US Post Office - Sabetha, Kansas

Built amidst the Great Depression, Sabetha's historic post office features a mural that tells the story of the Pony Express, one of twenty-six murals throughout the state that were funded as part of a New Deal initiative that provided vital employment for artists while supporting both the economy and civic spirit of towns and cities. Roosevelt's Section of Fine Arts ordered the completion of 26 murals across the state of Kansas, each depicting scenes from the state's past. The one found here above the door to the Postmaster's office is the work of Albert T. Reid, titled "The Hare and the Tortoise," and it depicts Sabetha's past life as home to a stop along the Pony Express where riders would resupply and switch their tired horses for rested ones.

The Sabetha Post Office, built around 1936-1937, is notable for the large oil-on-canvas mural displayed on the inside of the building. The painting is the work of Albert T. Reid, a Concordia, Kansas-born painter who had moved to Long Beach, New York. Reid completed this work in 1937 and dubbed it "The Hare and the Tortoise." It commemorates the history of the Pony Express; the focus is on an Express rider passing an Overland Stagecoach on the piece of the route that passed near here through northeastern Kansas between 1860 and 1861. In this state, the Express followed a path similar to the area's Overland Stage route, passing through Doniphan, Brown, Nemaha, and Marshall counties. It merged with the Oregon and California Trails in Marshall and headed northwest into Nebraska. Here in Nemaha County, there were three Express stations where riders resupplied and mounted new horses every ten to fifteen miles. The environment is true to what the historic Express riders would have passed through, with the surroundings marked by a few trees, low shrubs, and bluish hills in the background.

The post office was nominated for the National Historic Register in 1989 as part of the Kansas Post Office Artwork Thematic Resources nomination, which includes 25 other murals, primarily found in small towns, that were painted between 1936 and 1942, all as part of the New Deal. While the main focus of President Roosevelt's plan was revitalizing the economy in the wake of the Great Depression, a secondary goal was bringing morale to disenfranchised, struggling Americans. In the case of the Sabetha mural and others like it, the focus was on Kansas history, and murals found elsewhere often incorporated the stories of women and Native Americans. Other murals featured scenes of thriving agriculture, reminding the people of Kansas of the prosperity they could enjoy when the drought that caused the Dust Bowl ended. In addition to boosting morale, this initiative also gave work to artists from around the country who struggled to make a living.

Hagedorn-Krass, Martha. Sabetha United States Post Office - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, National Parks Gallery. March 8th, 1989. Accessed September 16th, 2023. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/b5d9d20d-c99e-4a98-a8a9-6a26a79000bd/.

Koester, Rylie. How Murals In 26 Kansas Post Offices Tried To Cheer People Up During The Great Depression, KCUR. August 18th, 2019. Accessed September 16th, 2023. https://www.kcur.org/talk-show/2019-08-18/how-murals-in-26-kansas-post-offices-tried-to-cheer-people-up-during-the-great-depression.

Raynor, Patricia. Off the Wall: New Deal Post Office Murals. National Postal Museum, vol. 6, no. 4. Published December 1st, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/20120111074649/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/resources/6a2q_postalmurals.html.