Name/Title
Vesta Watters Jones, first woman mail carrier in Jefferson CountyEntry/Object ID
IMG3226 veDescription
Vesta Watters Jones was the first woman to carry mail in West Virginia and one of the first in the country. She served as a rural carrier for route one out of Charles Town beginning March 17, 1919. When hired by the post office she did not know how to drive because she did not own a car, but she quickly learned after she purchased a Model T Ford. Ms. Jones was active in the Rural Letter Carrier Association, served as secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia association for six years, and attended 30 national conventions. She retired in 1961 after 41 years of postal service.
(Left to right) John A. Smith, Jr., Melvin T. Strider (one of the first rural carriers in 1896), and Vesta Watters Jones in front of the historic marker at the Charles Town Post Office at the southwest corner of George and Washington Streets in Charles Town, date unknown. (IMG3226)