WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has launched “Bringing the World Home,” another featured collection on its award-winning Web site Arago. It is the story of the development, implementation and growth of the Rural Free Delivery service and its impact on rural America; the collection is at http://www.arago.si.edu/flash/?eid=342|s1=6|. The Post Office Department established the nation’s first free mail delivery service in 1863. It began in 44 northern cities and spread across the country following the Civil War. Even as the new service grew, it remained available only to urban dwellers. Providing this service to rural areas became a congressional and national debate. In 1896, funds were allocated for a limited test in West Virginia. The service caught on and petitions of encouragement and support flooded Congress. Arago is dedicated to the online presentation of th