The Postal Service of the United States in Connection with the Local History of Buffalo | Page 7

to Erie once a week, leaving Buffalo on Saturday at 12 m. and arriving at Erie on Monday at 6 p. m., and leaving Erie Tuesday at 6 a. m. and arriving at Buffalo on Thursday by 10 a. m.
In 1816, the mail between Buffalo and Youngstown was carried twice a week, twelve hours being allowed for a trip either way.
On the 3rd of March, 1817, a post-route "from Moscow by the State road to Buffalo," and one "from Canandaigua, by Bristol, Richmond, Livonia and Genesee to Sheldon" were established.
About the first of the year 1819 the post-office at Buffalo was made a distributing office, and it has continued to be a distributing office ever since.
From 1820 to 1824, the arrangements of the Department for mail service from New York City to Buffalo, thence to Niagara, and from Buffalo to Erie, Pa., were as follows:--Leave New York daily at 9 a. m., and arrive at Albany next day by 8.30 p. m.; leave Albany at 2 a. m. and arrive at Utica the same day by 9 p. m. (10 p. m. in winter); leave Utica the next day at 6 a. m. and arrive at Canandaigua the next day at 8 p. m.; leave Canandaigua at 6 a. m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and arrive at Buffalo the next day at 6 p. m.; leave Buffalo Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6 a. m. and arrive at Niagara the same day at 6 p. m.; and also to leave Buffalo Tuesdays at 2 p. m. and arrive at Erie the next day by 6 p. m. It will thus be seen that a letter which left New York on Monday morning at 9 o'clock would reach this city at 6 o'clock the next Sunday evening, and Erie three days later, if the mails were not behind time. This frequently happened in bad weather, and it is possible that the interest of contractors, as connected with the transportation of passengers, sometimes induced them to reach Buffalo in advance of their schedule time.
On the 3rd of March, 1823, a post-route was established "from Buffalo in Erie to Olean in the County of Cattaraugus, passing through the towns of Boston, Concord and Ellicottville."
On the 14th of July, 1824, the mail routes by which the Buffalo office was supplied, and the service thereon, were as follows: Canandaigua to Buffalo, three times a week; Niagara to Buffalo, three times a week; Erie to Buffalo, twice a week; and Moscow to Buffalo, once a week.
From 1824 to 1828, the mail was generally carried from New York to Albany by steamboats, six times a week, during the season of navigation, and probably three times a week, by land, in winter; and the mail from Buffalo to Albany was carried twice a week, by one line in three days and four hours, and by the other in four days. The mails from Buffalo to Youngstown and from Buffalo to Erie were carried each way three times a week.
It is stated in the Buffalo Directory of 1828, that the number of mails then arriving and departing weekly from the Buffalo post-office was thirty-five. An advertisement by the late Bela D. Coe, Esq., states that the Pilot mail-coach left Buffalo every evening, arrived at Geneva the first day, Utica the second, and Albany the third; and that the Diligence coach left Buffalo every morning at 8 o'clock, arrived at Avon the first night, Auburn the second, Utica the third, and Albany the fourth.
On the 15th of June, 1832, a post-route was established "from Buffalo, Erie County, by Aurora, Wales, Holland, Sardinia, China, Fredonia, Caneadea and Belfast to Angelica in Allegany County"; after which no other post-routes, commencing or terminating at Buffalo, were established prior to 1845, except that by the Act of July 7, 1838, all the railroads then existing (in which the Buffalo & Niagara Falls Railroad must be included), or thereafter to be completed in the United States, were declared post-roads, and the Postmaster-General was thereby authorized, under certain restrictions, to contract for carrying the mails thereon.
As the last link in the chain of railroads from Albany to Buffalo was completed early in 1843, there was then, or soon after, continuous mail transportation by railroad from Boston, through Worcester, Springfield and Albany to Buffalo. The completion of the Hudson River Railroad, and of the New York and Erie Railroad in 1851, gave us direct railroad communication with New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, and the completion of the Buffalo & State Line Railroad and other roads in or before 1852, gave us further railroad service for the supply of the Buffalo office.
As the receipts of our post-office are, to a large extent, determined by the rates of postage charged, especially of letter postage, which probably constitutes