The first post office in Deer Lodge was established on May 21, 1866. It was one of the earliest post offices in Montana. Mail service to the early settlers of the Deer Lodge Valley was very expensive and very slow. Letters and parcels were either delivered by steamboat up the Missouri River or by pony express through Wyoming. Pony express trips took seven days, and a letter cost fifty cents to mail.
Long distance service was provided by private stage line from Kansas, taking 22 days to cover the 1900 mile route. Eventually, the steamboat and stage were replaced by trains, trucks, and planes.
In 1938, this building was dedicated as the new Deer Lodge Post Office. As part of the New Deal program, Verona Burkhard was commissioned by the federal Public Works of Art Project to paint a mural inside the post office. The painting depicts early prospectors and Deer Lodge pioneers Granville Stuart and his brother James. Mount Powell dominates the background.
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