The March 24, 1912, edition of The Baltimore Sun carried the headline “Snowdrifts do not daunt this girl mail carrier” and an article telling the story of Julia Shafer. This native of the Burkittsville area drew quite a bit of attention from the press in the early years of her career as one of the first female mail carriers to serve a rural delivery route in the United States.

Julia May Shafer was born on September 14, 1885, to Thomas Koontz Shafer and his wife, Elizabeth (Karn) Shafer. Her family resided on the farm of Thomas’ father, Hamilton Josephus Shafer, along Catholic Church Road between Burkittsville and Petersville.
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Julia’s family had several connections that led her to a career with the postal service. Her father, Thomas, was one of the first appointed rural delivery carriers in Frederick County, serving the Knoxville route, which was one of the longest in the state. At the age of 14, Julia began working as her father’s substitute. Her uncle, William Z. Main, who was married to Thomas Shafer’s sister Delphina, was the postmaster of Knoxville from 1898 until his death in 1914.