Stagecoach Stop Traditional Cache
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Cache is 35-mm film cartridge. The following history is taken from Wikipedia.
The stage was an early operation of American Express and Wells Fargo.
Butterfield Stage also known as the Butterfield Overland Mail Company had the government mail contract from September 15, 1857. Originally all of the Overland Stage owners had submitted routes with relay stations and frontier forts that were north of Albuquerque, New Mexico territory; they had no knowledge of what was called the ox bow route. The Ox Bow Route was mandated by the southern Postmaster General.
John Butterfield (who was in a partnership with the principals of Wells Fargo for the American Express company) was paid $600,000 (USD) to get the mail between St. Louis and San Francisco in 25 days. At that time it was the largest land-mail contract ever awarded in the US. It was required by contract to go through El Paso, Texas and through Fort Yuma near present day Yuma, Arizona—the so-called "Oxbow Route". The western fare one way was $200 with most stages arriving 22 days later at its final destination.
This route was an extra 600 miles further than the central and northern routes through Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah. However the southern route was free of snow.
With the American Civil War looming the competing Pony Express was formed in 1860 to deliver mail faster and on a central/northern route away from the volatile southern route. The Pony Express was to succeed in delivering the mail in 10 days. But the Pony Express failed to get the mail contract.
Butterfield's assets as well as those of the Pony Express were to wind up with the Wells Fargo partners.
A correspondent for the New York Herald, Waterman Ormsby, remarked after his 2,812 mile 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 traveled the entire distance of the Butterfield Route.
Employing over 800 at its peak, it used 250 Concord Stagecoaches and 1800 head of stock, horses and mules and 139 relay stations or frontier forts in its heyday. The last Oxbow Route run was made March 21, 1861 at the time of the outbreak of the US Civil War. Under the Confederate States of America, the Butterfield route operated with limited success from 1861 until early 1862 using former Butterfield employees. Wells Fargo continued its stagecoach runs to mining camps in more northern locations until the coming of the US Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.
Route
The contract with the postal service, which went into effect on September 16, 1858, identified the route and divided it into nine divisions numbered west to east from San Francisco.
Divisions[1]:
Div. Route Miles Hours
1 San Francisco to Los Angeles 462 80
2 Los Angeles to Fort Yuma 282 72.20
3 Fort Yuma to Tucson 280 71.45
4 Tucson to Franklin 360 82
5 Franklin[2] to Fort Chadbourne 458 126.30
6 Fort Chadbourne to Colbert's Ferry 282½ 65.25
7 Colbert's Ferry to Fort Smith 192 38
8 Fort Smith to Tipton 318½ 48.55
9 Tipton to St. Louis 160 11.40
Totals 2,795 596.35
An act of Congress, approved March 2, 1861, discontinued this route and service ceased June 30, 1861. On the same date the central route from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Placerville, California, went into effect. This new route was called the Central Overland California Route.[3]
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