The United States’ First Packages

Many things have changed since the Postal Service began its package delivery services—namely, the proliferation of private companies and technological leaps in overall logistics services. However, it is entertaining to take a look at what people were sending around the country 100 years ago. Think about it. It was a novel service, and people were intrigued by the idea of sending their belongings across the country with ease. Let’s take a look at some of the reported first packages sent from post offices across the United States in the early 1900s.

• The first packages sent under the new mail system were two chalices that Postmaster General Hitchcock and Postmaster Morgan sent to each other. However, the first package that was actually delivered was a parcel of apples sent to Woodrow Wilson, the then New Jersey Governor.
• Some of the first packages, oddly enough, were fresh eggs sent from random parts of the country to postmasters around the United States. The safe arrival of the eggs certainly had mixed results.
• Birmingham, Alabama, on the other hand, had a very interesting first package: a pitchfork.
• In Atlanta, the first package sent out was a violin case, followed by a plethora of brooms courtesy of the Southern Broom Works—not the easiest packages to deal with!