Dubuque, Iowa Post Office Celebrates 150 Years of Service 1833-1983DU BUQU E, IOWA POST OFFICE
CELEBRATES
150 YEARS OF SERVICE
1833-1983
Len Kruse
R
t3 87t 4 2
K R J
ocik�
ARCHIVES
pill QckyvApo—
_r_kj4kjw-t lyt)-44_,))ikJelk jk-r
—1y0LALt__- .5 13
DUBUQUE, IOWA POST OFFI(
CELEBRATES
150 YEARS OF SERVICE
1833-1983
Len Kruse
R 383.42 KRU Iowa Books
19 432-
Kruse, I -Pr'.
Dubuque, Iowa
celebrates 15
DUBUQUE PUBLIC LIBRARY
,ost office
years of
DATE DUE
45230
Printed
in USA
12,
or
8312
loRvA
BooKS
N'r
m
MN
$11
R11
P11
111
�n
111,1
■A
�u
Dedicated to my wife,
Dorothy
Athough historical facts are sometimes exaggerated, the dates
and events in this story are true and correct as the author believes.
Considerable time and expense was expended in researching and de-
veloping this historical record. It is offered in good faith to
preserve evidence of the growth and advancement of the Dubuque Postal
Service which might otherwise be destroyed or forgotten.
Symbol of Old Post
Office Department
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DUBUQUE, IOWA POST OFFICE!
,cp.TES POSTq
(J Y
0
W
F-
Z .mrs:xmoran
US. MAIL
* imen==;12=mi
rn
iJ
rn
******ire
Symbol of Ur.S.
Postal Service
Handstamp cancellation
in 1833
DUBUOUE. IOWA
50" ANNIVERSARY
1933 -19B3
Special Sesquicentennial
cancellation in 1983
May 27, 1983 commemorates 150 years of service.
Postal service in Dubuque was the first in the State of Iowa.
The circular DUBUQUE MINES Mic. T. handstamp was officially used until
July 4, 1836, when the town's name was changed from Dubuque's Mines to
Dubuque (and the territory from Michigan to Wisconsin). On July 4, 1838,
this region became Iowa territory.
The emblems are the PONY EXPRESS, which was used by the old Post Office
Department from 1837 to 1971, and the EAGLE. The latter was started at the
time the United States Postal Service, a nonprofit independent entity of the
government, was created by Congress in the Postal Reorgnization Act of 1971.
The 1983 cancellation is the special Sesquicentennial one authorized
for use on all Dubuque's outgoing machine -cancelled mail for a six-month
period starting May 27, 1983.
The post office anticipates that there will be seven million can-
cellations during the time of its use.
DUBUQUE, IOWA POST OFFICE CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF SERVICE
1833-1983
This year, 1983, the Dubuque post office celebrates its 150th
birthday, together with the city. In commemoration of its many years
of service to the community, the post office will have a special
Sesquicentennial cancellation on all outgoing mail for six months
beginning May 27, 1983.
When you see a white postal jeep in your area, you know your
mail will be delivered to your mailbox by a uniformed person. This
was not always the case. The Dubuque postal service dates from 1833,
when the first post office in the State of Iowa was established here
in Dubuque, then called Dubuque's Mines, on May 27.
Postal service was instituted in the American colonies back in
1691 by King William III, who granted the letters patent to Thomas
Neale. He appointed Andrew Hamilton as the first postmaster of our
country in 1692; by 1711 authority was granted to establish one post
office in each colony. In 1792 Congress decided that management of the
posts was the business of the Federal government.
Before 1833 most of the country in and around Dubuque's Mines
was in the possession of the Indians and about 50 whites. Because
those living in the territory were considered trespassers, mail service
was not established. Letters and papers were brought into the area by
chance travelers. The nearest white settlement, located six miles east
of the Mississippi River, was that of George W. Jones at Sinsinnewa.
Jones traded with the Indians occupying Dubuque's Mines.
1
In 1833 reservation west of the Mississippi officially opened
and permanent settlement began in the Iowa region, which was part of
the Territory of Michigan for governmental purposes. On May 27, 1833,
Dubuque was established as a post office and the postmark showed it
as Dubuque's Mines in Michigan Territory.
The first regular mail was brought to Dubuque's Mines about once
a week from Galena by George Ord Karrick. Milo H. Prentice, Dubuque's
first postmaster, kept a post office in his store between 3rd and 4th
on Main, with a small desk at one counter. The few letters were stored
in his hat or a tea box. Because postage stamps had not been introduced,
the letters were handstamped. The first roads followed the old Indian
trails and mail was not received often. Postage was set at 25 cents
for a letter, which could take months coming from New York; it was car-
ried on horseback or in open stage wagons.
Life was not easy for the early settlers. When Dubuque celebrated
its 50th birthday in 1883, the local "Dubuque Herald" quoted Mrs. Avis
P. Stanley, daughter of Milo H. Prentice, as saying: "I remember the
privations and hardships of pioneer life, the fear and dread of my
sister and myself of the Indians, who would come to the village about
500 strong decked with paint and feathers. Their horrid whoops still
linger in my ears."
By 1834 a day school had been established, then a Sunday School
and church, but the corporate limits of Dubuque's Mines totaled only
one square mile. In 1836 Congress created the Territory of Wisconsin.
It included Iowa, and Dubuque's Mines name was changed to Dubuque.
- 2
A mail carrier of 150 years ago - 1833
General Jones of Dubuque applied for and secured a steamboat
mail route from St. Louis to Dubuque in 1836. This route, in connection
with mail by boat from Pittsburgh to St. Louis, opened the first regular
mail route between Dubuque and the east. Before this, sometimes in the
spring, mail would be six months enroute from the east, be lost_in.transit,
or be so badly worn that addresses on letters or newspapers were illegible.
When General Jones made the application for a "Fast Mail" up the
Mississippi, Dubuque was just three years old.
Ansel Briggs of Andrew, Iowa, contracted with the government to
carry mail by horseback from 1836 to 1846 to the small towns along the
Old Military Road from:Davenport to Dubuque and return. He later became
Iowa"s first governor (1846-1850). The National Archives' Registers of
Iowa Mail Routes for 1839-1842 indicate that Briggs had the following
contracts: #2962 (Dubuque to West Liberty), #2963 (Dubuque to Stephenson,
Illinois through Davenport), and #2964 (Davenport to Rochester). In 1841
he still maintained ownership of his mail routes but subcontracted them.
Dubuque was growing, incoming mail was increasing to three times a
week, and John King, editor of the "DuBuque Visitor," the town's first
newspaper, became postmaster in 1837. He moved the office to a frame
building located at the southwest corner of 7th and Iowa, where it shared
offices with the newspaper.
This post office site was later occupied by Connolly Carriage Works,
so the post office moved to the Emerson & Shield building located at 4th
and Main. The name of the building was changed to the Antheneum and
later to the Opera House (the present Five Flags Theatre).
- 3 -
A post office mail route was established between Cassville and
Dubuque via Peru and Durango in 1837. It was a route of great im-
portance to citizens residing on the river, since they had had
irregular mail service for some time. In 1838 Congress passed a
law declaring all railroads as post routes. In July of that year
the territory of Iowa was separated from Wisconsin, and under a
special charter, Dubuque became a city, population 1500. Two years
later Dubuque became part of Dubuque County.
The second mail route in the state was established when David
Montague and John E. Goodenow succeeded in getting the stage line
and mail route established from Dubuque down to Davenport, via
LaMotte, Andrew, and Maquoketa.
In 1847 the first adhesive postage stamps were introduced on a
national level, as was prepayment of postage. William H. Robbins in
1849 assumed the postmastership, and moved the office to the old Globe
building located at the northeast corner of Main and 5th. By now
Dubuque's corporate limits were extended beyond the one -mile limit,
and soon the post office was located on the north side of 6th between
Main and Locust.
By 1855, letters could be carried 3,000,miles for three cents
and additional miles for ten cents. Dubuque was the only distributing
office west of Chicago and north of St. Louis. Seven clerks were em-
ployed in the Dubuque office, and mail multiplied under Postmaster
Charles Corkery.
-4 -
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
POST -OFFICE AND ODD FELLOW' HALL) DUBUQUE.
Located at 8th & Bluff St. (1856-1859)
During the period of inflation that preceded the Panic of 1857,
mail increased to great proportions. Efforts were pushed to secure
more postal accommodations from the government, and through the in-
fluence of General, now Senator, Jones, Congress appropriated $26,000
for grounds and materials for a new Custom House and Post Office.
In 1856 the post office was located in the newly remodeled Odd
Fellows Hall at 8th and Bluff. In the basement there was a "sleeping
room" for the convenience of the clerks. In this room there also was the
tube chute that led from the entrance door, through which all deposited
letters passed.
The need for a permanent building became more and more apparent.
Whispers of a possible site at 7th and Iowa caused land values to sky-
rocket. Dubuque was changing as were its property values. Land that the
government sold in 1840 for $5.20 was bought back, 17 years later, for
nearly four thousand times the original amount. Meanwhile, the office
had been in the Odd Fellows building only two months when tragedy struck.
The building collapsed because of heavy snows on the roof; postal clerks
escaped but there were no mail deliveries for many days. Total damage
was estimated to be $17,000, with damage to the post office at least
$600; however, the building was to be rebuilt.
A site was finally purchased in 1857 at 9th and Locust (present site
of Northwestern Bell Telephone Co.). In 1858 the contract for the
erection of the new building was let to Bostatter & Owens for $88,000.
During construction the foundations sank, and a government inspector in-
sisted they be raised and replaced on more substantial footing. The con-
tractor gave up his work and the bid had to be re -let. No new bids were
received. Time passed and the government finally started to complete the
building in 1864. Twenty local men worked on the project.
5
Must be expert riders,
willing to risk death
daily. Orphans pre-
(erred.
Wages $25.00 per week
Pony Express (1860-1862)
111
111
111
111
111
111
111
111
1111
11
111
111
11
11
1111
1
Overland stagecoach in the mid-1800's
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■1
M
1
In 1859 Congress argued over a bill to abolish the Post Office
Committee and to turn the mail over to private enterprise, but the bill
did not pass.
A little more than two years after the Odd Fellows building col-
lapsed, there was a disastrous fire --the post office, People's Theatre,
Masonic Lodge, U.S. Land Office, and a grocery store burned. Some letters
and papers were saved and moved to the Town Clock building on Main be-
tween 8th and 9th. The year was 1859. Later they were moved to James
Kelly's bookstore and newsstand at the southwest corner of 8th and Main
to await completion of the new and permanent post office.
A colorful era in postal history was dominated by the Pony Express.
It was organized by three American freighting and stage pioneers in 1860
with operations beginning between St Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento,
California. The organizers knew it would be a financial burden, but
they went ahead and advertised for riders. A typical ad: WANTED: Young,
skinny, wiry fellows not over 18; must be expert riders, willing to risk
death daily; orphans preferred; wages $25 per week. Western mustangs,
able to outrun Indian ponies, carried the riders through indescribable
wilderness, hostile Indians, cold, hunger, and weariness to get the mail
through. Only a year and a half later, the Pony Express galloped into
the pages of history to be replaced by the overland stage coach and, a
few years later, the railroads.
A vital means of transporting and sorting the mail enroute, called
the Railway Post Office (RP0, came into being in 1862. It brought mail
service to every community that could be reached by rail. Wooden mail
cars usually were placed between the coal tender and steel baggage car,
and frequently mail cars were involved in wrecks causing injury and
sometimes death to postal clerks.
6
111
111
UI
111
111
111
11
[II
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
The railway post office (RPO) was born in 1862. Clerks
sorted mail en route, bringing mail service to every
community that could be reached by rail.
■
■
■
r
s
■
r
■
■
■
■
M
N
It seems significant that in 1863 Congress approved one of the
most important postal laws ever enacted, creating free city delivery
and doing away with the cumbersome "zone" postage system, at the very
time that the Civil War was going badly. The program went into effect
the day that the Battle of Gettysburg began. Free city delivery was
an instantaneous success, and postal revenues surged at the local as
well as at the national level.
A contract was let, also in 1861 for mail delivery between Dubuque
and Davenport by boat, with the steamer "James Menks" arriving and de-
parting three times a week and the "Bill Henderson" on alternate days.
There was no boat on Sundays.
Late in 1864 postal money order service was established.
Dubuque's new permanent post office at 9th and Locust was finally
completed in 1866, eight years after it was started, at a total cost of
$179,000.. The building was very plain with no decorative work, and was
built of sturdy fine Nauvoo limestone from the famous Mormon city.
The post office occupied the ground floor with Postmaster Edward C.
David in charge.
Winds of reform started to blow across the country. President Grant
made an attempt to institute some kind of Civil Service program during
his administration, but was unsuccessful. New and important arrangements
for two mailings a day to leave Dubuque for all points west were made in
1868.
- 7
If '1
11
II
pl
III
111
III
111
IQ
III
Ifl
111
II
II
First permanent post office
9th & Locust St. - 1866
In 1873, with the new system of free delivery of letters in Du-
buaue, Frank W. Dyer, George A. Hoerner, and Moses H. Martin started as
the city's first letter carriers. All were natives of Dubuque with con-
siderable postal experience, and each was to receive annual wages of
$600. Limits of delivery were established and posted. Mail matter was
distributed so people could give up their post office boxes if they
wished. Citizens were asked to use street names and numbers in addresses
on envelopes.
Carrier service was not easy in those early years. Snow, rain,
and unbearable temperatures did not excuse the carriers from their ap-
pointed rounds. Starting from home at dawn and not returning until late
at night was a full day's work. Frequently they carried heated bricks
and irons to keep warm, and sometimes high winds or high water made it
necessary they take a long way around. Before good roads and paved streets.
two -wheel pushcarts often were used. Carriers would take wooden sticks to
knock the mud from between the wheel spokes to lighten their load. Mail
carriers were expected to be sympathetic, give advice on business and
legal matters, help find lost children, put out fires, and just help out
in any emergency.
Soon letter boxes were placed on city lampposts. They were made of
heavy steel and painted green.. Letter carriers appeared in government uni-
form --grey frock coat, pants with black stripe; and grey cap. Postal
clerks entering the service received $400 annually and carriers $600.
There was no such thing as an 8-hour day. Even retailers were open until
9 p.m., and merchants eagerly waited for the mailman's visit. Postcards
first came into use the latter part of 1873.
8
111
NI
111
III
11
IIl
�1
AI
Dubuque post office after extension was added in 1900
Old Dobbin helped deliver mail - 1905
Until 1883 when the Civil Service bill was passed by the 47th
Congress, the appointment of clerks and carriers was ender the so-called
Spoils System. When a new postmaster came into position, he could re-
move any people he desired and replace them with his friends. Civil
Service opened equal opportunity.
During the next decade, the Dubuque post office showed a 50 percent
gain in revenue. A motor -driven stamp cancelling machine was installed.
Mail was hauled to -and -from four railroad depots (Illinois Central;
Chicago Great Western; Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul; and Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy) by a contractor who owned a livery stable, team and
wagon. It usually was not a dependable arrangement for he often missed
the train. Dubuque now ranked third in postal revenue in the state.
Near the turn of the century, the Custom House and Post Office
building's extension was added on the north side at a cost of $100,000.
The construction was planned and superintended by a full-blooded Tono-
wanda Indian chief, Ely S. Park.
Mail routes were added to serve residents in Asbury, Ballyclough,
Key West, Lore, and Sageville. The Key City Gas Company was awarded the
contract to light the office for a year at $648 because gas was cheaper
than electricity.
Sunday proved to be the day for people to assemble at the post office
to call for their mail and discuss the events of the week --the place to
display the newest gown or hat,. Carriers reported to work at 6:30 a.m.,
distributed the mail, and gave it to those who called for it between 8
and 10 a.m. They got into the spirit of the occasion, too, and dressed
up in their Sunday best. Some even sported boutonnieres.
N
Dubuque's first .rural mail carrier
William Boleyn - 1901
Rural free delivery 1903
Rural Free Delivery - 1915
William Boleyn was Dubuque's first rural carrier. He served the
areas of Sherrill, Balltown, and Specht's Ferry. He received $40 a
month and furnished his own carriage, sleigh, or wagon and horses. The
drifted roads in winter and the spring mud provided him with problems,
but his team of wild horses proved to be bigger problems. They were al-
ways running away. They finally, however, got used to the mail stops.
Until 1901 when Boleyn served the area, the rural family's link with the
outside world was in infrequent journey to the post office. No wonder
rural mail service developed an enthusiastic following right away!
In 1904 the souvenir postcard fad developed and hundreds of cards
came through the Dubuque post office every week` There was no objection
as long as the cards were kept within the bounds of propriety but in-
decent cards, especially foreign ones, appeared more and more frequently.
It was hoped by the post office authorities that such cards would be
voluntarily withdrawn from the mailstream, but authorities had to keep
on the lookout for any flagrant cases upon which to base criminal pro-
ceedings.
A few years later, in 1909, postal stations, where people could buy
stamps and mail letters, were established at nine different locations
throughout the city: Hartig Drug Store, Falkenheiners Drug, Ragatz Drug,
Leik Drug, Haas Drug, 2nd and Main, 163 West Locust, 20 Holly Street, and
290 Eagle Point Avenue.
Sunday closing of the post office began March 29, 1911. Only General
Delivery mail could be picked up between the hours of 9 and 10 a.m. This
regulation was adopted to allow postal workers a day off.
- 10 -
Parcel Post Truck - 1916
Parcel Post Truck - 1916
Street collection in early 1920's
,note solid rubber tires'
Street Collection in Late 1920's
0n July 20, 1912, the first experimental airmail flight in Iowa
was made from Dubuque's Nutwood Park (now Wickes Lumber Co.) by Lincoln
Beachy, a daredevil of his time, in a flimsy Curtis byplane. Aviator
Beachy carried a bag of U.S.. mail, collected by arrangement at a special
post office booth installed in the park, to 33rd and Jackson. There
he dropped it from the plane to a mail messenger waiting to take it to
the post office.
Soon parcel post delivery was started in downtown Dubuque with two -
wheel pushcarts, to be followed a few years later by parcel post truck
delivery. In 1916 war with Germany threatened, the cost of living went
up, and the dollar depreciated, but the post office took on new dimensions.
These included selling Liberty Bonds, registering enemy aliens, handling
free mail matter, and recruiting men for the Armed Forces. The mail
volume kept increasing, more people were employed, and more room was
needed.
In 1922 the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce told the government of
Dubuque's urgent need for a post office building exclusive of other
government functions. A bill asking for an appropriation of $500,000
was introduced in 1924, but President Coolidge turned a deaf ear.
The so-called Merit and Demerit system was strong in the post office
during 1925 and thereafter. Under the system; clerks and carriers re-
ceived merits whenever they achieved improvement in the service and were
model workers; demerits were handed out for errors made. Appearance and
dress counted. Too many demerits, therefore low report marks, resulted
in disciplinary action --time off with no pay. This was the post office's
effort to upgrade the service.
Ie. v J� ie ♦ W c? �; ... a __ sae
. `NZ\ %tom TA 111111111111M�...��1; '17."
,fir: . el.
' i&j' issenvj'w,.s;
Oaf `s���
'arcel •ost truck - • '
By this time private contractors hauled mail to -and -from the 22
trains arriving and departing every 24 hours. Four postal trucks were
used regularly for parcel post, and two motorcycles were utilized for
special delivery and collections. The motorcycles were army surplus
and required constant repair.
A visitor to the interior of the post office during the summer of
1926 might have wondered about the brown lunch bags hanging by string
from overhead pipes. Upon query, the person would learn that they were
strung up there to avoid the millions of tiny red ants that infested the
post office.
Late in 1929 the great depression era started --factories closed,
unemployment lines grew, wages and prices plummeted, and postal workers
thanked God for the security of a Civil Service position.
In 1931 the government finally authorized bids to be taken for a
site for the new post office building. A year later the 6th and Locust
property was purchased. The cost was $165,000, and the land included the
J. J. Nagle and Mrs. W. J. Brown residences on Bluff and the YWCA and a
small part of the Bradley & McClay property on Locust. The general con-
tract for construction was awarded to Chiabai & Gariup of Gary, Indiana,
for $331,000.
Anthony F. Schrup, lifelong Dubuquer and city pioneer in automobiles,
was appointed postmaster in January, 1934. The new Federal building was
finally completed at a cost of $513,000, with the first official business
transacted on March 3 of that year.
The beautiful new post office (present building) was faced with Bed-
ford stone, with its main entrance across from Washington Park Square.
Lobby walls were paneled with slabs of American walnut and the floor
originally was marble. It was an impressive improvement over the old
9th and Locust building.
-12 -
":")....0
„ • • , „ • „ '
' • ,„
4)
V)
0
office, completed in 1934, at 6th
..■■� ■111i iIIII
1111111f w
1111110
111111,
FORD 1931 MAIL TRUCK FOR U.S. PO51 OFFICE
1931 PORI
A scene inside the post office during Christmas season - 1936
In August 1937 large murals were painted on the east and west
walls of the main entrance. One, entitled "Early Settlers of Dubuque,"
shows the former high bridge arching Julien Dubuque's grave, an Indian
village, the Shot Tower, a lead mine, a farm, and a prairie schooner.
It was painted by artist Bertrand Adams of Webster City. The other was
done by William E. L. Bunn of Muscatine and is entitled "Dubuque"; the
boat was the third in a line of Mississippi steamboats named DUBUQUE,
and was burned in 1872.
World War II increased post office responsibilities, mail volume
skyrocketed, and many postal workers went off to service during the
early 1940's.
Many communities were not scheduled stops for mail train service.
Hence, sacks of mail were dropped off while the train was at full speed.
Mail was also taken up "on the fly" by means of a crane and catcher.
In 1950 regularly scheduled airmail service was inaugurated in
Dubuque by Mid -Continent Airlines. Its Douglas DC-3, enroute from
Rockford to Waterloo, landed at Dubuque. In May of that year, mail
delivery to residential areas was reduced to one each day instead of
two, and businesses received two deliveries instead of three, and only
one on Saturday.
The first trip of the Highway Post Office, which was a buslike
vehicle equipped for sorting and distributing mail enroute from Madison
to Dubuque, took place in 1952. Curtailment of passenger train service,
which had carried mail cars, prompted the establishment of the HPO, as
it was called.
- 13 -
0
c
0
0
•
c
•r,
0
0
U
Interior of Railway Mail Car - 1942
••„,
• •","
4:1P-CoNT1litNT
* * * a
'42:7;i:Vs
•
Regular airmail service began in Dubuque in 1950
The highway post office (HPO, p'ronounced "hypo")
Started in 1952 in Dubuque
Dubuque letter carriers in 1956 began delivery with golf -like
caddy carts to speed up delivery. These aluminum carts were collapsible,
enabling carriers to get on and off city buses easily enroute to -and -
from their walking routes.
Mail -less Saturday occurred on April 13, 1957, for the first and
only time. Congress had failed to provide sufficient funds for the
postal service. By the following Saturday, however, it was business as
usual, since Congress hurriedly made additional monies available.
In 1961 the Dubuque post office was officially designated a Manage-
ment Sectional Center, consisting of 81 offices throughout northeastern
Iowa. Charles J. Murphy, the present postmaster, was appointed by Presi-
dent John F. Kennedy in 1963. Zip (the Zone Improvement Plan) was
initiated in Dubuque during this same year.
The year 1969 saw the Sectional Center Postal Annex open in the old
renovated Farley & Loetscher building (now the Kirby building) at 750
White Street for mail processing operations. In 1970 Dubuque letter
carriers were "motorized" with red, white and blue postal jeeps. Mail-
gram, a combination letter -telegram was also introduced.
A new organization, which is an independent establishment of the,
government, the United States Postal Service, was formed in 1971 to
meet the changing needs of our growing society. Stamps by Mail began
in 1972, the laast HPO rolled in 1974, and the Railway Post Office made
its last run. Things were changing.
As Dubuque grew, so did its Postal service. Revenues of $33,000
in 1879 grew to nearly $10,000,000 by 1983. Postage increased, too;
a 2-cent letter of 1885 now costs 20 cents.
- 14 -
Author delivering mail (mid 1950's)
Despite all the dramatic changes, the nostalgic aura of the post
office remains much the same. It has been and will continue to be an
integral part of every Dubuquer's life. Perhaps the inscription on the
old Washington, D.C. post office best summarizes what the postal
service really means:
Messenger of Sympathy and Love
Servant of Parted Friends
Consoler of the Lonely
Bond of the Scattered Family
Enlarger of the Common Life
Carrier of News and Knowledge
Instrument of Trade and Industry
Promotor of Mutual Acquaintance
Of Peace and Goodwill
Among Men and Nations
***
- 15 -
Some interesting statistics....
Postmasters who served
Dubuque:
Milo H. Prentice
Guy B. Morrison
John King
William H. Robbins
Charles Corkery
Herman H. Heath
Edward C. David
V. J. Williams
George L. Torbert
Moses M. Ham
George C. Crane
Moses M. Ham
Joseph S. Morgan
Herman Ternes
Louis H. Brede
Maurice Connolly
John W. McEvoy
Charles H. Wunderlich
Herman Ternes
Anthony F. Schrup
Gus M. Euhrman
Alphonse M. Link
Charles J. Murphy
Postal receipts at Dubuque:
1879
1934
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1982
1833-1835
1835-1837
1837-1849
1849-1853
1853-1857
1857-1861
1861-1869
1869-1873
1873-1885
1885-1889
1889-1893
1893-1897
1897-1909
1909-1913
1913-1917
1917 (3 months)
1917 (6 months)
1919-1921
1921-1933
1934-1960
1960 (9 months)
1961 (17 months)
1963-
$ 33,000
284,440
342,975
639,229
1,007,045
2,034,587
6,865,554
8,911,422
History of first-class letter rates:
1885-1917
1917-1919
1919
7/6/32.
8/1/58
1/7/63
1/7/68
5/16/71
3/2/74
12/13/75
5/29/78
5/22/81
11/1/81
2¢
3¢ (war years)
back to 2¢ by Congress
3¢
4¢
5¢
6¢
8¢
10¢
13¢
15¢
18¢
20¢
The author, Len Kruse, is a native Dubuquer who has served
nearly four decades with the Dubuque Post Office. He has worked
in all areas of the Postal Service, and now is Supervisor of
Administration at the Dubuque, Iowa Post Office -
Len Kruse