The Bank of Vernal brick

1916

This brick is one of the original 15,000 bricks used on the facade of the Bank of Vernal Utah, a building made possible by the introduction of the parcel post in 1913. Prior to 1913, private companies had a monopoly on carrying anything over four pounds. The introduction of the parcel post made mail order accessible to Americans who did not live close to railroads, which up until then served as the foundation of the private express system. Parcel post proved so popular that within a year the weight limit had expanded from eleven pounds to fifty pounds.