When were cities first divided into numbered postal zones, as in “Indianapolis 24, Indiana”?
I know the zip code replaced the zones in 1963, but I can’t find a reference as to when the earlier zone system started.
Thanks!
The Wikipedia entry on ZIP Code notes that
(The Wikipedia article on Postal Codes notes that Germany was the first to implement such a system only two years earlier.)
The USPS history confirms that with the (not extremely explicit) reference (while describing the history of the ZIP code):
(bolding mine)
Little to add to Tom’s point, except to note that postal zones in the larger cities were often (I suspect always, but have no cite) tied to branch post offices, postal substations, etc., and generally became the final two digits (with leading zero added as needed) of the Zip code when it was adopted. Thus the Kodak Park neighborhood of Rochester, formerly serviced by the Kodak Park substation, was Rochester 14 New York, and took the zip code of Rochester NY 14614 – Rochester city addresses all being 146xx, and that particular neighborhood being -14. (I think I’m remembering the right info. for Kodak Park, but if “14” is in error, the example remains accurate, just exhibiting the wrong postal zone/zip code number.)
From a contemporary newspaper story:
The system went into place on June 1, 1943. 178 large cities in the US used it.
For instance, Long Beach had seven zones, numbered 2-7.
There were 10 other California cities in the 178.