Military installations along the route of the Overland Mail Company, from east to west, during the period in which the route was being run: Fort Smith, Arkansas – 1817-1871 Fort Washita, near Colbert’s Ferry, Indian Territory – 1843-1858 Fort Belknap, Texas – 1851-1859 Camp Cooper, Texas, near Fort Griffin – 1856-1861 Fort Phantom Hill, Texas … More Forts on and near the Route
Major management changes came in 1860. Wells Fargo & Co., which had loaned John Butterfield capital for starting the route, took over operations and forced Butterfield out. At the same time, the Pony Express began running mail across the Great Plains on a more direct, though riskier, route mostly following the old Overland and Mormon … More Demise of the Southern Route
The operation of stagecoaches between Memphis and Fort Smith proved troublesome from the beginning. Initially, the Butterfield Overland Mail Co. intended to move mail and passengers from Memphis to Fort Smith by steamboat, but the low water levels of the Arkansas River through the summer of 1858 forced Butterfield to contract with an existing stage … More Memphis to Fort Smith Operations
The Butterfield Overland Mail Co. carried its first U.S. mail westward beginning September 16, 1858, with the company president, John W. Butterfield Sr., taking custody of two mailbags at St. Louis and boarding a Pacific Railroad train for Tipton, Missouri. Accompanying Butterfield was Waterman L. Ormsby, a writer for the New York Herald and the … More The First Running of the Stage
With contract in hand, John W. Butterfield Sr. began establishing stations, acquiring stock, purchasing coaches, and building roads and bridges where needed. The logistics were daunting. More than 160 stations needed to be outfitted, many of them requiring construction from scratch. Stage drivers, conductors, station masters and superintendents of each division had to be hired. … More Establishing the Route
The full map above shows stations and a few other points of interest. Use the icon on the upper left to open the list of stations by state. The following are quick links to Google maps for each state from east to west showing the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail in more detail: Missouri … More Maps of the Route
On March 3, 1857, Congress authorized the U.S. postmaster general, Aaron Brown, to contract for transportation of the U.S. mail from the Mississippi River to the west coast. At the time, U.S. mail going west was transported by steamship or clipper across the Gulf of Mexico to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was freighted … More Proposal for Overland Mail Delivery
East to West Ninth Division — St. Louis, Mo., to Tipton Eighth Division — Tipton to Fort Smith, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn., to Fort Smith Seventh Division — Fort Smith to Colbert’s Ferry, Okla. Sixth Division — Colbert’s Ferry to Fort Chadbourne, Texas Fifth Division — Fort Chadbourne to Franklin (El Paso), Texas Fourth Division … More Divisions and Stations of the Route
From St. Louis to Tipton, the mail was carried by the Pacific Railroad. Tipton Shackleford’s Station Mulholland’s Station Burn’s Station Warsaw Bailey’s Station Quincy Yoast’s Station Bolivar Smith’s Station Evan’s Station Springfield Ashmore’s Station Smith’s Station Crouch’s Station Harbin’s Station
Northwestern Route Callahan’s Station (near present-day Rogers) Fitzgerald’s Station (near present-day Springdale) Fayetteville Park’s Station Brodie’s Station (Lee Creek) Woolsey’s Station (also called Signal Hill) Van Buren Fort Smith Memphis Route Memphis, Tenn. Madison, Ark. Des Arc Atlanta (present-day Austin) Cadron Plumer’s Station (Plummerville) Lewisburg (near present-day Morrilton) Hurricane Pottsville Inn Norristown (Russellville) Dardanelle Stinnett’s … More Arkansas Stations
Butterfield Overland Mail Route 