A a post office was first established in Chicago on March 8, 1831, with Johnathan N. Baily, a
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
r, being appointed Chicago's first
postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
.
Chicago was long the hub of the
Railway Mail Service
The Railway Mail Service of the United States Post Office Department was a significant mail transportation service in the US from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century. The RMS, or its successor the Postal Transportation Service (PTS), ...
of the United States. Chicago saw particularly large volumes of mail in the peak era of mail-order business by Chicago-based retailers
Montgomery Ward and
Sears.
Postmasters appointed before 1971
Until the establishment of the
United States Postal Service in 1971, the
president of the United States appointed local postmasters.
In the 19th century, many appointees of postal positions in the United States were
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
positions, with newspaper editors with close ties to the president's party often receiving postmastership positions.
Postmasters appointed after 1971
Officers in charge
The following individuals served as "officer in charge of the Chicago Post Office" during periods in which there was a vacancy in the position of postmaster of Chicago:
See also
*
Old Chicago Main Post Office
References
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