Edwin W. Shriver

Members of the Shriver family

have contributed to Carroll County in many ways. Edwin was not involved with the

Shriver canning business, the grist mill in Union Mills, or the tannery there. Instead, he

is remembered for his role in establishing the first county-wide rural free delivery

service in the United States as a marker beside the former Westminster Post Office on

East Main Street proclaims. Other parts of the United States had been experimenting

with rural free delivery for several years, but Carroll was the first location in which an

entire county was successfully served.

In April 1899 Shriver began testing his idea for service using a specially designed, horsedrawn

wagon to deliver mail along a route he mapped out. Herr & Bro. carriage makers in Westminster built his first wagon, a 12-foot-long conveyance pulled by two horses with “Postal Wagon U.S. Mail” painted on its sides. The interior was fitted with the drawers, counters, and letter boxes

needed for a route about 27 miles in length. Harry Harbaugh, a Westminster liveryman, furnished the horses. “Carriers” were assigned to meet the postal wagon at various points on its route. Their job was to fan out across the countryside included in the route and pick up or drop off mail at individual homes or businesses. This plan ensured a constant distribution of mail between the wagon and home or business owners. By December 1899 Shriver had three more wagons and about 30 additional carriers ready so he could expand delivery across the entire county. Initially, all four

wagons operated out of the Westminster post office starting about 6:30 each weekday morning after picking up mail brought in by train. The wagons returned from their routes in time to put the collected mail on evening trains running both east and west. Not everyone in the county was delighted with the Shriver-designed postal service because it closed a number of the small post offices. Mail delivery proved reliable, however, even when weather conditions challenged the horses and wagons.

For the first few years the Post Office Department was very enthusiastic about the

system, but grew less enamored as time went by. The four wagons made their final trip

on 30 June 1904. From then on mail was picked up at a central location and delivered

using individual carriers, the system still practiced today.