US Post Office Near Me

Whether you’re looking to ship, pick up, or simply buy a pack of stamps, there’s no greater or more efficient office than the Us Postal Service. Most towns boast several post offices of varying sizes, depending on the population of the area being served. Not only does your local post office provide PO boxes, pick up services, and timely shipping practices, but they can also be a great resource when it comes to mailing items abroad and dealing with customs forms.

Are you interested in finding a post office near you? Simply browse US post office near me on the map below and find a list of US post office locations in a close proximity to your current location. Need a bit more information on the US postal service? Read on for facts, trivia, and more!

US Post Office Near Me – Find it on the Map

US Post Office Near Me – US Post Office Trivia

What year was the US Postal Service established?

The US Postal Service is as important to the history of the United States as the many people in power it has helped serve. The question is: when exactly was the US Postal Service first established? Consider these facts as you search US post office near me. According to historians, the US postal system was first established by the Second Continental Congress back in 1775. At the time, Benjamin Franklin was put in charge as the first postmaster general. While in this seat, Franklin built the foundation that today’s mailing system is still built upon. During the early colonial times in the 1600s, most American colonists didn’t need to send mail to one another. They saw each other daily and towns were relatively small. Instead, correspondence was often directed back to Britain. Mail deliveries happened from across the pond, but it was sporadic and often times a single letter could take months to arrive. There were no post offices in the colonies, therefore mail was typically left at inns or taverns to be picked up at a later time. In 1753, Benjamin Franklin, who had already been serving as the postmaster of Philadelphia, became one of two postmasters of the colonies. He took the job quite seriously, making massive improvements to the mailing system, including setting up efficient routes in between colonies, cutting delivery time in half between major cities, and having mail delivered weekly by wagon. Franklin is also credited with debuting the very first mail rate chart. This served to endorse a standard set of fees and costs based on the distance the item would travel and the item’s overall weight. Unfortunately, Franklin was eventually fired as postmaster due to his revolutionary activities and often less than savory antics.

Finding a US post office is easier than you think!

True or false: Some mail in the US is still delivered by mule.

Though mail might be modernized, with most letters and packages being delivered either on foot or via a vehicle, some mail in the US is still being delivered on the backs of mules. As you search US Post Office near me, consider how those at the bottom of the Grand Canyon get their mail! According to the postal service, the only way to efficiently get mail to the bottom of the canyon is to enlist the help of mules. Everyday, these specially trained mules deliver around 4,000 pounds of male, food, supplies, furniture, and basics to the village of Supai. This local Havasupai tribe receives its male only after an 8 mile journey with more than 50 mules and horses is complete.

US Post Office Near Me – US Post Office Facts

Dealing With Awful Penmanship

Have you ever wondered how bad hand writing is decoded by the postal service? You’ve come to the right place. It goes without saying that some people just have bad handwriting that can be a little hard to decipher. For example, a doctor’s scrawl is typically quite difficult to read, especially if printed especially small. So how does the USPS decode awful penmanship on letters and packages? Consider this as you search US post office near me. In order to translate some of the worst chicken scratch in America, the postal service enlists the help of the Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City. This is where all of the nearly impossible to read mail in the US is sent. The center employs nearly 1,000 workers who are all specially trained in deciphering the pieces of mail that are far too challenging for automated mail sorters to read. Since bad hand writing can lead to misdeliveries and some pretty irate customers, it’s of the utmost importance for every piece of mail to make it to its intended destination. According to some reports, these handwriting savants are able to translate a scribbled nonsensical envelope into usable information in as little as 4 seconds. Take that robots!

Mailboxes Weren’t Always Blue

Odds are when you think about the US post office, their iconic blue mailboxes come to mind. After all, they can be found on street corners, outside of grocery stores, and planted in other convenient pick up locations. What you might not know while searching US Post Office near me is that these iconic boxes weren’t always blue. In fact, the postal service didn’t actually begin painting street mailboxes blue until 1971. This was when the office made an internal switch from the Post Office Department ot the United States Postal Services. Given the formal name, the postal service thought it would only be proper to have a uniform and distinguishable color to help identify official boxes. Prior to 1971, the color of boxes varied. At one point many of them were olive drab thanks to a surplus of army green paint after World War I!

Dealing With Awful Penmanship

Have you ever wondered how bad hand writing is decoded by the postal service? You’ve come to the right place. It goes without saying that some people just have bad handwriting that can be a little hard to decipher. For example, a doctor’s scrawl is typically quite difficult to read, especially if printed especially small. So how does the USPS decode awful penmanship on letters and packages? Consider this as you search US post office near me. In order to translate some of the worst chicken scratch in America, the postal service enlists the help of the Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City. This is where all of the nearly impossible to read mail in the US is sent. The center employs nearly 1,000 workers who are all specially trained in deciphering the pieces of mail that are far too challenging for automated mail sorters to read. Since bad hand writing can lead to misdeliveries and some pretty irate customers, it’s of the utmost importance for every piece of mail to make it to its intended destination. According to some reports, these handwriting savants are able to translate a scribbled nonsensical envelope into usable information in as little as 4 seconds. Take that robots!

Mailboxes Weren’t Always Blue

Odds are when you think about the US post office, their iconic blue mailboxes come to mind. After all, they can be found on street corners, outside of grocery stores, and planted in other convenient pick up locations. What you might not know while searching US Post Office near me is that these iconic boxes weren’t always blue. In fact, the postal service didn’t actually begin painting street mailboxes blue until 1971. This was when the office made an internal switch from the Post Office Department ot the United States Postal Services. Given the formal name, the postal service thought it would only be proper to have a uniform and distinguishable color to help identify official boxes. Prior to 1971, the color of boxes varied. At one point many of them were olive drab thanks to a surplus of army green paint after World War I!