Desert Station | |
|---|---|
  Desert Station Location in the state of Arizona | |
| Coordinates: 33°04′00″N112°21′31″W / 33.06667°N 112.35861°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Maricopa County |
| Elevation [1] : 130 | 1,341 ft (409 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST (no DST)) |
Desert Station is a historic locale, the site of a later station of the Butterfield Overland Mail, in what is now Maricopa County, Arizona.
Desert Station, established in 1859, was 21.82 miles (35.12 km) east of Gila Ranch Station through Pima Pass, amidst the Fortymile Desert in the great bend of the Gila River, on West Prong Waterman Wash. [2] It lay 18.57 miles (29.89 km) west of Maricopa Wells Station. [3] : 1056 Desert Station had its own well. [4] Two tanks were established on the route, one between Desert Station and Gila Ranch and another between Desert Station and Maricopa Wells station to water the horses as they crossed the desert. The two riverside stations were tasked to carry water to supply the tank nearest them. [1] : 128–32
In March 1861, the Butterfield line shut down, but during the American Civil War, Desert Station's remained a stop for freighters and passing travelers coming into the New Mexico Territory from the riverport of Arizona City on the Colorado River. It also saw the passage of the troops of the Confederate Army that briefly passed through to the west and then fell back before the advance of the California Column of the Union Army that invaded Confederate Arizona and occupied New Mexico Territory in 1862.
Gila Bend, founded in 1872, is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The town is named for an approximately 90-degree bend in the Gila River, which is near the community's current location. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,892.
Butterfield Overland Mail was a stagecoach service in the United States operating from 1858 to 1861. It carried passengers and U.S. Mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California. The routes from each eastern terminus met at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and then continued through Indian Territory (Oklahoma), Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, and California ending in San Francisco. On March 3, 1857, Congress authorized the U.S. postmaster general, at that time Aaron V. Brown, to contract for delivery of the U.S. mail from St. Louis to San Francisco. Prior to this, U.S. Mail bound for the Far West had been delivered by the San Antonio and San Diego Mail Line since June 1857.
Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. Warner Springs is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Prior to the adoption of its name for a U.S. state, Arizona was traditionally defined as the region south of the Gila River to the present-day Mexican border, and between the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. It encompasses present-day Southern Arizona and the New Mexico Bootheel plus adjacent parts of Southwestern New Mexico. This area was transferred from Mexico to the United States in the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. Mining and ranching were the primary occupations of traditional Arizona's inhabitants, though growing citrus fruits had long been occurring in Tucson.
The Butterfield Overland Mail in California was created by the United States Congress on March 3, 1857, and operated until June 30, 1861. Subsequently, other stage lines operated along the Butterfield Overland Mail in route in Alta California until the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in Yuma, Arizona in 1877.
Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, the Kearny Trail, Southern Trail and the Butterfield Stage Trail, was a major land route for immigration into California from the eastern United States that followed the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico during the California Gold Rush. Unlike the more northern routes, pioneer wagons could travel year round, mountain passes not being blocked by snows; however, it had the disadvantage of summer heat and lack of water in the desert regions through which it passed in New Mexico Territory and the Colorado Desert of California. Subsequently, it was a route of travel and commerce between the eastern United States and California. Many herds of cattle and sheep were driven along this route and it was followed by the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line in 1857–1858 and then the Butterfield Overland Mail from 1858 to 1861.
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. It was created by the United States Congress on March 3, 1857, and operated until March 30, 1861. The route that was operated extended from where the ferry across the Colorado River to Fort Yuma Station, California was located, through New Mexico Territory via, Tucson to the Rio Grande and Mesilla, New Mexico then south to Franklin, Texas, 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,, was the headquarters of the 4th Division.
Maricopa Wells is a former place (locale) situated in Pinal County, Arizona. It has an estimated elevation of 1,093 feet (333 m) above sea level. Historically, it was an oasis around a series of watering holes in the Sierra Estrella, eight miles north of present-day Maricopa, Arizona, and about a mile west of Pima Butte. It developed as a trading center and stopping place for travelers in the mid to late 19th century.
Casa Blanca is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pinal County, Arizona, United States, located in the Gila River Indian Community. The population was 1,388 at the 2010 census.
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 successor, the Butterfield Overland Mail, 19 miles east of Filibuster Camp, 12 miles west of Griswell's Station.
The Butterfield Overland Mail route in Baja California was created as a result of an act by the United States Congress on March 3, 1857, and operated until June 30, 1861 as part of the Second Division of the route. Subsequently other stage lines operated along the route until the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in Yuma, Arizona.
New River Station was a later station added into the Colorado Desert route of the Butterfield Overland Mail it was located 15 miles southeast of Indian Wells Station and 14 miles west of Alamo Mocho Station beside the New River. It was in operation until March 1861 when the Butterfield route was abandoned for the Central Route by the beginning of the American Civil War.
Antelope Hill, formerly Antelope Peak, is a summit, at an elevation of 804 feet, near the Gila River in Yuma County, Arizona.
Socatoon Station was a stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail between 1858 and 1861. It was located four miles (6.4 km) east of Sacaton at a Maricopa village from which it took its name. This station was located 22 miles (35 km) east of Maricopa Wells Station, 11 miles (18 km) east of Casa Blanca Station and 13 miles (21 km) north of Oneida Station.
San Simon River is an ephemeral river, or stream running through the San Simon Valley in Graham and Cochise County, Arizona and Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Its mouth is at its confluence with the Gila River at Safford in Graham County. Its source is located at 31°51′21″N109°01′27″W.
Stein's Pass, is a gap or mountain pass through the Peloncillo Mountains of Hidalgo County, New Mexico. The pass was named after United States Army Major Enoch Steen, who camped nearby in 1856, as he explored the recently acquired Gadsden Purchase. The pass is in the form of a canyon cut through the mountains through which Steins Creek flows to the west just west of the apex of the pass to the canyon mouth at 32°13′19″N109°01′48″W.
Filibuster Camp is the historic locale of a camp along the Gila River route of the Southern Emigrant Trail in Yuma County, Arizona, named in memory of a failed filibuster expedition to Sonora that began there in 1856.
Antelope Peak Station, a later Butterfield Overland Mail 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. The Overland Mail Company replaced Filibusters Camp, because Antelope Peak Station had a better water supply. Its location is thought to be 32°42′47″N114°00′54″W. The station was built by John Kilbride in 1857 but did not appear on the stagecoach itinerary until 1859.
Texas Hill Station is a site of a later Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station. It was one of several built in 1859 to increase the number of water stops and team changes along the drier and hotter sections of the route and was located about 2 miles east of Texas Hill.