Episode 59: Neither Snow Nor Rain: Rural Mail in Oklahoma

In the 1860s, around the height of the Civil War, U.S. cities began experimenting with a radical new idea: free mail delivery. It was quickly well-received as an alternative to traveling to distant post offices or paying private mail carriers, but there was a problem: it didn’t extend to the rural areas where the majority of Americans lived. It would take another thirty years before the Rural Free Delivery (RFD) program became an official service in 1896. This month on Amplified Oklahoma, we’re exploring stories of rural mail carriers and the communities they served across Oklahoma. From horses and planes, groceries and kidnappings, we’ll hear how rural mail delivery has changed over the years and some surprising stories of its impact on the lives of Oklahomans.