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.
Boggy Depot is a ghost town and Oklahoma State Park that was formerly a significant city in the Indian Territory. It grew as a vibrant and thriving town in present-day Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States, and became a major trading center on the Texas Road and the Butterfield Overland Mail route between Missouri and San Francisco. After the Civil War, when the MKT Railroad came through the area, it bypassed Boggy Depot and the town began a steady decline. It was soon replaced by Atoka as the chief city in the area. By the early 20th century, all that remained of the community was a sort of ghost town.
The Butterfield Overland Mail in Indian Territory was part of the overall Butterfield Overland Mail service (1857–1861) created by Congress March 3, 1857. The route crossed Indian Territory from Colbert's Ferry to Fort Smith, Arkansas which was the Center for the Overland Mail's' 7th Division. Fort Smith was also the junction point of the south bound coaches with the Memphis mail and its passengers. From Fort Smith the 7th Division route crossed the Poteau River into Indian Territory into the Choctaw Nation at Skullyville and left the Chickasaw Nation at Colbert's Ferry into Texas. There were 12 stage stations in Indian Territory, located from 13 to 19 miles (31 km) apart. The total length of the route across the territory was approximately 197 miles (317 km). The Butterfield route met with the Texas Road near Geary's Station and followed it southward to the Red River.
Colbert's Ferry was an important Red River crossing between Texas and Indian Territory from about 1853 to 1899. Both the Texas Road and the Butterfield Overland Mail route crossed here. It was located on the Texas Road about 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of present–day Colbert, Bryan County, Oklahoma. The nearest town on the Texas side of the river is Denison.
Fisher's Station, also known as Carriage Point, was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route and the Texas Road in Indian Territory. It was located at the head of Island Bayou in what is now Bryan County, Oklahoma. Island Bayou was then the dividing line between the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations. From March 23, 1869, to February 6, 1871, the Carriage Point post office existed at the site and it is generally referred to by that name in the area. The Fishers were a well known Choctaw family.
Geary's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. Sometimes called Geary's Crossing, it was located on the east side of LIttle Boggy Creek in what is now Atoka County, Oklahoma. It was operated by A.W. Geary, an inter-married Choctaw. His wife Lucy was the sister of a Choctaw chief. The Choctaw Nation had awarded Geary the privilege of building a bridge and tollgate at the Little Boggy crossing on the Fort Smith-Boggy Depot Road in 1858, which later became the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail stage.
Waddell's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located in what is now Atoka County, Oklahoma. It is sometimes confused with Roger's Station, a post-Civil War stage stand and post office, which was three miles (5 km) in an easterly direction from Waddell's.
Blackburn's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located in what is now Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. The station was named for Casper B. Blackburn, an inter-married Choctaw and trader.
Pusley's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located in what is now Latimer County, Oklahoma, on the south side of Gains Creek. The station was named for Silas Pusley, a trader and member of a prominent Choctaw family. In 1859, the Choctaw Council granted Pusley the right to build a bridge and tollbooth across Gains Creek near his station.
Riddle's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located on the west side of the Forche Maline in what is now Latimer County. The station was named for Captain John Riddle, the operator. Riddle was a mixed-blood Choctaw and a prominent member of the Nation. He served many terms on the Choctaw Council. In 1858, the Council granted Riddle the right to build a bridge and tollbooth across the Forche Maline near his station.
Holloway's Station, or The Narrows, was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located near "The Narrows" at upper Brazil Creek in what is now Latimer County, Oklahoma. The station was named for William Holloway, the stage agent. In 1858, the Choctaw Council granted Holloway the right to construct a turnpike and tollbooth at "The Narrows". Holloway left after Butterfield discontinued service in 1861.
Trahern's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located about 9 miles west of what is now the town of Shadypoint in Le Flore County, Oklahoma. The station was named for Judge James N. Trahern, the stage agent. Trahern was a Choctaw Indian and a long-time county judge for Skullyville County, Choctaw Nation.
Walker's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located at the old Choctaw Agency in Skullyville, in what is now Le Flore County, Oklahoma. The station was named for Tandy Walker, Choctaw chief, and later, Governor of the Choctaw Nation. The old Choctaw Agency building was his residence.
Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station is located in the western foothills of the Laguna Mountains, in northern San Diego County, California. It is located on State Route 79, 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Warner Springs and Warner's Ranch. The station was built on the site of Camp Wright, an 1860s Civil War outpost.
George Henry Shirk was a lawyer, historian, and former Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In addition to being an author on several subjects related to the history of Oklahoma, he was known as a civic leader and proponent of various municipal development projects within central Oklahoma.
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 route until the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in Yuma, Arizona in 1877.
Dome is a ghost town located in Yuma County, in southwestern Arizona, United States. It is located in the Dome Valley south of the Gila River. Originally Swiveler's Station, 20 miles (32 km) east of Fort Yuma on the Butterfield Overland Mail route, a post office was established here in 1858. It was first under the name of Gila City, the nearby boomtown one and a half miles (2.4 km) west of Swiveler's, but the post office closed July 14, 1863, after most of the town was swept away in the Great Flood of 1862, and then abandoned for the La Paz gold rush along the Colorado River. After the railroad passed by the site and an attempt at large scale mining of the placers began, a new post office was established as Dome in 1892 but soon closed when the attempt failed. Subsequently it opened and closed several times before finally closing in 1940.
Posey Creek Station of the Butterfield Overland Mail 1st Division was located on Posey or Poso Creek, in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, in present-day Kern County, California.
Murderer's Grave Station is a historic 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 east of Oatmans Flat Station and 15 miles west of Gila Ranch Station. It was located along the Gila River near the present site of the Painted Rock Reservoir
Cottonwoods Station was a stop on the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line and later the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station in El Paso County, Texas.
