Stage Coach Saga : The Butterfield Overland Trail
by Robin Shepherd
It took an act of Congress to inspire the first overland mail delivery to California in 1857 . The goal was to transport mail faster than was possible via steamships sailing around Cape Horn or through the Isthmus of Panama . Such voyages were often fraught with delays and danger . The federal government offered a $ 600,000 contract for mail service from St . Louis to San Francisco with the stipulation that it had to be operated year ‘ round with bi-weekly service and a 25-day delivery guarantee . It was the largest contract of its kind for what would be the longest overland route in America .
The contract was awarded to New York businessman John Butterfield . Thanks to his leadership , the first stagecoach delivery was completed a year later , in 23 days , 23.5 hours .
At 56 years of age , Butterfield was already wealthy and admired for his business accomplishments . Why not follow other prominent businessmen of his day into early retirement ? Perhaps Butterfield saw this venture as the ultimate finale to a career that began with his first job as a stagecoach driver at age 19 . Even as a young man , he recognized America ’ s growing demand for faster , more convenient ways to transport people , goods , and the mail , and seized the challenge .
Butterfield had worked hard , saved his money , and built a profitable livery business by age 27 . He went on to create a regional system of stagecoach lines , and established the Butterfield Express Company . This brought him into direct competition with Wells & Company , and Livingston Fargo & Company . In 1850 , he convinced Henry Wells and William Fargo to consolidate their companies with his to form the American Express Company , which evolved to become one of the largest banks in the U . S . today .
Building an overland route across more than 2,700 miles of plains , desert and mountain terrain was an enormous endeavor . A consummate planner and organizer , Butterfield hired 800 employees to construct roads and bridges , dig wells and erect water storage tanks . Nearly 150 waystations were built — spaced ten to forty miles apart based on groundwater supply — to support the needs of stagecoach drivers , animals and passengers . More than 200 stagecoaches were ordered , constructed and shipped from the East coast , along with 1,200 horses and mules .
It must be noted here that the development of the overland route through historic indigenous lands had a devastating and irreversible impact on many tribes . While American settlers saw the overland route as an incredible achievement , it represented an unwelcome intrusion that disrupted life forever for the indigenous peoples , leading to conflict , forced displacement , violence , bloodshed and tragic loss of life . continued ...
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