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.
What was the Butterfield Overland Mail Company?
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. Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California.
What is a stagecoach line?
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses . It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses.
How long was the Butterfield Trail?
Louis, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee to San Francisco, California, traveling through northern Texas on its routine, two thousand seven hundred ninety-five mile journey. The route was in use for only four years, from 1858 until 1861 before it was moved farther north and beyond the Texas border.
How far did a stagecoach go between 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.
Who started the Overland Mail Company?
Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company, also known as the Overland Stage Company, was the brainchild of John Butterfield .
Did stagecoaches run at night?
They travelled relentlessly, day and night , with no more than brief moments at way stations for often poor food and no rest.
How much did a stagecoach ride cost?
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 many Wells Fargo stagecoaches were robbed?
In 1885, Hume and Thacker published a comprehensive report called the “Robbers Record.” In it, they recorded details of 347 robberies and attempted robberies on Wells Fargo treasure shipments transported by stagecoach and train between 1870 and 1884.
Why is it called a stagecoach?
A stagecoach is so called because it travels in segments or “stages” of 10 to 15 miles . At a stage stop, usually a coaching inn, horses would be changed and travellers would have a meal or a drink, or stay overnight. ... Coaching inns sprang up along these routes to service the coaches and their passengers.
How many years did stagecoaches 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 many miles a day could a stagecoach travel?
To give you an estimate: For the 2,812 miles from Tipton, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, that took 25 days, the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach traveled about 110 miles a day , averaging roughly four and a half miles per hour.
What year did the last stage coach 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 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 .
Did stagecoaches have glass windows?
First-class stagecoach travelers experienced more comfort beginning in 1680 when glass windows were installed , replacing blinds. Those who could afford it enjoyed protection from the weather and choking dust. The stagecoach went through improvements and advancements during its evolution.
What were stagecoach stops called?
Station – The place at which a stagecoach stopped.
