After the Civil War, the cadets attending the university were fairly isolated. Under strict military discipline, their contacts—even with their friends in the city—were seriously restricted. In 1875–76 one of the cadets, Sgt. A. N. Jackson, turned the situation into a profitable business for himself. He established a private mail service between the university and the city, charging ten cents for each note or letter carried, and had stamps printed
(E.T.U. / Postage / ’76 / Yeare / Ten 10 Cts.).
The university soon made arrangements for students’ mail to be delivered to the campus and distributed by the university to the dormitories and rooming houses. The university successfully fought an attempt to establish a branch post office on campus in 1879, and one was not created on campus until 1902 when the University Branch Station was established for the Summer School of the South and continued in operation thereafter.
In 1929 an official branch post office was established on the Hill to replace the University Branch Station. The post office moved to the university center upon its completion.