The Warren family were civil servants, activists, and trailblazers. They were involved with their community in nearly every way possible, which included helping that community stay in touch.

The Warren House served as a post office for the town of Clay Banks. Before the widespread adoption of Rural Free Delivery (RFD) towards the end of the 1800s, rural residents had to travel to the post office to collect their mail, often located within a general store, inn, or other existing business. In this case it was the Warren’s home. A postmasters duties included receiving, sorting, and distributing mail, as well as handling financial transactions related to postage. But beyond these obvious roles, the postmaster also served as a glue keeping the community together, much like a shopkeeper. Holding the title of postmaster often elevated their status, if not their bank account. They were known to make small wages in the period between 1880 and 1910, and often had to supplement this income in another way.

The introduction of Rural Free Delivery in the late 1890s drastically changed the lives of rural Americans. It provided regular mail delivery to their homes, which greatly improved access to information, facilitated mail-order commerce, and helped alleviate isolation.
The Rural Free Delivery program made its way to Door County in the early 1900s, closing all but 13 of the county’s nearly 50 post offices by 1910.