The Barefoot Mailman
Courage and Endurance
South Florida was sparsely populated in the 1880s before roads, railroads, and the Intracoastal Waterway were built. There was no overland or water mail delivery from Palm Beach south.
In 1885, the U.S. Postal Service established a mail route from Palm Beach to Miami and back. It involved mail carriers on foot and rowboats. The route was 68 miles each way.