By 1874, the Kenyon quadrangle was much more populated with Norwegian and Swedish immigrants. Roads had been established as well as stagecoach lines, whose original purpose was to deliver mail from large cities like Red Wing to smaller towns like Kenyon, the post office of which was established in 1856. Mail was integral to the settlers of Goodhue County, many of whom were immigrants from Sweden and Norway. Sending letters back and forth to their families in Scandinavia was essential to maintaining their heritage as well as supporting a steady stream of immigration; many of the letters sent by settlers encouraged their families to join them on the frontier. The increasing rural population and their dependence on the mail service led to the establishment of rural post offices dotted around the densely-settled countryside. These popped up at locations convenient for the farming settlers, and each serviced a radius of properties around it.

Settlers in the Kenyon quadrangle no longer needed to make dangerous, long-distance journeys to Red Wing to send and receive mail. Their world at large had become much more easily connected, and therefore grew bigger. Their need for reliable mail service motivated the appropriation of elements of the of the distant world into the immediate world. This expansion of the immediate world meant that long journeys could be reserved for more important but less frequent matters. These included the purchase of supplies or sale of crops. This was usually done in the cities of Red Wing or Cannon Falls, according to the diary of John Malberg, who farmed in the Vasa area in mid- to late-19th century.

The circles in this map surrounding each settlement represent the areas from which rural residents would travel to the central location every day for the mail and other necessities. These are not exact, as some people within the catchment of certain post offices could also travel to a different post office. However, the full coverage of each area signifies the density of properties and the numerous ways of travel through the area that did not follow the main roads. In an interview conducted by Lilly Setterdahl with Helen Frederickson, who grew up in rural Goodhue County, she recounts that her grandfather woke up “very early in the morning and walk to church. He could walk kind of cross country. It wasn’t as far…”