From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The General Post Office Building in Shanghai, China.
For national postal networks, sometimes called "the Post Office", see mail. For other uses, see Post Office (disambiguation).
A post office is a customer service facility forming part of a national postal system.[1] Post offices offer mail-related services such as acceptance of letters and parcels; provision of post office boxes; and sale of postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. In addition, many post offices offer additional services: providing and accepting government forms (such as passport applications), processing government services and fees (such as road tax), and banking services (such as savings accounts and money orders).[2] The chief administrator of a post office is a postmaster.
Prior to the advent of postal and ZIP codes, postal systems would route items to a specific post office for receipt or delivery. In 19th-century America, this often led to smaller communities being renamed after their post offices, particularly after the Post Office Department ceased to permit duplicate station names within a state.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 Name
2 History
3 Unstaffed postal facilities
4 Notable post offices
4.1 Operational
4.2 Former
4.3 Historic
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Name[edit]
The old General Post Office on Lombard Street, London in 1803
A Canadian sorting office in 2006
The term "post office" or "post-office"[4] has been in use since the 1650s,[5] shortly after the legalization of private mail service in England in 1635.[6] In early Modern England, post riders – mounted couriers – were placed ("posted"[7]) every few hours along post roads at "posting houses" or "post houses" between major cities ("post towns"). These stables or inns permitted important correspondence to travel without delay. In early America, post offices were also known as "stations". This term and "post house" fell from use as horse
References: Jump up ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, "post office". 2013. Accessed 2 October 2013. Jump up ^ The British Postal Museum and Archive. "The Secret Room". 2011. Accessed 2 October 2013. Jump up ^ Harper (2013), "post". Accessed 2 October 2013. Jump up ^ "Derry store 's postal kiosk a 1st in New England". Union Leader. December 11, 2011.