Southern Overland Mail, 1858-1861 TX4983

Passed near this site, providing for the first time combined passenger and mail service between Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Operating west from St. Louis and Memphis, John Butterfield's company used 1,350 horses and mules and 90 Concord coaches and wagons.

Stage traveled at a run, despite lack of good roads. A signal given approaching a station would have fresh horses ready and food on the table for crew and passengers. Route had stations 12 to 113 miles apart, and was sometimes changed to get water. Crew and passengers wore guns; to reduce danger of Indian attacks, mules (less coveted than horses) were used west of Ft. Belknap. The trip one way took 25 days -- seven spent crossing Texas, from Preston (now under Lake Texoma) to Jacksboro, Ft. Belknap, Ft. Chadbourne and El Paso. One way fare for the 2,700 miles was $200. Passengers rarely stopped off, because they might not find seats on a later stage. Merchants in Jacksboro and other towns used Butterfield's light freight service to make mail-order sales.

Greatest contribution of the overland stage was its carrying news; coaches also brought mail from the west one to 10 days faster than it came by ship.

Service was ended in 1861 by the Civil War.

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The Butterfield Trail TX5296

Eastward U.S. Highway 62-180 in places parallels the famous Butterfield Overland Mail Route, which ran from Tipton, Mo. to San Francisco. Traveling 1200 miles in 14 days, the first stage arrived in El Paso September 30, 1858. Out some 25 miles on this same route is Hueco Tanks, an early day Indian rendezvous and watering stop, while 154 miles from El Paso is the world renowned Carlsbad Caverns National Park, discovered in 1901.

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Toll Bridge & Old Bridgeport TX5499

When Butterfield Overland Mail traversed this area (1858-61) on St. Louis to San Francisco route, a crossing over West Fork of the Trinity was a necessity. Colonel W.H. Hunt on February 11, 1860, obtained a charter and built a toll bridge here (50 yards west). The Overland Mail ceased operating as Civil War began. The bridge soon collapsed. However, a settlement had begun here, and in 1873 Charles Cates, a Decatur merchant, spanned the river with an iron bridge. When the Rock Island Railroad built to this point in 1893, town moved but retained historic name.

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Upland First Upton County Seat TX5611

Now abandoned, the town of Upland (10 miles N) was intended as a station on the rail line from St. Louis to Chihuahua, Mexico. It was also located near the stage route of the Butterfield mail line. Henry Halff and his son platted the townsite in 1908 and a school opened the same year. In 1910 Upland was named the first county seat and a stone courthouse was constructed later. By passed by new rail lines and suffering from a severe drought, the town declined. Homes and buildings were moved here by 1921 when Rankin became the new seat of government.

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Valley Creek Station TX5629

Maintained at falls and crossing of Valley Creek, 1858 to 1861, as a stage stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail. The twice-weekly mail and passenger line stretched from San Francisco to St. Louis, crossing northwest corner of Taylor County and passing six miles west of present Abilene.

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Van Horn Wells TX7643

Only dependable water supply in miles of arid terrain. Used by Indians for centuries. Named for either Maj. Jefferson Van Horne (who passed here en route to establish fort at El Paso, in 1849), or for Lt. J.J. Van Horn (stationed here to fight Indians, 1859). Wagon trains from south Texas welcomed the "seep-water" from wells, as did soldiers on San Antonio -- El Paso military road. Riders for "Jackass Mile" (San Antonio -- San Diego) stopped here, and the Butterfield Mail Line built a stage stand at wells, 1859. Town of Van Horn grew up (12 miles north) in 1880s.

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Whitesboro TX11560

Settlers moved to this site after Ambrose B. White (1811-83) camped here on his way west from Illinois in 1848. His inn here was on the Butterfield Stage route after 1858. The post office, opened in 1860, was named for White, who surveyed (1869) the townsite with Dr. W.H. Trolinger (1827-95), donor of land for a park. When Whitesboro incorporated in 1873, White was elected its first Mayor. The Denison & Pacific Railroad, later part of the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas, arrived in 1879; the Texas & Pacific in 1881. Today the area's economy is based on recreational facilities and peanut production.

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Winn Hill Cemetery TX5869

Located on the historic Butterfield Stage/Overland Mail Route which traversed this area from 1858-61, this graveyard is named for William H. Wynne, who was killed by Indians in this vicinity in 1863. The Winn Hill community grew up around a rural school in the 1870s. The settlement soon included homes and a church, and by the 1880s this cemetery had been established. The earliest documented burial is that of Callie A. Beauchamp, who died in 1884. The county purchased the cemetery property in 1904. It is the last physical reminder of the Winn Hill community.

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New Pass Station NV135
The rocks composing the walls of this stage station and freighter stop were in neat array and roofed with bundles of willow twigs in July of 1861, when stagecoach king John Butterfield's Overland Mail & Stage Company began traversing this Central or Simpson Route between Salt Lake City and Genoa, Nevada. The spring on the hill was inadequate for both humans and horses. However, Division Superintendent Thomas Plain's support ranch, one mile to the west, kept this important team- watering or replacement stop operating. Completion of the first transcontinental railroad spelled the eventual demise of the Overland Stage line. Butterfield sold out to Wells, Fargo and Company in 1866. Wells, Fargo suspended all operations on the Central Route in February 1869. The company continued to operate their diverted equipment on other lines until the early 1870's.

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Edwards Creek Valley NV111
Abundant grass and brush found near its springs and intermittent streams were important ecological areas for the valley's prehistoric inhabitants. Shoshone Indians and their ancestors wandered seasonally to gather wild seeds and small game and settled here in winter camps. Later, Paiute Indians also lived in the valley. In 1854, Colonel John Reese discovered a route through Edwards Creek Valley shorter than the Humboldt Trail. Established by surveyor James Simpson in 1859, it was followed by the Pony Express, the Overland Telegraph and the Butterfield Overland Mail stages. An 1862 Austin gold rush route, too, it became the principal commercial artery until 1880.

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