Mail route number and distance to the nearest mail route andĬlosest rivers, creeks, canals, roads, and railroads.Land description used by the Federal survey system (range, township, and section), if applicable.Holly Springs, Wake County, NC (NAID 68594426)Īlthough Post Office site location reports changed in format over the years, most requested the following information about a post office: Contents of Site ReportsĮnlarge Download Link Walthall Post Office Site Report More information regarding the Topographer and postal route maps may be found in Records and Policies of the Post Office Department Relating to Place-Names(National Archives Reference Information Paper No.

On January 3, 1955, the Postmaster General ordered the end of sales of postal route maps and eliminated the need to accumulate reports on postal office site locations. Later, similar maps were prepared for territories and possessions.

Maps of states, or groups of states, were to be continually updated by the Topographer's Office. In 1862, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair directed the Topographer to prepare a comprehensive set of postal maps for sale to the public. The Appointment Division of the First Assistant Postmaster General's Office usually sent a site location report form to the postmaster nearest to a proposed post office. The postmaster would complete and return the form, and the Topographer would then use the information to determine the location of the proposed post office in relation to other nearby post offices, transportation routes, and facilities. They were also an important part of the process for establishing a new post office and for reporting changes in a post office's name or location. The reports of site locations provided data that the Topographer used in preparing these maps. Burr was appointed the first Topographer of the Post Office, and he began preparing maps for postal officials' use. Post Office Department had no official mapmaker and purchased its maps from commercial firms or private individuals. Included among the Post Office reports of site locations for Alabama (NAID 68174777)īefore 1837, the U.S. Enlarge Download Link 1942 Map of Alabama Highways

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