Adams Express Co.

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In 1839, Alvin Adams, a produce merchant who had been
 ruined by the Panic of 1837, initiated a new business
 that carried letters, valuables and small packages
between Boston and Worcester, Mass
 The venture was so successful
it rapidly expanded.

Soon it became one of three big express companies operating in
the United States, the other two being Wells, Fargo & Co.
 and American Express. By the 1880s, the company
 had nearly 8,000 employees, was operating
over 20,000 miles of railroad track and
had offices all across the nation
and in most of the major
cities in Europe.

Adams Express set up shop in Huntington shortly after the
arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1871.

The Huntington City Directory for 1891-’92 listed the
company at 1038 3rd Ave., describing it as “general
forwarders of freight.” It continued to be listed at
 that address in subsequent editions of the
 Huntington directory until 1918.

In 1913, the U.S. Congress enacted the Parcel Post law,
 which enabled the U.S. Post Office to carry small
 packages as ordinary mail, a major change
 that was a serious blow to the express
 companies’ profitability.

When the United States entered World War I, the federal
government was concerned about the rapid, safe
 movement of people and goods and so took
control of the nation’s railroads. At the
 same time, the government also seized
 the nation’s express companies and
consolidated them into the Railway
 Express Agency (REA).

The federal government operated the REA
until 1928, when it turned the operation
over to a consortium of the
 nation’s railroads.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on April 23, 2024.

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