Front:
1776
1975
201
US1OC 200 Years of Postal Service
WELLS FARGO &COXPRESS
THILADELD
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE
Commemorating
The Bicentennial of
Americas Postal Service
Fleetwood
Yficial Frst Day Cover•Briladelphia 76
PHIA. PA
Back:
STAGECOACH TO TRUCK
Public coaches which regularly traveled between designated
stations, or stages, came to be known as stagecoaches - one of
the country's early means of long distance transportation which
afforded protection for both passengers and cargo. Coming into
prominence after the War of 1812, the new macadam roads
enabled speeds of ten miles per hour to be attained. Although
lacking paved roads, the New West was soon laced with stage
routes. By 1862 Wells, Fargo and Company stagecoaches
monopolized the express business west of the Mississippi River.
The coming of the railroad signaled the demise of that colorful
chapter in postal history, and yesterday's stagecoach is today
replaced with the familiar semi-trailer highway transport which
carries huge volumes of machine-sorted mail between major mail
handling facilities of the United States Postal Service.
