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UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
The office of Postmaster General and a temporary post office system were created in 1789.¹ Another act in 1792 made detailed provisions for a Post Office Department. The Postmaster General became a cabinet member in 1829, and the department received executive status in 1872, although in 1970, it became an independent agency. As of 1988 the department was headed by an eleven member board of governors, nine of whom now select the Postmaster General.
Dover, Delaware’s U.S. Post Office was constructed between 1875 and 1879, and the records documenting that construction project are in the holdings of the Delaware Public Archives.

¹Information Please Almanac 1988.

jrf; February 14, 1989