The ARTIFACTS
The Rural Letter Carriers' Museum was dedicated in 1975. At that time many items were donated by local mail carriers, members of the IRLCA Auxiliary, and family members who wished to honor those who had carried mail in the past. Some items were added later once people saw what a wonderful collection had been started. At this time (2019), we have 146 3-D artifacts along with lots of photos and thousands of pages of written information. What you will see in this section are some of the items that have been donated.
This blue hack with red trim has been repainted, so those are not the original colors. It was probably either black or white when in use as a mail hack. It has metal rimmed wheels, and the axles look a bit weak, but is in pretty good condition. A foot hold says "Harper", but some believe it was built at the Neligh Carriage Shop in Hope. Windows are all intact, but may not be the original ones. We have no accurate documentation as to when this hack was used to deliver mail, but the plaque on the hack says:
"Mail Hack used by Reid Long, Rural Mail Carrier from Marysville from 1913-1923". It was given to the IRLCA in 1968.
This mail hack was one of the original items donated by the IRLCA in time for the dedication in 1975. It was donated just after the first marker honoring Hope with the longest continuous rural mail delivery in Indiana was placed in our town square. Having this hack became a motivating factor to create the museum that would hold it along with many other items.
This black buggy was donated to the Rural Letter Carriers Museum by Mr. & Mrs. Kirk Van Gordon of Norristown in 1976 after they had celebrated their golden anniversary. Instead of receiving gifts, they presented the town of Hope with a gift.
This hack was built at the Neligh Carriage Shop in Hope about 1875. Even though it is very much like the mail hacks the Neligh's would have built a few years later, they were unsure it was ever used for mail delivery. Mr. Van Gordon's grandfather bought it new, and it was kept in the family until the donation was made. Some restoration was done by Merrill Clouse and Charles Hurt of the Hope Business Association.
The Van Gordon's made their donation in time for this buggy to become the focal point of the new Mail Carriers Museum which would be on display for Hope's Heritage Days in September of 1976.
This cancellation machine was similar to one that would have been found in most post offices. Mail would be “fed” into this machine to allow the machine to cancel the stamps and put a postmark on the letter to indicate the post office from which it had been mailed. At the time of its use, it was considered a remarkable creation that increased the amount of mail that could be processed much more quickly than the original hand-stamping of each piece. At this time, we are unsure of the donor as well as where this machine was actually used.
Mail Sorting Cases
Can you imagine the amount of mail that would arrive at each post office every day? How would you have sorted it to make sure it was delivered to the right home? The mail sorting cases you will see below were used mainly by rural carriers to organize their deliveries for their routes before they left the post office each day. Many were designed and built by the carriers.
This sorting case once hung on the south wall of the Rural Letter Carriers Museum in Hope. It hung beside the door used to enter the museum for cleaning and arranging displays for many years. This case has 35 spaces (7 across x 5 down). It was donated from the Moores Hill, Indiana Office by rural carrier Floyd Peepers who had used the case.
This case which had been painted brown, was chipped, and rough looking, but had a very fancy top. Each sorting box has a slot below with a curved indentation at the front. It has metal frames for names on the bottom front of each box. Curved wires were found at the bottom of the lowest row of slots. The back of the case is covered with hardware cloth to keep mail from falling from each section of the case.
This wooden sorting case hung on the back of the door used as the entrance to the Mail Carriers Museum for years. This case had 32 sorting boxes (8 across x 4 down). There were also two layers of shelves at the bottom of the case.
Hardware cloth is on the back side of the entire case. The wood has been stained, but it is not fancy. A few labels remain for names on this case. Only one is still readable and says, "__Ford F. Gu__". A metal plaque on the right end of the case tells about the donor. It says:
Rural Carrier Sorting Case
Used by John Wallace,
Past President of Deputy, Indiana
Given by Lorraine Wallace 1982
This sorting case was used by Wilbur Mahin, a Rural Mail Carrier from Rushville, Indiana. It has 63 spaces (9 boxes across x 7 down). Names are still on some of them.
This wooden sorting case was for use inside a hack. It has 18 sorting boxes (6 across x 3 down). The two shelves at the bottom allow extra space, and a small shelf or stand space on top allows extra storage. It is stained dark wood. The donor is unknown.
This small sorting case closes like a suitcase. It has small boxes with cards for each post office - 120 spaces (12 across x 10 down). This case was built from recycled wood that had previously been an elaborately painted sign. When tipped back you can see the bright colors on the underneath side.
Buggy Heaters
In the earliest days of rural mail delivery, horse drawn buggies or hacks were used. During the winter months it would be quite a cold job driving all day to deliver mail. Many carriers added buggy heaters like these to keep themselves a bit warmer. Some used coal, others kerosene. Hacks often had a stovepipe extending from the roof to allow smoke to go out while their heaters were in operation. We should all be thankful we have heaters in our cars and trucks today to keep us warm.
This heater has an opening on the front. The lid can be removed or a portion of the lid slides to the side. It has a wire handle and sits on a metal base. It was donated by Kevin Stisser from Anderson, Indiana.
The heater would sit on the floor with a small stovepipe running through the roof of the hack. This buggy heater was used by Harry Jack, who drove Route #5 of Portland, Indiana. He would have used it around 1900. It was manufactured by the Kelly FDY & MCH Co., from Goshen, Indiana.
This metal foot warmer was used by Nella Drybread, a Rural Carrier from Edinburgh, Indiana. The rectangular box is about 20 inches long, 4 inches high, and 6 inches wide. There are openings at the top for adding hot water. Nella would fill this copper container each morning and heat it on her kitchen stove while she was hitching up her horse. Along her route many of the ladies would meet her at the mailbox with a tea kettle of hot water to refill her foot warmer. Nella donated this foot warmer as one of the original artifacts for the Mail Carriers Museum in 1975.
Postal Scales
The cost to mail many letters and packages is dependent on the weight of the items. Often rural carriers had to know how much to charge a customer for a letter or package, so small scales were used to determine the weights.
This very small pencil sized mail scale that is about four inches long may have been used in vehicles the rural carriers drove.
This Postal Scale from Jasper, Indiana, would have been used in the post office, not on the rural mail routes. It is a Toledo Speedweigh, Model 1091, with a capacity of 5 pounds and is identified as Factory #3010-0-021 and serial #6174. It was used to weigh letters or small packages for mailing.
These saddle bags were used for mail delivery by Mr. Black from Unionville, Indiana. They were part of the original artifacts donated in time for the museum dedication in 1975. Yes, some carriers actually traveled by horseback.
A Leather Mail Pouch was used by D. E. Johnson, Rural Carrier from 1920 - 1955 in Monterey, Indiana. We have to assume it was for carrying stamps, money orders, as well as cash on his route.
This stamp and supply pouch was used by John Linn, a Rural Mail Carrier from Craigville, Indiana. This pouch would hold stamps, envelopes, papers, and change. It is understandably not in very good shape after being used for 50 years. It was one of the original items donated to the museum for the dedication in 1975.
This leather accordion styled pouch with many pockets was used to store papers, other information of all kinds, and even money. It is about 10" x 6" x 9".
This cash and supply box was used by E.J. Spaugh, a Rural Mail Carrier from Hope. Mr. Spaugh operated Rural Route #1, which was the same as original route #15 from the earliest experimental routes in 1896. He ran this route from 1902-1934. Route #1 continues today.
This metal box is about 4" x 5" x 10" with a metal lid and a place to attach a lock at the bottom to secure the items inside. Carriers would keep a supply of stamps, stamped envelopes, mail order forms, and of course money for making change. This small box played a very important role in making each Mail Carrier a "Post Office on Wheels" as they carried the necessary items customers would need to mail items without visiting the post office. Early carriers were responsible for providing their own cash box.
This U.S. Mail Sign fits on top of a car and was used by most rural carriers from the past. It was donated by Kevin Stisser from Anderson, Indiana.
This leather horse bridle was used for the horse that would pull a hack. This set includes blinders, the leather squares, that would hopefully keep the horse from getting spooked. Donated in time for 1975 dedication by Reid Long of Marysville, Indiana.
Mailboxes
Patrons were responsible for providing their own mailboxes, just like today. It was a few years before there were criteria for what constitutes a mailbox to which carriers would deliver.
