The history of the Butterfield Trail and the Emigrant Trail are intertwined. It was the purpose of awarding the contract to the Overland Mail Company, on September 16, 1857, not only for a land route to deliver mail from the East to the West coast, but to aid emigrant travel to settle the West.
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.
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.
Where is the Butterfield Overland Mail Trail?
The Butterfield (or Southern) Overland Mail, which operated from September 15, 1858, until March 1, 1861, was a semiweekly mail and passenger stage service from St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, across northern Texas to San Francisco, California.
What does the overland mail mean?
Definition of ‘overland mail’
1. a government mail service, started in 1848, for sending mail from the Mississippi to the Far West. 2. ( caps) a stagecoach line, established in 1858, linking Memphis, St.
Who started 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What was the Overland Mail Act?
Finally, in March 1857, the U.S. Congress passed an act authorizing an overland mail delivery service and a $600,000 yearly subsidy for whatever company could succeed in reliably transporting the mail twice a week from St. Louis to San Francisco in less than 25 days.
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 …
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.
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 is a stagecoach driver?
Stagecoach drivers were among the most celebrated figures of the Old West. They commanded their horse-drawn wooden coaches, packed with passengers and freight, for dozens of miles a day along rough, rugged roads up and down the California coast.
What is the difference between a stagecoach and a carriage?
Whilst both are 4-wheeled horse-drawn passenger vehicles, a carriage is defined as being for the private use of carrying passengers or certain types of goods, whereas a stagecoach is for public usage – specifically for long-distance, timetabled conveyance of passengers & mail on a specific route where the horses had to …
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 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 could a stagecoach go before changing horses?
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.
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.
What was the distance between stagecoach stops?
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 is a trace on a stagecoach?
Traces – The side straps by which a horse pulls the stagecoach.
How long did the stagecoach run?
STAGE TRAVEL IN AMERICA. The first stagecoach in the American colonies was owned by Jonathan Wardwell of Boston. His coach first made the trip from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island, on May 13, 1718, and in doing so began a system of travel which would endure for nearly 200 years.
How long did the overland route take?
This route was 2,759 miles long, going by the way of El Paso, Texas to Yuma, Arizona, and then to California, making the journey, under favorable conditions, in 23-25 days.
Is the Overland Trail the same as the Oregon 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.
How long did Wells Fargo Stage Line run?
Wells Fargo got the route surveyed and shared in the financing. Nicknamed the “Butterfield Line” after its president, John Butterfield, it ran 2,757 miles through the Southwest via El Paso and Los Angeles and then up through California’s Central Valley to San Francisco.