The Butterfield Overland Mail Company was the longest stagecoach line in the world. The line operated from 1858 to 1861 on the Southern Overland Trail and established an important connection between the new state of California and the government and economy of the contiguous eastern states.
What were the accomplishments of John Butterfield?
Major Achievements
Butterfield was a business man that started his own express line and joined forces with other businessmen to create the American Express Company. In addition, he created the Overland mail company to aid in the communication between the mid-west and California.
What was the name of the Overland Mail route formed with John Butterfield and his business partners Henry Wells and William Fargo?
Known to most as the Butterfield Stage, this precursor to the Information Superhighway initiated communication across 2,000 miles forbidding desert and mountain wilderness, providing isolated Westerners with their first regular news and mail just prior to the Civil War. It was named for its owner, John Butterfield.
Who owned the Overland Mail Company?
Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company, also known as the Overland Stage Company, was the brainchild of John Butterfield.
Who opened the Butterfield Overland Trail?
In 1857 John Butterfield, a Missouri stage line operator, contracted with the U.S. Post Office Department to set up a southern route between St. Louis/Memphis and San Francisco. Specified by contract, the route extended 2,795 miles. Butterfield inaugurated the mail service in mid-September 1858.
What happened to the Overland Stage Company?
After John Butterfield stepped down as president of the Overland Stage Company in 1860, the morale and discipline of the employees declined. On March 12, 1861, Congress ordered the route permanently discontinued and the service transferred to the central section of the country via South Pass and Salt Lake City.
Who owned Overland Stage Company?
The Overland Trail was famously used by the Overland Stage Company owned by Ben Holladay to run mail and passengers to Salt Lake City, Utah, via stagecoaches in the early 1860s.
What was the Butterfield Express?
Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company) was a stagecoach service in the United States operating from 1858 to 1861. It carried passengers and U.S. Mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee, and St. … Brown, to contract for delivery of the U.S. mail from St. Louis to San Francisco.
What route through New Mexico did the Butterfield Overland mail Company follow?
John Butterfield’s line followed the so-called “oxbow route,” skirting the Rocky Mountains and heavy winter snows by traveling south through Texas, the New Mexico Territory, Fort Yuma, near present-day Yuma, Arizona, and Southern California, before rolling on to San Francisco. It bypassed San Diego.
When was the last stagecoach run?
The last American chapter in the use of the stage coaches took place between 1890 and about 1915. In the end, it was the motor bus, not the train, that caused the final disuse of these horse-drawn vehicles.
How did stagecoaches travel overnight?
On a starry night, a stagecoach pulled by six horses travels on a moonlit path through a mountainous range when the horses get spooked. … Before cars and planes were part of our everyday life, a trip on a stagecoach was an adventurous and challenging way to travel – at an average rate of only 5 miles per hour.
What is a celerity wagon?
The State “Celerity” Wagons were lightweight and less expensive. This was an extremely lightly-built stage with canvas sides & roof. Mud wagons, as they were called after the Civil War, had extremely wide wheels & iron tires & were used primarily in very bad weather, when the mail absolutely had to go thru.
How long was the Butterfield Overland Trail?
The routes from the two eastern termini united at Fort Smith, Arkansas. From St. Louis to San Francisco the distance was 2,795 miles, probably the longest route of any system using horse-drawn conveyances in the history of the United States.
What do you think the overland mail was?
noun U.S. History. a government mail service, started in 1848, for sending mail from the Mississippi to the Far West. (initial capital letters) a stagecoach line, established in 1858, linking Memphis, St.
Is the Oregon Trail the same as the Overland Trail?
The Overland Trail and Stagecoach Line was an alternate wagon route off the famous Oregon Trail. Pioneers crossed this area as they headed westward in the late 1800’s. The Overland Trail (also known as the Overland Stage Line) was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century.
What marked the end of the first leg of the Overland Trail?
The overland mail continued on for another 2 1/2 years along the Overland Trail, until the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads met at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869. The meeting of the rails marked the end of an era, and the Overland Stage Line came to an abrupt end.
Where does the Overland Trail start and end?
Where Was the Overland Trail? The Overland Trail went from Nebraska, as part of the Oregon Trail, and followed the south bank of the South Platte River past Julesburg, Colorado, and past Cache la Poudre river, and into Wyoming. The trail then went back to the Oregon Trail at Fort Bridger.
How many miles would a stagecoach travel in a day?
Up until the late 18th century, a stagecoach traveled at an average speed of about 5 miles per hour (8 km/h), with the average daily mileage covered being around 60 to 70 miles (97 to 113 km), but with improvements to the roads and the development of steel springs, the speed increased, so that by 1836 the scheduled …
How far can a team of horses run pulling a stagecoach?
The Horses Pulling a Stage. Horses were changed out at each Stagecoach Stop, which were a minimum of 10 miles apart. But normally not more than 15 miles from the last stop. That meant a horse would pull the stagecoach for about a two or three hour shift.
How much did a stagecoach driver get paid?
Job Title | Salary |
---|---|
Truck Driver salaries – 2 salaries reported | $30/hr |
Intern salaries – 1 salaries reported | $15/hr |
Material Handler salaries – 1 salaries reported | $16/hr |
Sales Merchandiser salaries – 1 salaries reported | $17/hr |
What company started the stagecoach from St Louis to San Francisco?
Stagecoach Service from St. Louis to San Francisco
The Butterfield Overland Mail Co. operated from 1858 to 1861 under contract with the U.S. Postal Department, providing transportation of U.S. mail between St. Louis, Mo., and San Francisco, Calif. The route proposed by the Butterfield Mail Co.
What was the Pony Express route?
Pony Express route
Beginning at St. Joseph, Missouri, the approximately 1,900-mile-long (3,100 km) route roughly followed the Oregon and California Trails to Fort Bridger in Wyoming, and then the Mormon Trail (known as the Hastings Cutoff) to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Where was the Butterfield Stage route?
The Butterfield stages followed the old Southern Emigrant Trail with stops at Carrizo, Vallecito, San Felipe, Warner Springs, Oak Grove, Aguanga, Temecula and Lake Elsinore. The Butterfield stages lasted for less than three years.
Why was the Butterfield Overland Trail so significant in New Mexico territory?
Between 1857 and 1861, the Butterfield Overland Trail ran from St. Louis to San Francisco. It was an important transportation corridor for the western migration and settlement of our country, and the beginning of an overland mail delivery system.
Where did the Overland Stage Route start?
Starting from Atchison, Kansas, the trail descended into Colorado before looping back up to southern Wyoming and rejoining the Oregon Trail at Fort Bridger. The stage line operated until 1869 when the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad eliminated the need for mail service via the stagecoach.
How much was a stagecoach ride?
All stagecoach riders paid a price in physical discomfort, lack of sleep, bad food and unfriendly elements. As far as fare went, short trips charged 10 to 15 cents per mile. The cost for the 2,812-mile journey from Tipton, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, was $200, and that didn’t cover the $1 meals.
How far apart were the stagecoach stations?
The average distance between them was about 160 miles. The driver on the eastbound stage would meet the driver of the westbound stage at a timetable station and they would exchange mail and passengers and turn back. This way each driver and conductor became intimately familiar with his section of trail.
What kind of horses pulled stagecoaches?
Draft horses weigh between 1,600 and 2,400 pounds, depending on the breed. Some of the common draft breeds used for carriage driving include the Percheron, Belgian, Clydesdale and Shire. Known as gentle giants, these huge horses also are bred for their good temperaments.
How did people stay warm in stagecoaches?
Sitting in open sleighs, carts, and carriages, people would tuck comforters, quilts, or blankets around them, and bring umbrellas to protect them from freezing rain.
Where was stagecoach filmed?
Stagecoach was shot in Utah and Arizona’s Monument Valley, which served as a frequent backdrop for Ford’s subsequent films.
How often did stagecoaches get robbed?
John Boessenecker’s latest book Shotguns and Stagecoaches, out this fall, focuses on the heroes who guarded Wells Fargo’s stagecoaches and trains. He says Wells Fargo stages were robbed nearly 350 times between 1870 and 1884.
What is the difference between a coach and a stagecoach?
As nouns the difference between stagecoach and coach
is that stagecoach is (stage-coach) while coach is a wheeled vehicle, generally drawn by horse power.
What is Wells Fargo stagecoach?
Wells Fargo’s stagecoach legend traces its roots to 1858, when Wells Fargo founders including William Fargo were board members for The Overland Mail Co., the nation’s first transcontinental stagecoach line. … stagecoaches twice a week on their routes between Tipton, Missouri, and San Francisco.
What is a mud wagon?
Definition of mud wagon
: a stagecoach lighter and smaller than the Concord coach with flat sides and simpler joinery.
How did John Butterfield and Overland company impact the stagecoach?
The Butterfield Overland Mail Company was the longest stagecoach line in the world. The line operated from 1858 to 1861 on the Southern Overland Trail and established an important connection between the new state of California and the government and economy of the contiguous eastern states.
What was a stagecoach stop?
Stagecoach stops, needed every 12 to 20 miles or so, were essential, especially in the early days of the stagecoach era. These inns provided income to their owners, and many others: drivers, ticket agents, coach makers, blacksmiths, stable hands and farmers.