US #742 from the 1934 National Parks Issue. Click image to order.
On March 2, 1899, William McKinley signed a bill establishing Mount Rainier National Park.
Mount Rainier was formed by volcanic activity. In the prehistoric past, debris flowing from Mount Rainier’s volcano formed the lands east of Tacoma and south of Seattle. At 14,411 feet, it’s the highest peak in the Cascade Range.
US #147 is the first known used Bank Note stamp. Click image to order.
March 1, 1870, is the earliest known use of one of the Bank Note stamps, a long-running set of stamps produced by three different bank note companies.
Less than a year earlier, in March 1869, the Post Office introduced the Pictorial Series. For the first time in US postal history, our stamps pictured something other than the portraits of national leaders.
US #4225 from the 2008 American Scientists set. Click image to order.
American scientist Linus Pauling was born on February 28, 1901, in Portland, Oregon.
When he was a child, Pauling first became interested in chemistry after witnessing his friend conduct experiments with a small lab kit. He later recalled, “I was simply entranced by chemical phenomena, by the reactions in which substances, often with strikingly different properties, appear; and I hoped to learn more and more about this aspect of the world.” Continue reading
US #1773 was issued on Steinbeck’s 77th birthday. Click image to order.
On February 27, 1979, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Literary Arts Series honoring author John Steinbeck.
Leading up to 1979, the USPS began considering a new stamp series to honor American writers. After receiving over 1,500 suggestions, they selected John Steinbeck to be the first honoree in what would become a long-running series.
US #1454 was issued for the 100th anniversary of the first US national park. Click image to order.
On February 26, 1917, Denali National Park was first established as Mount McKinley National Park.
The area of the present-day park was hardly habitable 11,000 years ago when bands of Native Americans began to occupy surrounding areas. Tribes including the Koyukon, Dena’ina, Ahtna, Kolchan, Tanana, and Athabaskan were among the earliest and most common. The first people likely entered the park about 7,000 years ago, and the first occupied it seasonally about 5,500 years ago. Harsh winters, frigid winds, and few trees made it difficult for people to survive there during the cold months.
US #1805-06 were issued on this day in 1980. Click image to order.
On February 25, 1980, the USPS issued a set of stamps commemorating National Letter Writing Week. Those stamps marked the first time that the USPS issued a sheet of stamps with three sets of vertical pairs.
In 1980, National Letter Writing Week ran from February 24 through March 1. It was the first time the US observed Letter Writing Week in 15 years. But they invested a great deal of time and effort into promoting it.
