The Postal History Foundation has acquired the oldest known envelope postmarked in Tucson, Arizona Territory, thanks to the generosity of volunteer Jack Mount. The envelope, known to collectors as a “cover,” was canceled in the Tucson post office on March 23, 1867, and delivered to an address in Providence, Rhode Island.
Tucson’s post office was established in 1857 when the area we know as Arizona was part of a much larger New Mexico Territory. During the Civil War, the southern U.S. mail route was discontinued as the Confederate Army expanded westward, taking control of southern New Mexico Territory and attempting to reach California. In 1863, the U.S. Congress reacted by using a north-south boundary to create the familiar shapes of Arizona and New Mexico that we know today. Tucson’s post office was re-established after the Civil War and received its first Arizona Territory canceling device on July 13, 1865. The 1867 cover, now in the Postal History Foundation’s holdings, marks an important milestone in Tucson’s postal history.
Jack Mount purchased the cover in order to donate it to the Postal History Foundation. “It’s an important piece of Tucson history,” Jack said. “It belongs in a museum, where everybody can have access to it.”
Jack is an avid collector of postcards and postmarks from National Parks and Arizona. He volunteers at the Postal History Foundation once a week, usually sorting donated postcards and envelopes. Jack is also president of the Tucson Post Card Exchange Club, which meets once a month at the Foundation’s Slusser Library.
The envelope is not currently on display, but may be viewed by appointment. Other exhibits and activities are available for free, Monday through Friday, 8-3.
