On August 20, 1949, the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General was abolished by the President's Reorganization Plan No. 3, which provided for a Bureau of Facilities under an Assistant Postmaster General to continue the functions of the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General.

The most important functions of the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General in 1949 were (1) the administration, operation, and maintenance of Government-owned post-office buildings; (2) the authorization of allowances for rent, light, and fuel for post offices and other postal quarters and allowances for the hire of vehicles required for collection and special-delivery services; (3) the custody and distribution of equipment and supplies for the Postal Service; (4) the supervision of screen-wagon, pneumatic-tube, and Government-owned motor-vehicle services; (5) the production and distribution of post-route maps and parcel-postzone keys; and (6) the supervision of mail-equipment shops, and the manufacture and repair of mail bags, locks, keys, and key chains.

Records of the Immediate Office of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General

The Office consisted of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, a deputy, a special administrative aide, assistants, and secretaries. The activities of the Office dealt mainly with (1) the supervision and administration of the operations of the divisions of the Bureau and its field offices, (2) the review and approval of budget estimates and of all journals and allowances from appropriations relating to the Bureau, (3) the supervision of departmental and field personnel, and (4) the representation of the Postmaster General by the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General at Government conferences or in Federal committees relating to public buildings.

GENERAL RECORDS. 1905-32. 34 ft.

16

Letters received and copies of letters sent, memoranda, reports (of committees, investigations, costs, and work), statements, and instructions relating to the operation of the Bureau and its divisions and offices. Arranged by classification number (see appendix I).

1914-20. 1 ft.

CORRESPONDENCE OF JAMES I. BLAKSLEE. 1914-20.

17

This correspondence of Mr. Blakslee, Fourth Assistant Postmaster General from Mar. 17, 1913, to Mar. 14, 1921, relates to the appointment of postmasters, clerks, and rural mail carriers; post-office quarters; ruralmail service; and deliveries of farm produce by motor-vehicle service. Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Records of the Division of Topography

An Act of July 2, 1836, authorized the appointment of a clerk to act as topographer of the Post Office Department. The Office of the Topographer, originally under the Chief Clerk, was redesignated the Division of Topography on December 1, 1905, and was transferred from the Office of the Postmaster General to the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General.

On July 1, 1913, this Division was absorbed by the Division of Supplies. In accordance with a 1953 order of the Postmaster General, the Division of Supplies was divided into the Division of Equipment and Supplies and the Division of Topography. These divisions are parts of the Bureau of Facilities, as the Bureau of the Fourth Postmaster General has been known since 1949.

Although the Division of Topography is mainly responsible for compiling, drawing, revising, printing, and distributing post-route maps (State, county, rural-delivery, and air-mail), it also prepares special-purpose maps and organizational and fiscal charts.

OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE. Oct. 15, 1901-Sept. 1, 1911. 1 vol.

2 in.

18

Chiefly press copies of letters and memoranda relating to the organization of the Office of the Topographer, budget estimates and expenditures, personnel, techniques of reproducing post-route maps, advertisement of proposals for reproducing and furnishing post-route maps, and the acquisition of supplies and equipment. Annual and progress reports of the Office of the Topographer and lists of rural-delivery-service maps are also included in the series. Arranged chronologically.

REPORTS OF SITE LOCATIONS. 1865-1946. 292 ft.

19

Completed forms submitted by postmasters, giving the location of their post offices and other geographical information to aid the Post Office Department in the preparation of postal maps. These forms contain such data as the official name of the post office together with local name or name changes; section, township, range, and meridian in which the post office was located; terminals of the nearest postal route; mileage to the adjacent post offices, rivers, and creeks; footage or rods to the nearest railroad tracks, railroad depot, or highway; and a diagram or map of the location of the post office. The series includes a few scattered reports dated as early as 1837 and as late as 1950. Arranged alphabetically by name of State, thereunder alphabetically by name of county and post office, and lastly chronologically by date of report.

ATLAS OF POSTAL MAPS. 1839. 13 sheets. 1 inch.

20

A published record copy of "The American Atlas Exhibiting the Post Offices, Railroads, Canals, and the Physical and Political Divisions of the United States of America Constructed. . . Under the Direction of the Post Master General by David H. Burr, Geographer to the House of Representatives of the U.S." There are maps of the United States and adjacent countries, and maps of the following States portrayed singly or in combination: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, Ohio and Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, Illinois and Wisconsin, and Michigan and part of Wisconsin Territory.

POST-ROUTE MAPS. 1867-94. 47 items. 6 in.

21

An incomplete published record set of intermediate-scale maps of sections of the United States. These maps were created under the direction of the Topographer of the Post Office Department. They show post offices, distances between offices, frequency of service, and mail-carrying railroads by name of railroad and include county boundaries and principal drainage features. These maps usually include from two to six States, Territories, or parts of States and Territories. They antedate the PostRoute (State) Maps described in entry 22 and are different in format. Many of the maps have been corrected by hand and the date of the correction is written on the map. Arranged chronologically by date of publication. These maps are listed chronologically in appendix II. Similar maps of this and earlier periods may be found among the cartographic records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, RG 77.

POST-ROUTE (STATE) MAPS. 1894-1957. 448 items. 2 ft.

22

Published record set of maps of the individual States, Territories, and island possessions of the United States, on an intermediate scale. showing information relating to post offices, postal routes, mail-carrying railroads by name of railroad, rural-delivery routes, air-mail routes, mail-supply points, and method and frequency of postal service. In addition to postal information these maps show county boundaries and principal drainage features. This series of maps, although different in format, is a continuation of the series described in entry 21 and was designed to include all editions of a given map. It is incomplete, however, for the years before 1937. Some of the editions of these maps, particularly for the years 1917 and 1935-40, have been annotated to show special types of information and are described in entries 25 and 30. The post-route maps are listed in appendix III. Arranged alphabetically by name of State, Territory, or island possession and thereunder chronologically by date of publication.

MANUSCRIPT MAPS.

1901-47. 63 items. 2 in.

23

Manuscript post-route maps of States, Territories, and island possessions used to prepare the published post-route maps. Changes were made as necessary on the manuscripts, and each one is correct as of the last date appearing on it. Some of the earlier maps, however, are not dated. They show essentially the same detail as the published post-route maps described in entry 22. Arranged alphabetically by name of State or other area. These maps are listed in appendix IV.

POSTAL-ZONE MAPS. 1913. 124 items. 1 in.

24

A series of published official parcel-post maps of the United States, dated 1913, with annotations of unknown date showing boundaries of zones used to determine parcel-post changes. These maps were prepared for use with the parcel-post guide. There is also a map annotated to show parcelpost unit areas within each State. Arranged numerically by zone number. POST-ROUTE (STATE) MAPS SHOWING NAVIGABLE WATERS. 1917. 14 items. 25 Published post-route maps of States mainly in the eastern United States,

!

annotated with information relating to the navigable waters in the particular State and to the coastal waters of those States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. These maps are listed by State in appendix III, with symbols differentiating them from the published record set of the post-route maps. Arranged alphabetically by name of State.

CITY MAPS. 1912-35. 575 items. 3 ft.

26

Published, photoprocessed, and manuscript maps of selected cities in the United States annotated with information apparently relating to delivery routes and location of postal facilities, business sections, sidewalks, and mail boxes. Arranged numerically by case number and thereunder alphabetically by name of State and within the State by cities.

RURAL-DELIVERY-ROUTE MAPS. 1927-28. 600 items. 1 ft.

27

A representative sampling of the maps prepared to show individual ruraldelivery routes throughout the United States. These maps, which are generally annotated blueprints, are accompanied by a carbon typescript of the official description of the route giving the direction and stops to be made, the distance between each stop, and the total mileage of the route. Arranged alphabetically by name of post office.

28

RURAL-DELIVERY LOCAL-CENTER MAPS. 1900-1937. 600 items. 1 ft. Manuscript maps of rural areas throughout the United States showing the rural-delivery routes servicing the areas. Arranged alphabetically by name of State.

RURAL-DELIVERY-ROUTE COUNTY MAPS. n. d. 40 items. 3 in.

29

An incomplete set of photoprocessed county maps, probably of the 1930's, showing the rural-delivery routes. Arranged alphabetically by name of State and thereunder by name of county.

POST-ROUTE (STATE) MAPS SHOWING CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS. 1935-40. 58 items. 4 in.

30

An incomplete set of published post-route maps annotated to show the boundaries and the numbers of the congressional districts within the individual States. These maps are listed by State in appendix III, with symbols differentiating them from the published record set of post-route maps. Arranged alphabetically by name of State and thereunder chronologically by date of publication of the base map.

POST-ROUTE (STATE) MAPS ANNOTATED WITH UNINTERPRETED RED DOTS. 1935-40. 63 items. 4 in. 31

Published post-route maps with annotations in the form of red dots over certain cities or towns. There is no key to these dots, which appear to have been placed on the maps by hand. One conjecture is that they identify first-class offices. These maps are listed by State in appendix III, with symbols differentiating them from the published record set of the post-route maps. Arranged alphabetically by name of State and thereunder chronologically by date of publication of the base map.

POST-ROUTE (STATE) MAPS ANNOTATED WITH UNINTERPRETED NUMBERS. 1937-39. 3 items.

32

Published post-route maps which have six-digit numbers stamped generally along railroad routes. No key is given to these numbers. The se maps are listed in appendix III, with symbols differentiating them from the published record set of post-route maps. Arranged alphabetically by name of State.

Records of the Division of Motor Vehicle Service

Although there was an experimental automobile mail-collection service in Milwaukee, Wis., in February 1908, motor-vehicle service was not authorized by Congress until its inclusion in the postal appropriations for the fiscal year 1915. This service and the screen-wagon service (mail carried by wagon and later motor truck enclosed by a steel screen) were assigned to the Division of Post Office Services in the Bureau of the First Assistant Postmaster General on July 1, 1916. In September 1921 the work relating to the operation of the Government-owned motor-vehicle service and the contract-vehicle service was transferred to the newly created Division of Vehicle Transportation in the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. The Division was redesignated the Division of Motor Vehicle Service on October 6, 1921, and was transferred back to the Bureau of the First Assistant. During the latter part of 1930 the Division was reassigned to the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. The Division was mainly concerned with the operation of the Government-owned motor-vehicle service and the pneumatic-tube service.

GENERAL RECORDS. 1896-1939. 8 ft.

33

Advertisements, contracts, and correspondence concerning the construction and operation of mail-transportation vehicles. The records also include materials relating to the claim of H.C. McFarlin of Little Rock, Ark., under a screen-wagon contract. Unarranged.

ROUTE REGISTERS AND CONTRACTS RELATING TO SCREEN-WAGON SERVICE. 1901-36. 100 vols. 28 ft. 34 The registers contain for each screen-wagon route the original order of the Department authorizing the establishment, change, or discontinuance of the route; the name of the contractor; the stations along the routes, if any, and the terminals; the mileage between stations; the rate of pay per mile; and the total amount paid per annum. There is also some information about transfer, mail-station, city-delivery, collection, and steamboat services; advertisements; proposals for carrying the mails by screen-wagon service; and instructions to bidders. For several periods for which no registers are available, there are volumes of original signed contracts. Both the registers and the volumes of contracts are arranged by the contract term of 4 years, thereunder by name of State or Territory, and thereunder by route number.

CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO THE SHIPMENT OF FARM PRODUCE BY MOTOR-TRUCK
SERVICE. 1919-20. 1 ft.

35

Interoffice memoranda and correspondence with postmasters, route agents,