Synopsis of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route

On September 16, 1857, the idea for how to achieve the first Overland Mail Route was proposed by John Warren Butterfield and his associates (including William Fargo ) to connect St. Louis, Missouri with San Francisco, California.

They agreed to a six-year contract at $600,000 per year to complete a semiweekly mail service between the two cities. The first stage carrying the mail for the East left San Francisco on September 15, 1858 and the westbound mail left St. Louis on September 16, 1858. The East mail would be taken 160 miles from St. Louis to Tipton, Missouri by train then loaded on a stage for the rest of the trip. The goal was to traverse the distance (2,795 miles) in less than 25 days.

Before that time passengers heading for California had to either leave the East Coast across the Gulf of Mexico to Panama, where they took burros across the Isthmus to the Pacific Ocean. From there taking a steamer up the coast to California (in 1849 approximately 4,600 people) or round Cape Horn on a steamer (approx. 16,000 people). The gold rush in California at Sutters Mill beginning the 1848 Gold Rush brought many gold seekers.

A mail service to the Pacific coast was established on March 3, 1847 with ships that could be converted to war use. The route went up and down both coasts, over the Isthmus of Panama by oxen and then boats. This service took between three and four months.

The Overland Mail Route:


Return to American Territorial Period Timeline