Do You Know Where the Oldest Operating Post Office is in New Hampshire?

Little Known Fact, unless you are from Hinsdale

Did you know that the United States' oldest and continuously operating post office is in Hinsdale, New Hampshire?

The postal service has been all over the news recently and things sure have changed since the post office in Hinsdale opened.

They celebrated their 200^th Anniversary back in 2016, according to reformer.com. My how times have changed.

What’s different now?

I imagine if we took a postal worker from the Hinsdale post office and dropped them into 2021, the biggest shock would be postal trucks.  Imagine having to deliver the mail on horseback during harsh New England winter back in the day.

There are older post offices in the country, but the one in Hinsdale has been operating in the same spot, same building since 1816, according to reformer.com.

I think the next biggest change would be the price of a first-class letter.  I don’t think a postal worker from 1816 could imagine the sheer volume of packages and parcels that are shipped today.

In 1816 it could be weeks or months before you got the news via the mail.  Airmail would probably blow their socks off.

It’s all about perspective

My wife and I are a bit old-fashioned I suppose.  I don’t eat leftovers and really enjoy a meal I can smell cooking for two hours.  My kids just pop stuff in the microwave.  My daughter likes to download a book instantly to her Kindle or get a next-day book delivery from Amazon, meanwhile, my wife loves browsing through libraries.  During the pandemic, we happily heard updates on the delivery of our grandson in real-time via text message.

Back in 1816 we may have waited months to hear of his delivery.  Is the post office going through some things this year?  Of course.  But maybe we all need to slow down a bit and appreciate life.

Speaking of old school...