Country Post: Rural Postal Service in Canada 1880 to 1945

The postal service has done more than is evident to affect the settlement of Canada. If a small town had a post office (and the choice of town depended on financial, political, and geographical factors), it was almost sure to thrive. The post office, often situated in a store or land office, was the federal government in far flung parts of the country, and had an important role to play. This presence was typified in larger towns by buildings situated in the centre of town, and built in the distinctively solid Fuller style, named after the Chief Architect of the department of Public Works at the end of the nineteenth century.

This well-researched and amply illustrated book explores such issues as the postman’s role in his community, his duties, the impact of mail-order catalogues on rural life, and the Post Office savings bank, which lasted as late as the 1960s. mRb