April 2003

On a time line, the two and one-half year operation (1857-1861) of the Butterfield Overland Mail was but a  flash in the history of transportation in the United States.  But this short-lived operation captured and held the imagination of Americans because it stitched together the growing country from sea to sea.

Map of Butterfield Mail Stage Route.  To test the system, a mailbag was transferred from Tipton, Missouri to San Francisco, California in 24 days.

[click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }