John Butterfield & the Overland Mail Company

"Had I not just come out over the route, I would be perfectly willing to go back, but I now know what Hell is like. I’ve just had 24 days of it."
— Waterman Ormsby, special correspondent for the New York Herald, after having made the first westbound trip on the Butterfield Stage.

The American West, in the mid-19th century, was a land of vast distances and formidable challenges. The need for reliable and rapid communication between the burgeoning settlements of the Pacific Coast and the established cities of the East was a pressing issue. While various private companies attempted to bridge this gap using ocean steamers and overland routes, a more efficient and dependable solution was desperately sought. This need spurred the creation of one of the most ambitious and legendary enterprises in American transportation history: John Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company.

The establishment of the Overland Mail Company, also known as the Overland Stage Company, was largely due to the vision and determination of John Butterfield. Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, the transportation of mail between the East and West Coasts was handled by a collection of private entities. These companies, some operating under federal contracts, employed a variety of routes, including sea voyages around South America and overland crossings of the Isthmus of Panama. While these methods served a purpose, they were often slow, unreliable, and inadequate for the growing demands of a rapidly expanding nation. The United States government recognized the necessity for improved communication and, on April 20, 1857, issued a bid solicitation for a contract to establish an "Overland Mail Service to California."

Gerald T. Ahnert, a historian renowned for his expertise on the Overland Mail Company, aptly observed that "What was needed was someone with some of the most extensive experience in the United States."

The man who would ultimately answer that call was John Butterfield Sr., a seasoned veteran of the transportation industry. Born in Berne, New York, John Butterfield began his career in the burgeoning stagecoach business at a young age. At 19, he moved to Utica, New York, and entered the world of stage companies, eventually amassing a wealth of knowledge and expertise. In 1850, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to become a founding member of the American Express Company, a testament to his business acumen and foresight. By 1857, John Butterfield owned and operated 40 stage lines throughout New York State, solidifying his reputation as a leading figure in the transportation sector.

When the opportunity to bid on the Overland Mail Company contract arose, John Butterfield was well-positioned to seize it. Nine bids were submitted, but Contract No. 12578 was awarded to John Butterfield Sr. of Utica, New York, on September 16, 1857. Postmaster General Aaron Brown explained the selection, noting that John Butterfield & Co. had "greater ability, qualification, and experience than anybody else to carry out a mail service."

Ahnert further elaborated on John Butterfield’s role, stating, "John Butterfield Sr. was the mastermind for the choice of employees to build and manage the Overland Mail Company’s infrastructure from September 16, 1857, to March 20, 1860. Most were from Upstate New York. During these 2 1/2 years, building the longest stage line in the world and meeting the requirements of the government contract proved his staging genius."

In assembling his team, John Butterfield struck a careful balance. He enlisted associates from upstate New York, many of whom were experienced stage line owners, leveraging their expertise to construct the company’s infrastructure. Recognizing the significant financial investment required, he also brought in directors from prominent express companies like Adams Express, National Express, Wells, Fargo & Co. Express, and American Express, securing crucial banking partnerships and loans.

Notably, no express companies submitted bids for the contract themselves, as they lacked the experience to build and manage a 2,700-mile stage line across the largely unsettled southwestern frontier. This underscored John Butterfield‘s unique qualifications and the confidence the government placed in his abilities.

John Butterfield served as president of the company from its inception until March 20, 1860. His tenure ended when he failed to repay a $162,000 loan to Wells Fargo & Co. The U.S. government failed to acquire the needed funds in the latest appropriations bill to fulfill the quarterly payment. At the March 17 meeting, a resolution was proposed that all assets of the Overland Mail Company be turned over to them due to the unpaid debt. John stormed out in protest, and the meeting was postponed. At the March 20 meeting, a compromise was made for the March 17th resolution to be withdrawn. The Overland Mail Company was allowed to retain its structure and name, but John was voted out as president. William B. Dinsmore, also a director of Adams Express Company, was elected president. The directors, including John Butterfield, would still make operating and financial policymaking decisions for the company. However, those who were also directors of the express companies led by Wells Fargo & Co. Express would have a more significant voice.

The company’s service and morale declined under the stockholders’ influence in financial matters. Overland Mail Company assistant treasurer Hiram S. Rumfield’s letter dated September 25, 1860, pointed out the employees’ displeasure.

With the contract secured, John Butterfield had one year to select the route, establish station sites, and stock the trail before the six-year contract commenced on September 16, 1858. He entrusted this critical task to his son, John Jr., and Marquis L. Kenyon, a company director from Rome, New York.

The company invested approximately $1 million in establishing the route. By September 1858, 139 stations had been established, some newly constructed and others utilizing existing facilities. When the Overland Mail Company was transferred to the Central Trail on March 2, 1861, there were 175 Butterfield stations along the Southern Overland Trail. Approximately 1,500 employees were needed. The company furnished the trail with 34 Concord stagecoaches and 66 lighter, less expensive celerity stage wagons that John Butterfield designed. The stages were distributed to stations about every thirty miles along the trail. The Concords would be used on the trail through the semi-settled areas from Tipton, Missouri, to Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Los Angeles to San Francisco, California. The stage wagons would be used on the 1,920 miles of trail through the wild frontier. Butterfield never used his name on any stages, only "Overland Mail Company." None of his stages exist today. Thousands of mules and horses were needed, and many used to pull the stage wagons were local wild mules and Mustang horses.

The route was divided into Eastern and Western divisions, each further subdivided into nine divisions, each assigned a Superintendent. This structure was outlined in Postal Inspector Goddard Bailey’s memo to Postmaster General Aaron Brown in 1858. Bailey was on the first Butterfield stage that left San Francisco ten minutes after midnight on September 14, 1858. The mail started from St. Louis, Missouri, on September 16, 1858.

As scheduled, mail service commenced from both ends of the 2,800-mile route on September 16, 1858. The passenger fare was $200. The first westbound trip took approximately 24 days. Among the passengers on the maiden westbound journey was Waterman Ormsby, a special correspondent for the New York Herald, who documented his experiences in a series of articles. In Springfield, Missouri, Ormsby noted the transition from a Concord stagecoach to a sturdier, canvas-topped wagon. Travelers journeyed day and night, stopping only for meals and to exchange stock or equipment at stations spaced 9 to 60 miles apart. Approaching a station, the conductor would sound a horn to alert the station attendants, ensuring fresh mules or horses were ready. Early in the trip, Ormsby optimistically remarked, "We had now gone two hundred and forty-three miles, through, I think, some of the roughest part of the country on the route… I find roughing it on the Plains agrees with me."

However, his initial enthusiasm soon waned. Two days later, he wrote, "I had thought before we reached this point that the rough roads of Missouri and Arkansas could not be equaled, but, here, Arkansas fairly beats itself. I might say our road was steep, rugged, jagged, rough, and mountainous – and then wish for some more expressive words… Our heavy wagon bounded along the crags as if it would be shaken in pieces every minute and ourselves disemboweled on the spot."

Ormsby also recounted numerous mule-related incidents, stating, "The mules reared, pitched, twisted, whirled, wheeled, ran, stood still, and cut up all sorts of capers." At times, fearing for his safety, he would dismount and walk. On one occasion, his decision proved wise, as the harness became tangled, the wagon wrecked, and the two lead mules escaped. The wagon driver untangled the harness and continued with only two mules. Despite his reservations, Ormsby reboarded the wagon, confessing, "If I had any property, I certainly should have made a hasty will."

Stages departed from the east and west termini every Monday and Thursday at 8:00 a.m. Conductors accompanied the drivers, responsible for the mail and passengers. Stagecoaches accommodated six passengers inside, while the celerity wagons often carried nine. Each stage transported up to 12,000 letters. By 1859, the average trip duration had been reduced to approximately 21.5 days.

During this period, the Overland Mail Company Route was essential for settlers, miners, and businessmen traveling west. The government assigned a detachment from the 9th Kansas Cavalry to guard the route between Independence, Missouri, and California. Gerald T. Ahnert noted, "No Butterfield stage was ever held up by outlaws, and no one on his stages was ever killed during the company’s service on the Southern Overland Trail. Only once was a stage attacked by Indians, and that was in Apache Pass on February 4, 1861. The conductor suffered a bullet wound to his leg."

An Act of Congress discontinued this southern route on March 2, 1861, before the Civil War began. A new central route from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Placerville, California, known as the Central Overland California Route, went into effect. The last Oxbow Route run was made on March 21, 1861.

Subsequently, portions of what became known as the Butterfield Trail were utilized by the Confederate and Union armies, isolating some western regions from external communication. The Confederate States of America continued to operate segments of the Overland Mail route with limited success from 1861 until early 1862. However, the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 ultimately eclipsed this success.

Today, remnants of the country’s largest overland stage company remain. In Arkansas, the reconstructed Elkhorn Tavern, destroyed during the Civil War, stands in the Pea Ridge National Military Park. Pott’s Inn in Pottsville, Arkansas, completed in 1859 as a popular stop along the Butterfield Stage Route, still stands today as a museum.

In Texas, the Hueco Tanks State Historic Site in El Paso preserves the remains of a stagecoach stop, while ruins of an old stage station can be found in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The Oak Grove Stage Station in Warner Springs is the only surviving station on the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line in California. Nearby, two original adobe buildings also stand at the Warner Springs Ranch. The Vallecito Stage Station also survives, rebuilt using original materials in the 1920s and early 1930s. These remnants and numerous historical markers serve as lasting reminders of this historic trail.

Numerous government records from 1858 to 1861, published in Senate documents by the Postmaster General, and reports from newspaper correspondents who traveled on Butterfield stages provide detailed accounts of the route and stations. Gerald Ahnert, a Butterfield Trail historian, recommends Waterman L. Ormsby’s The Butterfield Overland Mail, Only Through Passenger on the First Westbound Stage as one of the best sources.

The legacy of John Butterfield and the Overland Mail Company endures as a testament to the ingenuity, perseverance, and ambition that characterized the American West.

Division-Route Information:

Division	Route	Approximate Miles	Approximate Hours
Division 1	San Francisco to Los Angeles, California	462	80
Division 2	Los Angeles to Fort Yuma, California	282	72.20
Division 3	Fort Yuma, California to Tucson, Arizona	280	71.45
Division 4	Tucson, Arizona to Franklin (El Paso), Texas	360	82
Division 5	Franklin (El Paso) to Fort Chadbourne, Texas	458	126.30
Division 6	Fort Chadbourne, Texas, to Colbert’s Ferry, Oklahoma	282.5	65.25
Division 7	Colbert’s Ferry, Oklahoma, to Fort Smith, Arkansas	192	38
Division 8	Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Tipton, Missouri	318.5	48.55
Division 9	Tipton to St. Louis, Missouri	160	11.40
Totals		2,795	596.35