Traumatic Events: 9/11 and the Anthrax Attacks

Topical Reference Page
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Return delivery stamp displaying the World Trade Center ZIP code, 10048.

Find resources about September 11 and the anthrax attacks of 2001 on the National Postal Museum's website.

Threatening letter sent to Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Behind the Badge - Anthrax
Exhibition
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Postal Inspectors retrieve mail from the U.S. Post Office Church Street Station after the nearby 9/11 World Trade Center attack
Behind the Badge - Disaster Response
Exhibition
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September 11, 2001: Collecting and Exhibiting a National Tragedy
Examination of the decisions made, and work done, to bring items from New York City's Church Street Post Office into the National Collection.
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34-cent+11-cent Firemen Atop World Trade Center Rubble stamp
Long May It Wave - September 11th, 2001
Exhibition
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Sign prepared by a child that reads, Thank You Postal Worker for being so Brave!
In the Line of Duty - Terror in the Mail
Exhibition
The tragic events of September 11, 2001 caused America to reel in grief and disbelief. Then, just one month later, another form of terrorism—bioterror— threatened the integrity of the United States Postal Service and the lives of its workers.
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Church Street Station adjacent to Ground Zero.
In the Line of Duty - Tragedy in September
Exhibition
On September 11, 2001, America experienced the worst terrorist attack ever. Thousands of lives were lost and others were injured as the World Trade Center vanished from the New York skyline.
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Firemen Atop World Trade Center Rubble stamp
Memory Book - Traumatic Events
Exhibition
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Cardboard box used to ship the mailbags.
Treating Objects Impacted by Disaster: The 9/11 Mailbags
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In October 2001, the National Postal Museum began collecting objects from the Church Street Post Office in New York City, which serviced The World Trade Center.

Learn more About Treating Objects Impacted by Disaster: The 9/11 Mailbags

A worker wearing a mask and gloves while handling mail.
The Anthrax Mail Attack: Postal Workers on the Front Line
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This is the second in a series of three posts addressing the anthrax bioterrorism attacks that took place in October 2001. Click for parts one and three.

On October 15, 2001, an aide to then-Majority Leader Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota opened an envelope containing a threatening message and powdery substance that was later determined to be anthrax.

Learn more About The Anthrax Mail Attack: Postal Workers on the Front Line

Reward poster
The Anthrax Mail Attack
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This is the first in a series of three posts addressing the anthrax bioterrorism attacks that took place in October 2001. Click for parts two and three.

On October 2, 2001, with the nation still recovering from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a Florida newspaper employee, Robert Stevens, was hospitalized and died three days later from inhalation anthrax. On November 21, 2001 New England native Ottilie Lundgren died from inhalation anthrax. The weeks between these deaths brought the nation face to face with a new fear that a common part of their daily routine – the mail – had turned deadly.

Learn more About The Anthrax Mail Attack

Remnant of a U.S. Postal Service mail carton.
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This post is part four in a series on September 11th and the postal service. Click for parts one, two, and three.

In the weeks after the September 11th attacks, curators in a number of museums began asking themselves the same question: “Should my organization attempt to collect anything related to this tragedy – and if so, what?”

Learn more About Collecting Tragedy

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