First Rural Free Delivery in Wisconsin

First Rural Free Delivery in Wisconsin (HMP4K)

Location: Sun Prairie, WI 53590 Dane County
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Country: United States of America
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N 43° 10.437', W 89° 14.527'

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Inscription
In 1896, the U.S. Post Office Department began rural free delivery in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and West Virginia on an experimental basis. On November 16, Sun Prairie became the first community in Wisconsin to initiate rural free delivery, with four routes. Each carrier rode 20 to 30 miles daily delivering mail in an area of 60 square miles, for a salary of $25 a month. The first appointed carriers included: Charles Woerpel, James Dunphy, Charles Phillips, and William Evans. William Mosel was Sun Prairie Postmaster at this time.

Village merchants initially opposed free delivery, fearing loss of business if farmers did not come to town for their mail. After a month's trial, satisfied farmers announced they would carry on the service themselves should the Postal Service discontinue it. Rural free delivery continued and became a permanent service.

House-to-house delivery in the village did not begin until 1950.
Details
HM NumberHMP4K
Series This marker is part of the Postal Mail and Philately series, and the Wisconsin: Dane County Historical Society series.
Tags
Marker Number43
Year Placed2007
Placed ByThe Dane County Historical Society
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, September 20th, 2014 at 5:52am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16T E 317762 N 4782572
Decimal Degrees43.17395000, -89.24211667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 43° 10.437', W 89° 14.527'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds43° 10' 26.22" N, 89° 14' 31.62" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)608
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1715 Linnerud Dr, Sun Prairie WI 53590, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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