A discontinued post office (DPO) is an American postal term for a post office which is no longer in service or is in service under another name.Definition Postmarks.org accessed February 12, 2011"Let's spell out some stamp collecting acronyms" article by Rick Miller, part of a Refresher Course on Linns.Com, accessed February 12, 2011 Some are in ghost towns, some victims of consolidation of mail service as small post offices are closed or a city expands. The introduction of Rural Free Delivery, RFD, in 1902 led to the closure of many post offices, which peaked in 1901 at 76,945. In the United States, which was mostly rural, mail previously had been picked up in rural areas at small local post offices, home delivery being limited to urban areas until experimentation with rural delivery began in 1890.
Covers, that is letters, wrappers, or postmarks, from discontinued post offices are of interest to students of postal history.State Postal History Listings PostalHistory.Com, accessed February 12, 2011 As one example, in Saguache County, Colorado, there are over 50 discontinued post offices.Post offices in Saguache County, Colorado
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Further reading Examples of references from the postal history of Colorado: Bauer, William H.; Ozment, James L.; and Willard, John H., Colorado Post Offices, 1859-1989: A Comprehensive Listing of Post Offices, Stations, and Branches, Colorado Railroad Museum (May 1990), hardcover, 280 pages, Helbock, Richard W., A Checklist of Colorado Post Offices 1858-1988 Jarrett, David L., Colorado Territorial and Pre-Territorial Postmarks, Collector Club of Chicago (January 1, 1976), hardcover Meschter, Daniel Y., Pre-Territorial Colorado Postal History, La Posta Publications (1994), 91 pages Segerstrom, Kenneth Colorado Illustrated Covers La Posta Publications (1988), paperback, 100 pages