Original Map of the State of Texas

An attempt to solve the pressing need for rapid transportation of mail – and the hardiest of travelers – resulted in organization of the Butterfield Stage Line, which began operation in September of 1858 with an annual subsidy of one million dollars from the federal government. The service ran two times a week, with stops at stations every 20 miles. The trip covered the 2,795 miles from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean in 25 days – 8 or 9 of which were spent crossing Texas alone.

Over a thousand horses were in constant service, with teams changed at every two or three stations. The coach carried from six to ten people, and the fare was $200 each way. From Fort Belknap, 85 miles west northwest of Ft. Worth, to Tucson in the Arizona Territory, mules were used instead of horses, as they were less attractive to the raiding bands of Comanches. The passengers usually made the trip straight through; lay-overs at any station were allowed but if one gave up their seat he could be marooned for weeks or more until a stage came through with an available space.

The establishment of the transcontinental telegraph in 1861 and the completion of the first of three transcontinental railroad routes 1869 wiped out the need for long distance stage service, and nobody missed it