Butterfield Overland Mail Company
Quick Summary
The Butterfield Overland Mail Company was an American company awarded a U.S. government contract in 1857 to deliver mail to the Pacific coast. It operated a 25-day, semiweekly stagecoach service along a southern route from St. Louis, Missouri, through El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, New Mexico Territory, to San Francisco. This route covered approximately 2,700 miles.
With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the southern route was abandoned. The government contract was then awarded to the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express, which utilized a central route through Salt Lake City, Utah. This company was later purchased by Ben Holladay and eventually sold to Wells, Fargo and Company in 1866. Stagecoach operations continued until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.12
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Pony ExpressEarly mail delivery) The Butterfield Overland Mail Company—a consortium of four express companies: Adams, American, National, and Wells, Fargo & Company—signed a six-year contract with the U.S. government on September 15, 1857. The Butterfield (or Oxbow) Route went from St. Louis, Missouri, south to Little Rock, Arkansas, through El…
Read More) The Butterfield Overland Mail Company—a consortium of four express companies: Adams, American, National, and Wells, Fargo & Company—signed a six-year contract with the U.S. government on September 15, 1857. The Butterfield (or Oxbow) Route went from St. Louis, Missouri, south to Little Rock, Arkansas, through El…
Read More- Pony ExpressFinal days
Because the Butterfield Overland Mail Company, whose service to California had been interrupted by Confederate forces, was not doing any better, the government combined the two companies, with Russell, Majors and Waddell running service from St. Joseph to Salt Lake City and Butterfield responsible for Salt Lake…
Read MoreBecause the Butterfield Overland Mail Company, whose service to California had been interrupted by Confederate forces, was not doing any better, the government combined the two companies, with Russell, Majors and Waddell running service from St. Joseph to Salt Lake City and Butterfield responsible for Salt Lake…
Read More