First attempt at airmail delivery in the U. S., Lafayette, Indiana, 1859

Description: A large crowd of people on the ground and rooftops view a hot air balloon at the south side of the square on Columbia Street. Signs for a hardware store, a drugstore, a shoe store, a photographic and fine art studio, and a store selling stoves can be seen.In 2018, Benjamin L. Ross contacted the Indiana Album to say, The hot air balloon photo on the public square in Lafayette is the ascension of the balloon Jupiter in 1859, the first official air mail in U.S. history. The photo was taken from Columbia Street looking NE toward Fourth and Main Streets, with Reynolds Marble Bank Block and Spencer Hall at right.
Origin: 1859
Source: http://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/847022AC-CBC8-4BA3-872C-519305209920
Collection: Indiana Album
Rights: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/
Geography: Columbia Street, Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States
Subjects: Balloons (Aircraft)
Crowds
Drugstores
Shoe stores
Photographic studios
Lafayette (Ind.)
Tippecanoe County (Ind.)

Further information on this record can be found at its source.