became part of a regular stage delivery route between St. Anthony and St. Paul. Now mail would arrive every ten to fourteen days. While St. Anthony Falls was on the east side of the river, a lumbering town of some 300-400 inhabitants, Minneapolis, on the west side of the river, started as a portion of the Fort Snelling military reservation that was opened for settlement. Among its first inhabitants was Hezekiah Fletcher who served as assistant to the St. Anthony Falls postmaster. As assistant, Fletcher would go across the river once or twice a week for the mail and carry it around his hat until he came across the parties that the correspondence was for. On January 7, 1854, Fletcher was appointed the first postmaster of Minneapolis, with the post office first located in a two-story frame building at the corner of High Street and Second Avenue South. Fletcher remained as postmaster until December 22 of the same year, when Carlos Wilcox, who had opened the first United States land office in Minneapolis, was appointed postmaster. Wilcox moved the post office to a double two-story frame building at the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Ames Street (now Eight Avenue South) where it flourished, receiving mail by stage by way of St. Paul which received mail from eastern points by steamer two to three times a week. In 1856 the first suspension bridge over the Mississippi River was built which created a second business center at Bridge Square where the post office has remained located ever since. In August 1873 the St. Anthony Falls post office merged with the Minneapolis post office. The exact location of the post office changed frequently during the earlier years due to development and mail volume which outgrew existing facilities. Between 1854 and 1889, the post office was in eleven different places for periods varying from one to four years. The current Minneapolis main post office was completed in 1934 and is very close to occupying the same area where that first post office was in 1854. At a cost of $5 million at the time, it consists of four stories and a basement, consisting of an area of approximately 362,000 square feet.
Extent
2.42 Cubic feet (Three (3) legal size document boxes; one (1) flat box (19 x 15 x 3 in.); one (1) flat box (12 x 15.5 x 3 in.); and two (2) oversize folders)
Date
1871-1971
Archival Repository
National Postal Museum Archives
Identifier
NPMA.2024.8
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Citation
Minneapolis, Minnesota Postal Operations History Collection, NPMA.2024.8, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Arrangement
This collection is unarranged.
Processing Information
Processed by Mitch Toda, Head Archivist, September-October 2024
Rights
The National Postal Museum Archives makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and the NPM Rights and Reproductions for additional information. Please direct reference inquiries to the National Postal Museum Archives: NPM_Archives@si.edu.
Content Description
This collection consists of scrapbooks, photographs, forms, manuals, a ledger book, brochures and clippings related to postal operations and postal related activities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Subjects covered include Christmas delivery preparation and display guides; photographs of postal employees, postal buildings, postal operations and processing facilities, letter carrier bands, and conferences; postal exhibits; Postal People Day activities; Postal Week for Our People and Families activities; a register of postal position appointments; and accounting forms. The materials in this collection document postal operations and activities in the post offices in Minneapolis, revealing the day-to-day activities that occurred and the people behind those activities. Additionally documented are activities outside the scope of postal operations including letter carrier bands, the National Association of Postmasters of the United States, and the National Association of Post Office Mechanics. Minneapolis postmasters documented include Cyrus Aldrich, 1867-1871; George H. Keith, 1871-1882; Orlo M. Laraway, 1882-1886; John J. Ankeny, 1886-1890; William D. Hale, 1890-1894; Franklin G. Holbrook, 1894-1898; William D. Hale, 1902-1914; Edward A. Purdy, 1914-1922; John R. Coan, 1935-1952; Leonard F. Ramberg, 1953-1957; Cleve R. Austin, 1957-1965; Walter John Hogan, 1966-1970; and Morton E. Layer, 1970-1979.
Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Access to original archival materials is by appointment only. Researchers must submit request for appointment in writing. Please direct reference inquiries to the National Postal Museum Archives: NPM_Archives@si.edu.
Related Materials
The National Postal Museum's collections also contain materials related to Minneapolis. This includes examples of convention badges, Owney tags, and a banner.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1729191300774-1729191300965-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/zn8358e07cb-ca05-4fc2-bf9b-508ce371d821

In the Collection

  • Minneapolis Letter Carriers - Blackwell Durham Tobacco Company bag contest

  • Minneapolis Post Office Guide: A Complete Local Postal Guide of Interest to the Public, T. E. Hughes, Assistant Postmaster

  • Group portrait photograph - National Association of Letter Carriers convention, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Holiday greeting card from James A. Farley, Postmaster General, to Postmasters

  • Postmaster appointment notice for C. Sorgaard - Tordenskjold, Otter Tail County, Minnesota

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First (free delivery) - Minneapolis, Minnesota - George H. Keith, Postmaster

  • Portrait photograph of James Cornelius Crowley - Oldest employee in length of service (53 years, 4 months) in the history of the Minneapolis Post Office

  • Information postcard - United States Post Office, Minneapolis, Minnesota - Cleve R. Austin, Postmaster

  • Postal Week for Our People and Families - Scrapbook

  • History of the Bloomington, Minnesota Post Office

  • Souvenir booklet - "Minneapolis Post Office: Historical Sketch, 1854-1956"

  • Postal Week for Our People and Families - Photographs and negatives

  • National Association of Postmasters of the United States - 72nd Annual Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota - Program

  • Christmas mailing season scrapbook (Folder 2 of 2)

  • Christmas mailing season scrapbook (Folder 1 of 2)

  • New, cull, face and cancel equipment - Main Post Office, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Group portrait photograph - 4th Annual Convention of the Missouri Association of the National Association of Post Office Mechanics (NAPOM), Jefferson City, Missouri

  • Minnesota Territorial Centennial cachets and related materials

  • Photographs - Postal employees and postal operations (Folder 1 of 2)

  • Photographs, slides, and negatives - Minnesota post office buildings and cityscapes

  • Photographs - Postal employees and postal operations (Folder 2 of 2)

  • Minneapolis Postal Employees Union No. 125 - Membership certificate - Elmer J. Anderson

  • Post Office Department (POD) - Regulations Governing the Operation of Postal-Savings Depositories (Form PS1)

  • United States Official Postal Guide

  • Quarterly Postal Account - First and Second Class Offices - Minneapolis, Minnesota - William D. Hale, Postmaster

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First - Minneapolis, Minnesota - John J. Ankeny, Postmaster

  • Group portrait photograph - Minneapolis, Minnesota Post Office, by Hafford Photo

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First - Minneapolis, Minnesota - George H. Keith, Postmaster (Folder 1 of 2)

  • Photographs - Postal employees and postal operations (Folder 2 of 2)

  • Portrait photograph collage - Minneapolis, Minnesota Post Office - Officers and clerks, by Larson Photo Co. (two copies)

  • Ledger book - Postal appointments, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Portrait photograph collage - Minneapolis, Minnesota, Post Office - Letter carriers, by U. G. Herrick

  • Group portrait photograph - Banquet, West Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Quarterly Postal Account - First and Second Class Offices - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Edward A. Purdy, Postmaster

  • Group portrait photograph - Minneapolis, Minnesota Post Office, Washington Avenue and 3rd Avenue, by O. J. Hibbard and Company, Commercial Photographers

  • Photographs - Postal employees and postal operations (Folder 1 of 2)

  • War savings posters used to stimulate sales of war stamps - Jess Stevens

  • Ephemera (Folder 2 of 2)

  • Mounted photographs - Post Office, Washington Avenue and 3rd Avenue, January 1915 to March 1935 - Mailing Division, 1920; Cancelling Machine Section, 1920; and Parcel Post Section, 1920

  • General materials

  • Group portrait photograph - 2nd Annual Convention - National Association of Post Office Mechanics, Portland, Maine

  • POD - Regulations for the Guidance of Banks (Form PS2)

  • Group portrait photograph - Convention Committee, Minneapolis Branch, no. 9, with annotations on front

  • POD - Instructions to Postmasters at Postal Savings Depository Offices (Form PS3)

  • Poster - Weight of United States Mail Sacks, Post Office, Chicago, Illinois

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First - Minneapolis, Minnesota - George H. Keith, Postmaster (Folder 2 of 2)

  • Group portrait photograph - Minneapolis, Minnesota Parcel Post Station

  • Photograph - Interior of First Minneapolis Post Office - St. Anthony, Minneapolis Post Office Historical Society

  • Photograph collage - Early Scenes in Minneapolis, 1849-1875: A Pictorial History of Pioneers Days, by Edward A. Bromley

  • Group portrait photograph - 3rd Annual Convention - National Association of Post Office Mechanics - Banquet, Thomas Jefferson Hotel, Birmingham, Alabama, by J. F. Knox

  • Group portrait photograph - Carrier-Clerk Joint Convention, St. Cloud, Minnesota, by George F. Coan

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Cyrus Aldrich, Postmaster

  • Group photograph - Postal employees sorting mail

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Orlo M. Laraway, Postmaster

  • Postal Week for Our People and Families - Correspondence

  • Group portrait photograph - Convention Committee, Minneapolis Branch, no. 9

  • Group portrait photograph - Minneapolis, Minnesota Post Office, Washington Avenue and 3rd Avenue, 2nd Street entrance

  • Group portrait photograph - 4th Annual Convention - National Association of Post Office Mechanics, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First (free delivery) - Minneapolis, Minnesota - John J. Ankeny, Postmaster

  • Group portrait photograph - 2nd Annual Convention - Missouri State Association, National Association of Post Office Mechanics - Columbia, Missouri, by Smith's Studio

  • Ephemera (Folder 1 of 2)

  • Minneapolis, Minnesota - Post office related clippings

  • Mounted photographs - Minneapolis Post Office

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First (free delivery) - Minneapolis, Minnesota - William D. Hale, Postmaster

  • Group portrait photograph - Minneapolis, Minnesota Post Office, Washington Avenue and 3rd Avenue

  • Quarterly Postal Account - Presidential Office - Class: First (free delivery) - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Franklin G. Holbrook, Postmaster

  • Group portrait photograph - 3rd Annual Convention - National Association of Post Office Mechanics, Birmingham, Alabama, by J. F. Knox

Christmas mailing season scrapbook (Folder 2 of 2)
View Slideshow
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer
View Finding aid

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Get Involved
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Accessibility
  • EEO & Small Business
  • Shop Online
  • Host Your Event
  • Press Room
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Sign up for Smithsonian e-news

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Back to Top