History of postal service

Postal History

Post stamp

Although letters have been stamped only since 1847, there has been mail service in the United States since 1639. Stage coaches, the Pony Express, and trains carried mail during various times in our history. Today most mail is sent by airplane.
In Europe carrier service goes back to the Roman Empire. The magnificent Roman roads were used to get messages from the provinces to the capital. The English postal service has been operating since the 1600's, when it took over the routes of the royal mail.
Over 2,000 years earlier the Greek historian Herodotus described the Persian mail service of Cyrus the Great, saying, "There is no mortal thing faster than these messengers." Marco Polo encountered a series of postal stations in China around 1300 a.d. At the same time the Aztecs in Mexico had relay stations and runners to carry the news between villages.
Mail has been getting through for a long time. Perhaps in the next century it will travel to the Moon.