The U.S. Postal Service turns 250 years old this weekend, and on Wednesday it released new stamps to mark the milestone.
USPS spokesperson John Hyatt told HPR all about the rich history of the vital service of mail delivery from the days of the Pony Express to delivery in some communities with electric vehicles.
"The first mention of postal services in Hawaiʻi was all the way back to 1846, and the first dedicated post office building was built in Honolulu in 1850. I just found that very interesting as I was looking up some information," he told HPR.
"And then the Hawaiʻi postal service became part of the U.S. Postal Service in 1900. The Postal Service has been a really big part of Hawaiʻi and making sure people get vital communication and necessary packages. We're really thrilled to be a part of the Hawaiʻi community."
Hyatt said that the new 250th anniversary stamp pane will showcase 20 different stamps.
"Each stamp depicts an individual scene of a letter carry in the community. And when you put them all together, it's a really cool collage of a little city center town with carriers delivering to houses and businesses, and people going into the post office, and collection boxes, and our new next generation delivery vehicles," he said.
He shared that many longtime USPS carriers have been part of the history of the postal service.
"We've got carriers that work for 40, 50, 60 years as part of the community, and it's just really amazing their dedication and love for their customers," he said.
To learn more about the history of USPS, click here.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 23, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Tori DeJournett adapted this story for the web.
