The Butterfield Overland Mail was a transport and mail delivery system that employed stagecoaches that travelled on a specific route between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, California and which passed through the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomin ...

. It was created by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

on March 3, 1857, and operated until March 30, 1861. The route that was operated extended from where the ferry across the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

to Fort Yuma Station,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

was located, through

via,

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

to the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

and

Mesilla, New Mexico Mesilla (also known as La Mesilla and Old Mesilla) is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,196 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area. During the Civil War, Mesill ...

then south to

Franklin, Texas Franklin is a city and the county seat of Robertson County, Texas, United States. It is within the Brazos Valley on the cusp of East and Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,614. Geography Franklin lies near the ...

, midpoint on the route. The New Mexico Territory mail route was divided into two divisions each under a superintendent. Tucson was the headquarters of the 3rd Division of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. Franklin Station in the town of Franklin, (now El Paso, Texas), was the headquarters of the 4th Division.

Stations

List of stations within two divisions:

3rd Division

* Swiveler's Station – Located 20 miles east of Fort Yuma. Subsequently, the post office for nearby Gila City 1.5 miles west of the station. ** Mission Camp – a later station located 11.49 miles east of Gila City. * Filibusters Camp – Located 18 miles from Swiveler's Station. ** Antelope Peak Station, a later station located 15.14 miles east of Mission Camp, at the foot of Antelope Peak. It replaced Filibusters Camp Station, 6 miles to the west. * Peterman's Station – Located 19 miles from Filibuster Camp, 12.8 miles from Antelope Hill. Later called

Mohawk Station Peterman's Station is a historic locale, site of a ranch and stage station located along the Gila River. It was first established by a man named Peterman, in 1857 along the route of the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line, later a station of its s ...

. **

Texas Hill Station Texas Hill Station is a site of a later Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntin ...

, a later station located 10.98 miles east of Mohawk Station, replaced Grizwell's Station. *

Griswell's Station Griswell's or Griswell's Station was a stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail located along the Gila River in Arizona. It was located 12 miles east of Peterman's Station and 15 miles west of Flap Jack Ranch Station. Griswell's lo ...

– Located 12 miles from Peterman's Station, later abandoned. * Flap-Jack Ranch – Located 15 miles from Griswell's Station, later called Grinnel's Ranch or Station, located 27.11 miles from Mohawk Station, 16.13 miles from Texas Hill Station, sometimes called Stanwix Ranch and

Stanwix Station Stanwix Station, in western Arizona, was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail Stagecoach line built in the later 1850s near the Gila River about east of Yuma, Arizona. Originally the station was called Flap Jack Ranch later Grinnell's Ran ...

by Union Army reports. **

Burke's Station Burke's Station was a stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail route in Arizona. It was named in 1858 after Patrick Burke, the first proprietor of the station. It was temporarily closed when the Butterfield line shut down during 1861 du ...

, a later station 9.43 miles from Grinnel's Ranch midway to Oatman Flat Station. *

Oatman Flat Station Oatman Flat Station, later Fourr's Stage Station, was a stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail located along the Gila River in Maricopa County, Arizona. The site was located east of Flap-Jack Ranch and west of Murderer's Grave Sta ...

– Located 20 miles from Flap-Jack Ranch. *

Murderer's Grave Station Murderer's Grave Station is a historic Locale (geographic), locale, later called Kinyon Station and Kenyon Station was a stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail located along the Gila River in Arizona. The site was located 20 miles ...

– Located 20 miles from Oatmans Flat Station, later Kinyon's Station. * Gila Ranch – Located 17 miles from Murderer's Grave Station. ** South Tank or Pima Pass Tank – Later water tank, located 10 miles from Gila Ranch.Sanders, Kirby, Butterfield Overland Mail Route Through New Mexico and Arizona, Kirby Sanders and Amazon Createspace, 2013 **

Desert Station A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...

– Later station located 21.82 miles from Gila Ranch, 11.82 miles from Pima Pass Tank. **

North Tank or Montezuma Head Tank North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

– Later water tank, located 8.57 miles from Desert Station. * Maricopa Wells Station – Located 40 miles from Gila Ranch, and 18.57 miles from Desert Station, 10 miles from Montezuma Head Tank. ** Casa Blanca Station – Station established in the latter part of 1858, located 11.35 miles from Maricopa Wells. *

Socatoon Station Socatoon Station, was a stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail between 1858 and 1861. It was located four miles east of Sacaton at a Maricopa village from which it took its name. This station was located 22 miles east of Maricopa ...

– Located 22 miles from Maricopa Wells and 11 miles from Casa Blanca Station. ** Oneida Station – Later station, located 13 miles from Socatoon Station. ** Blue Water Station – Later station located 11 miles from Oneida Station. * Pechacho or Picacho Station – Located 37 miles from Socatoon Station, 14 miles from Blue Water. * Pointer Mountain Station – Located 22 miles from Picacho Station. *

Tucson Station Tucson station is an Amtrak train depot in Tucson, Arizona, served three times a week by the '' Sunset Limited'' and ''Texas Eagle'' trains. History The depot was built in 1907 by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). It was designed by the SP's ...

– Located 18 miles from Pointer Mountain. Headquarters of the 3rd Division.

4th Division

* Seneca Spring Station – Located 35 miles from Tucson, no water on the route except at station. Later known as Cienega Spring Station. * San Pedro Station – Located in Arizona, 24 miles from Seneca Springs, no water on the route except at the station. * Dragoon Springs Station – Located in Arizona, 23 miles from San Pedro Station, no water except at station. ** Ewell Station, a later station located in Arizona, 25 miles east of Dragoon Springs and 15 miles west of Apache Pass. * Apache Pass Station – Located in Arizona, 49 miles from Dragoon Springs, no water except at station. ** San Simon Station, a later station located in Arizona, 19 miles east of Apache Pass Station. *

Stein's Peak Station Stein's Peak Station, was one of the original stage stations of the Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield O ...

– Located in

Doubtful Canyon Doubtful Canyon was the name of two canyons in the Peloncillo Mountains, once considered in the 19th century as one canyon that served as the pass through those mountains. Today the canyon bearing the name Doubtful Canyon, is mostly in Cochis ...

, New Mexico, 35 miles from Apache Pass, no water except at station. ** Mexican Springs Station, a later station located in New Mexico, between Steins Peak and Soldiers Farewell stations. * Soldiers Farewell Station – Located in New Mexico, 42 miles from Stein's Peak Station, no water except at station. * Ojo de Vaca Station – Located in New Mexico, 14 miles from Soldiers Farewell Station. * Miembre's River Station – Located in New Mexico, 16 miles from Ojo de Vaca. Later

Mowry City, New Mexico Mowry City is a ghost town first in Dona Anna County, then Grant County and finally in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, approximately north of Deming. Originally it was the crossing point of Cooke's Wagon Road on the Mimbres River. Mowry C ...

. *

Cooke's Spring Station Cooke's Spring Station, located near Cooke's Spring, New Mexico was a stage station of the Butterfield Overland Mail stage route from 1858 to 1861 and of subsequent stage lines until made obsolete by the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in ...

– Located in New Mexico, 18 miles from the Miembre's River Station, just west of the site of the later

Fort Cummings Fort Cummings is a former U. S. Army post located near Cooke's Springs, in Luna County, New Mexico. It is located 20 miles northeast of Deming, New Mexico. Cooke's Spring Cooke's Spring () was named for Philip St. George Cooke 2nd U.S. Dragoo ...

. ** Goodsight Station, later station, located in New Mexico, 14 miles east of the Cooke's Spring Station. ** Rough and Ready Station, later station, located in New Mexico, 22 miles east of Goodsight Station. * Picacho Station – Located in the village of Picacho, 15 miles east of the Rough and Ready Station and 52 miles from Cooke's Springs. This station had the last natural water available on the route until Cooke's Springs, although the later intervening stations had hauled water and constructed earthen tanks to catch rainwater. * Mesilla – Located 6 miles, east of Picacho Station. Mesilla was almost exactly midway between

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

and

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and was the most important Overland Stage Station between the two points. At this time Mesilla was on the west bank of the

and was the point where the route crossed the river. * Fort Fillmore Station – Located on the east bank of the Rio Grande, 14 miles from Picacho Station, nearby

Fort Fillmore Fort Fillmore, located at 32°13′30″N 106°42′52″W, was a United States military fortification established by Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner in September 1851 near Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, primarily for the purpose of protecting sett ...

. * Cottonwoods Station – Located, 25 miles south of Fort Filmore along the east bank of the Rio Grande, just over the border in what is now

Vinton, Texas Vinton is a village in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,971 at the 2010 census. It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Native Americans inhabited the site of Vinton before the arrival of the S ...

. * Franklin Station – Located in the town of Franklin, (now El Paso, Texas), 22 miles from Cottonwoods Station. Headquarters of the 4th Division.

5th Division

5th Division Stations in

. These were located on Captain Pope's New Road to Franklin (1st route used, until August 1, 1859, when the route was moved to the Lower Road.) * Ojos de los Alamos Station – A later station in New Mexico Territory, located 20 miles northeast of Hueco Tanks Station in Texas.A. C. Greene, 900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail, p. 75 * Cornudas de Los Alamos Station – An original station in New Mexico Territory. Located 36 miles east of Hueco Tanks, 16 miles east of Ojos de los Alamos Station. Located 28 miles northwest of Crow Springs Station in Texas, a later relay station midway between Cornudas and

Pinery Station Pinery Station, or The Pinery, was built as a relay station on the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route, located at the crest of Guadalupe Pass (Texas), Guadalupe Pass in what is now Guadalupe Mountains National Park in the U.S. state of T ...

References

External links