Decorative Mailboxes: Two Tales of Mailbox Theft and Vandalism

Watch out…your mailbox can be stolen or vandalized.

Decorative mailboxes are an absolutely crucial part of any home, business, or organization. Some decorative mailboxes have a strong history with the nearby community. Take the famous Van Dorn mailbox in front of the Yankee Pedlar Inn, for example. 

This Van Dorn mailbox model is one hundred years old. When these mailboxes were first installed in Torrington, Connecticut during 1911, many of the mailboxes were quickly uninstalled because they were considered to be unattractive. However, some of these mailboxes remained. 

At the Yankee Pedlar Inn, the mailbox was removed from the sidewalk. The owner of the inn, named Sanjay Patel, has been doing his best to retrieve the mailbox. He has spoken to people from the historical society for assistance. 

It is believed that this mailbox served as a reminder and characteristic of the downtown area.

Unfortunately, mailboxes can be vandalized. In Manalapan Township, New Jersey, a mailbox which was estimated to be worth two thousand dollars was spray painted with two lime green circles. The vandalism of this expensive mailbox must have occurred sometime on August 24^th or August 27^th, according to the owner. 

If you have noticed a recent outbreak in vandalized mailboxes in your neighborhood, it is important to call the authorities and to receive as much information as you can about the suspects. There are options you can take, such as lining your mailbox with cement so that it is smash-proof. You could use PVC piping as well. If repeated use of vandalism occurs, you can always resort to a video surveillance system which can assist you in tracking down the culprit. 

In both of the above cases, any of these ideas would have been helpful ways to prevent mailbox theft or vandalism from occurring. At the very least, the video surveillance would have helped both cases to discover either who stole the mailbox at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, or who spray-painted the two thousand dollar mailbox in Manalapan, New Jersey.