Mail Wagon Used for Rural Delivery in Missouri, 1902-1925
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Letter carrier August Edinger used this horse-drawn wagon to deliver mail around Kimmswick, Missouri, for more than 20 years. Sliding doors offered ventilation in summer, and a tiny coal stove provided heat in winter. Rural Free Delivery, instituted by the U.S. Post Office in 1896, eased the isolation felt by rural Americans and boosted mail-order businesses as well.
Letter carrier August Edinger used this horse-drawn wagon to deliver mail around Kimmswick, Missouri, for more than 20 years. Sliding doors offered ventilation in summer, and a tiny coal stove provided heat in winter. Rural Free Delivery, instituted by the U.S. Post Office in 1896, eased the isolation felt by rural Americans and boosted mail-order businesses as well.
Artifact
Mail wagon
Date Made
1901-1902
Subject Date
1902-1925
Keywords
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
34.150.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of August Edinger.
Material
Paint (Coating)
Wood (Plant material)
Color
Red
White (Color)
Dimensions
Height: 82 in
Width: 69 in
Length: 213 in
Wheelbase: 58 in
Diameter: 40 in (Wheel Diameter)
Diameter: 43.5 in (Wheel Diameter)
Inscriptions
Painted on side of wagon and on back of box in rear: U. S. / MAIL
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