Rural Free Delivery begins

Westminster
October 6, 1896

Four letter carriers, including Joshua Corbin and his horse “Harry”, begin free daily delivery of the mail from Westminster to the rest of Carroll County. They are the first government-sponsored “guinea pigs” to test Rural Free Delivery county-wide in the U.S.


Corbin delivers about 30 pieces of mail a day. He and his colleagues are so successful that U.S. Post Office makes RFD official in 1899.

For More Information

Smithsonian National Postal Museum 

Historical Society of Carroll County 

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Marylander Roger B. Taney hands down the Dred Scott decision.

Roger Taney, Maryland native and Supreme Court Chief Justice, delivers 7-2 opinion in 1857, in the Dred Scott case, declaring that Blacks in the US are not considered citizens nor entitled to government protection, and that Congress cannot prohibit slavery. The decision becomes a major factor leading to the Civil War.

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Land Recognition

We acknowledge the enduring presence of many American Indian tribes who once lived in Maryland and who now, having lost their lands, live in a diaspora. Read more.

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