2025 First-Class Forever Stamp,Snow-Covered Trees and Barns

US #6040
2025 Snow-Covered Trees and Barns

• Part of set featuring five different designs
• Issued for use on 2025 holiday and winter mail
  
  

Stamp Category:  Special
Set :  Winter Landscapes
Value:  78¢, First Clas Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  September 19, 2025
First Day City:  Danville, Indiana
Quantity Issued :  48,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Double-sided Booklet of 20

Why the stamp was issued:  The Winter Landscapes stamps honor the beauty of a snowy scene.

About the stamp design:  USPS art director Ethel Kessler used existing photographs of winter landscapes to create the five stamp designs.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony was held during the INDYPEX Stamp Show.

About the Winter Landscapes Set:  After every snowstorm, when the winds calm and the skies clear, we’re treated to a magical glimmering white scene.  Hills and rooftops sparkle under the sun, forests grow quiet beneath heavy branches of white, and even the most ordinary streets appear transformed.  Yet, many of the most breathtaking winter landscapes in American memory followed some of the harshest storms. The contrast between nature’s fury and the peace that follows gives these moments their lasting power.
The 1936 North American cold wave froze rivers and even parts of Chesapeake Bay, with wind chills dropping to –85°F.  Life ground to a halt.  When the storm finally passed, whole towns glittered under snow and ice, shining despite the hardship.  Decades earlier, the “Year Without a Summer,” in 1816, had brought frost and even June snow to New England.  Crops failed, yet the strange sight of green fields frosted white created unforgettable scenery.
The 1886 blizzard buried Kansas farms, but afterward the vast prairie stretched smooth and silver in the sunlight.  Commerce ground to a halt as rivers and harbors turned solid in The Great Freeze of 1857, yet ice bridges gleamed.  The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950 left devastation, but also mountains glistening beneath towering drifts.
The 2025 winter landscape stamps capture that spirit, showing how snow can soften even any storm into moments of still beauty.

History the stamp represents: The Kansas blizzard of January 1886 was one of the most devastating winter storms in the state’s history.  Beginning on January 6, it roared across the plains with blinding snow and ferocious winds.  Temperatures dropped rapidly, trapping people in their homes and leaving travelers stranded.  For Kansas farmers, the storm was especially cruel.  Many had been struggling through years of drought and falling crop prices, and the blizzard delivered another crushing blow.

Livestock suffered the most.  Cattle herds, which were often kept in open ranges or poorly sheltered barns, were caught in the storm’s fury.  Thousands of cattle froze to death, many buried beneath deep snowdrifts. Chickens and pigs also perished, leaving families without a vital source of food and income.  Horses, essential for farm work and transportation, were lost in large numbers as well.  For settlers who depended on their animals to survive, the losses were catastrophic.
The storm also buried crops and hay supplies, making it nearly impossible to feed the surviving livestock.  Fences and farm buildings collapsed under the weight of snow and ice.  In the aftermath, Kansas communities banded together to dig out homes and share resources, but the 1886 blizzard remained a lasting symbol of the harsh challenges faced on the Great Plains.