Butterfield Overland Mail Company

Mail Contract No. 12,578 for $600,000 per annum for a semi-weekly service was assigned to John Butterfield of Utica, New York, who was president for the contract that was named the Overland Mail Company. This was the longest mail contract awarded in the United States. It was a stockholding company and the main stockholders, besides John Butterfield, were also fellow directors of the company: William B. Dinsmore of New York City; William G. Fargo of Buffalo, New York; James V.P. Gardner of Utica, New York; Marquis L. Kenyon of Rome, New York; Alexander Holland of New York City; and Hamilton Spencer of Bloomington, Illinois. There were four others known as sureties (security against loss).

Almost all of the stockholders were connected to other businesses in Upstate New York and most lived near Butterfield's home in Utica, New York. Alexander Holland was Butterfield's son-in-law and treasurer of the Overland Mail Company. Dinsmore was vice-president of the company. The office for the company was in New York City.

Why John Butterfield was chosen was stated by Postmaster General Aaron Brown:

... a route which no contractor had bid for, but one which in the judgement of A.V. Brown, of Memphis, had more advantages than any other, and, as John Butterfield & Co. had, in the opinion of Brown, greater ability, qualification and experience than anybody else to carry out a mail service, John Butterfield & Co. was selected and preferred.

The route, known as the Oxbow Route because of its long curving route through the Southwest, was 600 miles (970 km) longer than the Central Overland Trail, but had the advantage of being snow free.

"They are made much like the express wagons in your city which carry goods for transshipment, only they are heavier built, have tops made of canvas, and are set on leather straps instead of springs. Each one has three seats, which are arranged so that the backs let down and form one bed, capable of accommodating from four to ten persons, according to their size and how they lie. From Memphis [actually Little Rock] and from St. Louis [actually Tipton] to Fort Smith regular stage coaches are used, similar in every respect to those employed in the Atlantic States; but from Fort Smith onwards the vehicles used are not unlike a Jersey wagon, they are of the description known as Celerity wagons, being similar in build to the common Troy coach, and the body is hung upon the same kind of springs [thorough-brace] and in a similar manner. Instead, however, of the heavy wooden top, with iron railing around it, in common use, they have a light canvas covering supported by light uprights, after the manner of a Jersey wagon. The covering affords ample protection against the weather, while it greatly diminishes the weight of the vehicle as well as its liability to upset. Each one had three seats, which are arranged so that the backs let down and form one bed, capable of accommodating from four to ten persons, according to their size, and how they lie. The company has over one hundred of these coaches on the ground, and has been running them regularly and with profitable results, for some time past, upon portions of the route."

The same stage or stage driver was not used all the way through on the 2,700-mile (4,300 km) trip. They were changed frequently, both to avoid fatigue for the stage drivers and to avoid the braking down of the stages. Correspondent Ormsby reported that "I understand they [Overland Mail Company] have bought horses and mules, and a wagon or coach for every thirty miles, of the route, while arrangements have been made at all the stations for changing horses, feeding, &c., so that they can run straight through."

From these references it is seen that Butterfield employed 100 stages distributed along the 2,700-mile trail from Tipton, Missouri, to San Francisco, California. Approximately 34 western style J.S. & E.A. Abbot mail stagecoaches were used on the settled and partially settled sections of the trail from Tipton, Missouri, to Fort Smith, Arkansas, and from Los Angeles to San Francisco, California. Stagecoach trails had already been established between these points, with a few Butterfield improvements to the trail. About sixty-six J.S. & E.A. Abbot stage (celerity) wagons, partially designed by John Butterfield, were distributed on the 1,920-mile trail through the frontier from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Los Angeles, California.

Operations

Butterfield's Overland Mail Company held the U.S. Mail contract from September 16, 1858, on a six-year contract. The first stage going east left San Francisco at 10 minutes past midnight on September 14, 1858. The mail from San Francisco reached St. Louis in 24 days, 18 hours, and 26 minutes. The first stage going west left Tipton, Missouri, at 8 am on September 16, 1858. The mail was carried by railroad for the first 160 miles (260 km) from St. Louis to Tipton.

Butterfield's Overland Mail Company made two trips a week from September 1858 to March 1861. At the start of service, the mail would leave St. Louis, Missouri, and San Francisco, California, every Monday and Thursday. A December 1, 1858, advertisement stated that the days for departure from San Francisco on Monday and Friday and that the through fare to Terminus of Pacific Railroad as $100. An advertisement appeared in the same newspaper on January 11, 1859, that the through fare to Terminus of Pacific Railroad had increased to $200. Butterfield's Overland Mail Company had 139 stage stations at the start of service but more stations were built after service started and increased to about 170. As noted about 100 stages were employed.

Pony Express as part of the Overland Mail Company contract

When the Overland Mail Company Contract No. 12578 was transferred to the Central Overland Trail, the contract was amended on March 12, 1861, to include the Pony Express. The new contract stated the following:

"And to be required also, during the continuance of their contract, or until completion of the overland telegraph, to run a pony-express semi-weekly at a schedule time of ten days, eight months of the year, and twelve days four months of the year [presumably the winter months], and to convey for the Government free of charge five pounds of mail matter, with liberty of charging the public for transportation of letters by said express not exceeding $1 per half ounce. The compensation for the whole service [which included the stage line mail service] to be $1,000,000 per annum, to take effect on or before the 1st of July, 1861 and to expire the 1st of July, 1864 [the same date for the end of the old contract No. 12578]. The number of the route to be changed to 10773 and the service to be recorded in the route register for Missouri."

In behalf of the Overland Mail Company, the order was signed by president W.B. Dinsmore. William B. Dinsmore became president after John Butterfield was voted out as president. Butterfield still remained a stockholder. The Pony Express was terminated before the end of the contract because the telegraph line was completed October 24, 1861.

A correspondent for the New York Herald, Waterman L. Ormsby, remarked after his 2,812-mile (4,525 km) trek through the western US to San Francisco on a Butterfield Stagecoach thus: "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." Ormsby was the only passenger on the first East-West run of the Butterfield Stage who journeyed the entire distance of the mail route. He sent periodic dispatches to the paper describing his journey, including the pickup of passengers outside the Lawrence Livery Stables.

Near the end of Butterfield's service, in March 1861 on the Southern Overland Trail, John Butterfield was voted out as president of the Overland Mail Company because he wasn't making money for the stockholders. He remained a stockholder in the company and attended the meetings with vice-president William B. Dinsmore now elevated to president of the company. The Congressional report shows the modifications to the six-year Butterfield contract ending on September 15, 1864. Kirby Sanders was the National Park Service consulting historian and lead researcher for compiling the history for the master Special Resource Study for the Butterfield National Trail project and put into perspective the confusion over Wells, Fargo & Co.'s only involvement on the Butterfield Trail (Southern Overland Trail). He stated that they had only a secondary role and may have run a "trunk route" off of Butterfield from Los Angeles to San Diego. Waddell F. Smith, grandson of William Bradford Waddell, one of the founders of the Pony Express put into perspective the later involvement of Wells, Fargo & Co., two years after the Butterfield contract ended. What was known as the "Grand Consolidation," of the three stage lines, that held the mail contract on the Central Overland Trail, was achieved by Ben Holladay, "The Stagecoach King." The three lines now comprising the consolidation were the Pioneer Stage Line, the Overland Mail Company, and Wells, Fargo & Co. This three-million-dollar corporation, formed on February 5, 1866, became a new giant with an increased capitalization of ten million dollars. Wells, Fargo & Co. changed its name to Wells, Fargo and Company and was approved by the stockholders on December 10, 1866. Wells, Fargo and Company bought out Ben Holladay and was finally operating as a mail carrying stage company, with their name finally on a transom rail of a stagecoach, on the Central Overland Trail. But the end was in sight, as the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad was nearing completion. On May 16, 1868, the board of directors of Wells, Fargo and Company authorized the sale of the company's stage lines, although they remained in operation until the completion of the railroad on May 10, 1869.

Transfer to Central Overland Trail

Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company was ordered to transfer the company to the Union-held Central Overland Trail, because of the impending start of the Civil War. The last Overland Mail Company mail bag left St. Louis, Missouri, March 18, 1861. This last mail arrived in San Francisco, California April 13, 1861.

William Buckley, of Watertown, New York, was the Superintendent of the Fourth Division for Butterfield's Overland Mail Company on the Southern Overland Trail. When Butterfield's Overland Mail Company contract was transferred to the Central Overland Trail, although some of the employees returned to Upstate New York, some retained their positions with the company. William Buckley was one of the original employees to continue with the company on the Central Overland Trail and took the position of Superintendent. Although William B. Dinsmore was now the company president, John Butterfield was still a stockholder and it can be seen in this article that the Overland Mail Company was still called "Butterfield's" by the employees.

Only enough equipment and employees were transferred to stock the trail from Carson City, Nevada, to Salt Lake City, Utah. A June 1861 newspaper accounted the details:

"Great Salt Lake City, June 5, 1861.... William Buckley, formerly the Superintendent of the Butterfield route from San Francisco to El Paso, F. Cluggage, an Agent in that route and Bolivar Roberts, the Superintendent of the western division on this route, came in a week ago yesterday from Carson, which I noticed in my last letter, and on Friday Edward Fisher, and four other employees in some department, came in from St. Joseph....They have, whatever else besides, at least made all the necessary arrangements for a vigorous start to the daily mail, and everything will be ready by the first week in July [July 1 was when the line was ordered to start by the new contract] to fulfill the of obligations of the million contract.... Last evening, profiting by a conversation with Mr. Buckley, I obtained from him a copy of his measurement of the road from Carson to this city [Salt Lake City].... Placerville [California] being the terminus, another 100 miles should be added between that and Carson, as the entire distance of the Butterfield new route. These are the stations now in use and to be continued, from the facilities they afford of proximity to wood, water and feed; but I am informed the Butterfield Company propose erecting intermediate stations every twelve miles, on account of the greater amount of horses required for the accomplishment of the journey within the specified time of sixteen days from St. Joseph to Placerville.”

Under the Confederate States of America, the abandoned Butterfield route between Texas and Southern California operated under a new Federal contract as part of the Overland Mail Corporation route with limited success by George Henry Giddings. The contract was given in May 1861 and was to start on April 1, 1861, and to end on June 30, 1862. "An attempt was made to fulfill the contract, beginning April 1, but faced with insurmountable obstacles and with the development of the Civil War, the contractors were compelled to give it up. The eastern portion of the line was curtailed June 30, 1861. The final chapter was closed when the latter part of the line was discontinued Aug. 1, 1861." Wells Fargo continued its stagecoach runs to mining camps in more northern locations until the coming of the US Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.

At least four battles of the American Civil War occurred at or near Butterfield mail posts, the Battle of Stanwix Station, the Battle of Picacho Pass, Second Battle of Mesilla and the Battle of Pea Ridge. Four clashes between the Apache and Confederate or Union forces in the Apache Wars occurred on the route, First Battle of Dragoon Springs, Second Battle of Dragoon Springs, the Battle of Apache Pass and Skirmish in Doubtful Canyon. Confederates attempted to keep the stations from Tucson to Mesilla open while they destroyed the stations from Tucson to Yuma which were used to supply the Union army as it advanced through Traditional Arizona. The burning of the Stanwix Station and others led to a significant delay to the Union advance, postponing the Fall of Tucson, Arizona's western Confederate capital, which housed one of two territorial courts; the other court was in Mesilla. All said engagements happened in the Confederate Arizona and Arkansas sectors of the mail route.