Rural Free Delivery

On November 24, 1896, the U.S. Post Office Department established Pennsylvania’s first two rural mail routes here in Westmoreland County. One operated from the post office here in New Stanton; the other operated out of nearby Ruffsdale (later spelled “Ruffs Dale”). The nation’s first five rural carriers had started out the month before on routes in West Virginia, and by 1905 the U.S. had 32,000 routes. They proved instrumental in breaking down rural isolation. (Dedicated: Tuesday, June 26, 2001)