The letter itself is based on a mother writing often to her daughter named Blanche. Transportation was not like the resources we have today, because in today's world we have paved roads, trains, planes, and cars. The letter revolved around the times of the Blanche receiving money which was not as much and with the mother keeping the family up to date. The post office back then revolved around either horses which had carriages or trains, and it would take up to days to hear back from a certain relative. Understanding the concept of the current time, the letter takes place on a couple of things to stick out. Post offices in the early time periods were not like the post offices we have in today's world. In early times mail offices were not just by trucks they had horse carriages and trains to deliver mail so it would take up to a couple of days to get mail because of the transportation status, when it comes to mail being transported by trains it was smooth at first, but robberies would take place and such as derailments. There was a separate set of cars with different sets of mail being transported from OnePlace to another. There were other methods of mail transport, not just by train, you had mail trucks, the truck that was delivering was called a Winston motor car in 1899 and horses doing the bidding as well. 1 thing that sticks out to me in the letter is that blanche is receiving money left and right from her uncle Walter , but another thing is that the mother says “if you do not need it send it back” and it’s money that sticks out because before time dollar bills weren’t a thing it was mainly coins or silver that came into play. Lastly, I must say that before 1907 the post office wasn’t as more functional and up and going as far of the post office in today’s world, we have more protection and it’s less dangerous because before time there were robberies and more derailments the post office didn’t have as many regulations and resources as of today's world. In South Carolina, there were post offices before 1907. There were a select few for each county; given that many people were at the mill where they were proven to work, much mail was not received at their address. Much mail was delivered from other counties.
(Image of a Mail Railway car that delivered mail)
(Image of an old U.S Postal Service Car that delivered mail)
“All Known SC Post Offices - 1785 to 1971 - Sorted by Date Started.” 2025. Carolana.com. 2025. https://www.carolana.com/SC/Towns/All_SC_POs_1783_to_1971_Sorted.htm.
“Inside the Railway Mail Car.” n.d. Si.edu. Accessed October 1, 2025. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/mail-by-rail/inside-the-railway-mail-car.
Smithsonian. n.d. “Mail by Motor.” Si.edu. Accessed October 1, 2025. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/fifteen-objects-that-changed-postal-history-changing-transportation-methods/mail-by-motor.
What was the "project" that was mentioned in the letter, and why did Blanche not take it with her?
What did the average dinner look like in the Upstate in the early 1900s?
Was the railway running from Greenville to Piedmont used only to transport goods, or was it also used to transport people?
How much did it cost to mail a letter in 1907? What was the value of the stamp in 1907?
Why was Piedmont, S.C., never established as a town, and why is Piedmont today split between Anderson and Greenville counties?
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
Piedmont, South Carolina, was one of the many mill towns spread out across the South in the early 1900s. Piedmont's expansion really began with the introduction of the Piedmont Manufacturing Company. This textile mill was founded in 1873 by Henry Pinckney Hammett. Hammett began his career working for the Batesville Cotton Mill, where he would eventually marry the daughter of the mill's owner, William Bates. By 1849, Hammett became Bates’s business partner. In 1862, Hammett and Bates sold the Batesville Mill and bought 250 acres around the Saluda River. The construction of the new mill was delayed by both the Civil War and the death of Bates in 1872. Eventually, the mill’s first arm would be complete in 1876. The Piedmont mill would explode in growth and would add an arm on the other side of the river. A major railway from Greenville, SC, to Belton, SC, passes straight through the Piedmont Mill site, allowing for expedited trade and faster mail services. This railway might explain how Blanche received her letter in less than a day of transit.
(Railway service map of the American South from 1905-1909)
The Piedmont mill would come equipped with its own post office. A common practice of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was to have a post office attached to the textile mill. Unfortunately, the Piedmont Mill burnt down in 1986, so the only thing that remains standing are the two towers of the mill. However, an example of a post office connected to a mill is at the Newry Mill.
(Image of the Newry Mill, to the far left of the image, there are two buildings, the smaller of which was the Newry Post Office.)
Interestingly enough, Piedmont was never officially established as an official town or city. Even today, it is only considered a Census-designated place (CDP). At the time this letter was sent, Piedmont was split in half between Anderson and Greenville counties by the Saluda River. As the years went by and the state remapped itself, the border was pushed deeper into Anderson County. The redistricting made the majority of Piedmont lie within Greenville County; however, Anderson still holds some neighborhoods of the CDP.
Greenville County, South Carolina part of the scgenweb. Accessed October 5, 2025. https://www.scgenweb.org/greenville/.
Donna Hopkins, Stephanie Tindle, Donna Young, SC Picture Project, and William Clark. “Piedmont Mill.” SC Picture Project, April 13, 2019. https://tinyurl.com/ym2pv6dy
“Railway Mail Service Maps.” Railway Mail Service Maps | NPMA.2024.3 | SOVA, Smithsonian Institution. Accessed October 5, 2025. https://sova.si.edu/record/npma.2024.3?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=south%2Bcarolina%2Bpost%2Boffice&i=2.
Joanne, Andrew, Dale Edwards, James (Fud) Cater, Jewell Childs, Jared, SC Picture Project, et al. “Newry Mill.” SC Picture Project, November 21, 2019. https://www.scpictureproject.org/oconee-county/newry-mill.html.
Livin’ Upstate SC. “Mill Redevelopment Brings New Life to Village of Newry.” Livin’ Upstate SC, March 10, 2022. https://livingupstatesc.com/mill-redevelopment-brings-new-life-to-village-of-newry/.
My box will be the envelope front and back with identifications of the elements of the envelope. It will also include how the letter traveled from the Piedmont to Fountain Inn. This will include an example of how the post office uses post roads in peace times as well as times of war or devastation from natural disasters.
On the front of the envelope we will examine the stamp and cancellation date stamp.
You can see that it is addressed to Miss Blanche Peden, Fountain Inn, S.C. In the lower left corner, you note that it is C/O Walter Peden RFD# ( Rural Free Del) (his address).
As we can see the postmark is for the Piedmont, S.C. post office. It is dated June 14, 1907, and the time is 12AM. This indicates the letter left the Piedmont post office at this time.
Take notice to the stamp. It is a two cent George Washington stamp. Starting on June 19, 1894 stamps were made by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This series is “first Bureau issue”. Below is a picture of the stamp.
Next, we will examine the back of the envelope. It also has a date stamp. This cancellation stamp is for the Fountain Inn, S.C. post office. The date of this cancellation stamp is June 14, 1907 and the time is 8 AM. The letter would have been delivered to the address on the front of the envelope on that day.
One can surmise that Blanche’s mother gave the letter to her letter carrier to be mailed. He took it to the Piedmont Post Office where it was processed and left that office and went to Fountain Inn.
Mail delivery was performed on postal roads. Maps of the Postal Road system were produced in 1896 and 1829. These were the best roads in the country, and the postal department used stagecoaches to carry the mail and some travelers. A Post Road was any road on which mail traveled. These roads were set up and authorized by Congress for the purpose of carrying and delivering mail. The vital link of communication for the United States. Below is the link to show a map of post roads in the Carolinas and railroad lines
https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/sclmaps/id/1 .
Rural routes were added to some South Carolina post offices as shown below. Piedmont, SC started rural delivery October 1, 1901, and Fountain Inn, SC started rural delivery December 2, 1901.
https:/aboutusps.com/first-rfd-sc
The carriers used various means to deliver the mail. One is shown below
It helps us to understand how Blanche’s letter traveled from her mother in Piedmont to Blanche in Fountain Inn. It helps us to understand how Blanche’s letter traveled from her mother in Piedmont to Blanche in Fountain Inn. With a two-cent stamp on her envelope it traveled from the post office of origin to the post office of delivery on post roads created by the Post Office. That is not the only reason they are designated as post roads. The first Post Road was the post routes within the to the delivery colonies. In 1673 Governor Francis Lovelase of New York set up a monthly post between New York and Boston. This is now called U.S. Route 1. In 1730 Alexander Spotswell became Deputy Postmaster General for America. He appointed Benjamin Franklin as postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737. When the Deputy Postmaster General died, the Crown appointed Franklin and Willian Hunter, postmaster of Williamsburg VA as joint Postmaster Generals. During his time as joint Postmaster General Franklin set up new post roads which were surveyed, and milestones were placed on these principal roads. These were both long and short routes. He also reorganized the service. Franklin set up the post roads from Maine to Florida and New York to Canada. He also created the position of surveyor to regulate post offices and audit accounts. This is known as the Postal Inspection Service today. After the Revolutionary war the first Postmaster General appointed by the Continental Congress was Benjamin Franklin. The first Postmaster General established by the constitution was Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts. An example of the use of postal roads in times of crisis is when Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston in 1989. The devastation was so great that marshal law was enacted. The only people allowed to use the roads was the postal service, military, law enforcement, and medical emergency transportation. The article below tells the story of the impact on the postal service and the area. Not only in the time of Blanche’s letter but from the beginning of our country to our present time the post office and post roads are the connection link to communication for Americans.
