MOUNT VERNON — A remarkable reminder of our postal past is on display at the museum of the Knox County Historical Society in Mount Vernon.

  • No photo survives of William Fesler with his summer buggy, but according to the Fesler family, the two horses here pulling Fesler’s winter delivery sleigh also pulled the buggy.

  • William Alexander Fesler (1882-1967) was a rural free delivery carrier in Union Township of Knox County for many years.

  • Thick buggy robes draped over the seat of the RFD #1 postal delivery buggy at the Knox County Historical Society in Mount Vernon. (Photo by Mark Jordan.)

  • The red flag hung alongside the cab to alert other vehicles of the slow-moving mail carrier’s presence. Note inside the floor of the cab the hot rock foot warmer.

  • William Fesler delivered the mail in rural Danville with this tiny horse-drawn buggy for many years in the early 20th century. The wagon is on display at the Knox County Historical Society in Mount Vernon. Note the “spare tire” hanging underneath, and the red caution flag.

It is the actual mail delivery buggy used for many years of the early 20th century in the Danville area of Union Township by William Fesler (1882-1967). The small, black horse-drawn buggy came equipped with a spare wheel slung underneath the carriage, which was to be propped up with a wooden jack in the event of a wheel change.

The vehicle came with some other items of the trade. A red flag was flown on the side of the cab to alert other vehicles to its slow-moving status as Fesler went from mailbox to mailbox on his Rural Free Delivery Route #1 in the countryside surrounding Danville.

For cool or rainy weather, the driver could cover himself with thick buggy robes, as seen by the ones donated to the museum by Burval Larimore and Jack and Natlie Lepley.

For extremely cold weather, the buggy came equipped with a metal foot warmer which contained a rock that could be heated in a fireplace, then carefully stashed in the foot warmer where it would keep the driver’s toes warm … for at least a little while.

According to museum director Jim Gibson, the rare buggy has been in the collection for nearly 20 years. As many postal carriers switched over to motor vehicles, few kept their old buggies, except for Fesler, who stored the buggy in his barn, where it remained for decades until it was purchased on behalf of the museum and restored in Amish country.

The buggy can be viewed at the Knox County Historical Society Museum, 875 Harcourt Rd. in Mount Vernon. The museum is open March through November on Wednesdays 6 to 8 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Reach Knox Pages historian Mark Jordan at HistoryKnocks@sinisterhandmedia.com.