Where is butterfield stagecoach line

The contract was won by John Butterfield and his associates who proposed a southern route west from St. On September 15, stages departed from St. Louis and San Francisco for the first time. The total amount of miles for the routes was 2, and they were given a schedule to cover the trip in 25 days.

The first stagecoach out of San Francisco, however, covered the distance in 23 days and 4 hours with mail and 6 passengers. The stage line forever changed travel and mail transportation.

More than a thousand miles longer, the Overland Mail Stage cut that time by more than a half. Find out how operating a stage line was a risky business , as well as a moving experience for passengers.

Every station stop was an adventure and there were always stage road hazards to overcome. Read Mark Twain's observations on the stage company hierarchy and revisit some of California's most famous Jehus or stage drivers. These whips drove more than the classic Concord stagecoaches seen in the movies. The first stagecoach started out from San Francisco on September 14, , at ten minutes after midnight.

This was John Butterfield's time schedule that set the goal for the time of arrival at each "timetable" station. The average distance between them was about 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. Butterfield coaches were their connection to the rest of the country. Mail and passengers were transported to remote places in the vast American West. Vice-President William B.

Dinsmore became president and remained in that position until the end of the contract on September 15, Because of the impending Civil War, the line was ordered by Congress on March 2, , to transfer all equipment, livestock, and personnel to the Union-held Central Overland Trail, where the six-year contract was completed September The road provides a unique opportunity to share the experiences of the nineteenth-century travelers who braved the rough roads from Missouri to California.

For additional information: Ahnert, Gerald T. Canastota, NY: Canastota Pub. Conkling, Roscoe P. The Butterfield Overland Mail, — Glendale, CA: A.

Clarke Company, Greene, A. Denton: University of North Texas Press, Ormsby, Waterman L. The Butterfield Overland Mail. Root, Frank A. The Overland Stage to California. Topeka, KS: Rose, F. Nancy Hendricks Arkansas State University. Gerald T. Ahnert Syracuse, New York. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life.