Butterfield overland mail was a stagecoach service in the united states operating from 1858 to. Over the course of fortyseven years of research, mr. The butterfield overland mail route through new mexico and. Butterfield overland mail best of southern arizona. Author gerald ahnert came to arizona on a research and development job for an aerospace firm.
The butterfield overland mail through northwest arkansas by lemke and the butterfield overland mail memphis to fort smith branch by worley. Grand canyon council, bsa arizona trails book 108 awardprogram activity area award golden trout trail quaking aspencottonwood pass. It entered arizona near steins peak and the sonoran desert around apache pass, proceeding. Includes a map showing the butterfield trail across arkansas. Butterfield elementary, within the marana unified school district, is a k6 school offering the highest quality inspiring and enriching education in a safe, nurturing, and awardwinning learning environment. Butterfield overland mail company stagecoaches and stage. The butterfield trail and overland mail company in arizona, 18581861, canastota publishing, co. Order online tickets tickets see availability directions location. John fords motion picture, stagecoach, his classic 1939 cinematic parable of the old west, virtually defined the image we carry in our minds eye of nineteenth century stagecoach transportation in the southwest. Butterfield and gadsden trail loop arizona alltrails. This book contains ninetyfive maps showing the location of the 400 mile long trail and twentysix stage station sites in arizona. Gerald t ahnert in this era of almost instant transportation, people everywhere are looking back nostalgically and with deepest interest to the days when hardy and courageous men guided their animals and wheels. One that isnt as wellknown is the trail that early mormon pioneers followed out of utah starting in the 1870s.
Ely, glen sample, the texas frontier and the butterfield overland mail, 18581861, university of oklahoma press, 2016. The stagecoach in 1860s the passenger experience by jay w. Add more time if you like to spend a lot of time at the stops or less if you decide only to ride to happy camp cistern. The butterfield trail in new mexico by george hackler. My first book on the trail in arizona was retracing the butterfield. We talked about the site and the trail to it, and the nervewracking dirt road. Aptly titled the butterfield trail and overland mail company in arizona 18581861, the book covers in great detail the worlds longest stage route and the first governmentsanctioned road connecting the east to the west. The butterfield overland mail route through new mexico and arizona. The shark fin hill behind the ruins is a useful reference point for visitors today. Designed by worldrenowned architect tom fazio, this par 72 premium daily fee public golf course is highlighted by natural sand dunes, and native flora and fauna.
The butterfield trail and overland company in arizona, 18581861, by gerald t. Retracing the butterfield overland trail through arizona by ahnert, gerald t. From apache pass, westbound stages made their way to benson, then cienega station vail, then tucson. The butterfield trail in western yuma county arizona book. Several historic trails converge and overlap at this north maricopa mountain pass located within one of americas newest national monuments the sonoran desert nm. It is approximately 20 miles 32 km eastsoutheast of willcox, arizona, in cochise county. Some of the files may be in pdf format and can be viewed using the adobe acrobat reader software. In 2011 his research culminated in the publication of his second book, the butterfield trail and overland mail co.
Ahnert concerning the history of butterfield s overland mail company. There were many trails that crossed arizona in the early days including the butterfield overland stage, the gila trail and the beale camel road and most of them crossed east to west. Louis to san francisco was a little more than 2800 miles and typically required 2324 days. After butterfield started service in september 1858, the jackass mail was still operating using butterfield s improved trail. Twentytwo photographs, taken over a 40 year period, demonstrate what the trail looks like, a massacre site, graves, the military telegraph line of 18731880, a possible butterfield corral. Butterfield trailgila bend gila bend, arizona travel. The butterfield trail and overland mail company in arizona. Butterfield trail in arizona, overland mail company, 1858. The butterfield overland mail in california was created by the united states congress on march 3, 1857, and operated until june 30, 1861. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. Retracing the butterfield overland trail through arizona.
The route entered arizona through the peloncillo mountains near. The butterfield pass trail is at the cross roads of arizona history. During mondays city council meeting, the community heard a presentation by gerald t. Going east to west, the butterfield overland mail stage route started in st. This book is a comprehensive account of the butterfield trail. Ahnert, author of the butterfield trail and overland mail company in arizona, 18581861, a book that reflects 43 years of research on ahnerts part. This book contains 95 maps showing the location of the 400 mile trail and 26 stage station sites in arizona. Ahnert, who wrote two books about the butterfield trail, led the werners and several of their friends down the road that leads to the site of the oatman massacre. The butterfield trail and the service of the overland mail company its. Follow along as we visit a short 4x4 section of the butterfield overland stage route, east of gila bend in arizona, only on, the official website of.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Thirteen images made at the time of butterfield s service are used for this report. Overall, the trail from the easternmost entrance through butterfield pass to back to az238 at the western entrance and back is 25 miles. This includes john butterfield s overland mail company stagecoach service, which. Ahnert has been researching the history of the butterfield trail in arizona since 1970, when an aerospace contract first took him to the grand canyon state. Butterfields route extended some two thousand eight hundred miles the longest stage line in the. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, horses, and mountain biking and is accessible yearround. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. Hackler, george, the butterfield trail in new mexico, yucca enterprises, 2005. The stagecoach routes of the butterfield overland mail. Links within the above documents were valid as of the date published. It was on that tour that ahnert pointed out the location of an abandoned emigrant camp, which lies hidden in plain sight along the dirt road leading to the oatman massacre site. Ahnert is the author of the butterfield trail and overland mail company in arizona, 18581861 5. An attempt was made by roscoe and margaret conkling in the late 1940s as they wrote their now famous 3 book set on the butterfield trail, but they were never able to actually locate the station site and had to rely on the landowners description of the location.
The book begins with a background on the overland mail and then gets into physically describing the stage stations in new mexico. I shopped for books and began to accumulate quite a pile before i suddenly realized that i had to hike back down the trail. Map of the butterfield trail in arizona document content. A detailed history of the stage route through arizona from 1858 to 1861. A backpack laden with 15 pounds of books was going to make that even sweatier work than coming up the trail had been. This book is a comprehensive account of the butterfield trail in texas. The butterfield trail through the concho valley and west. Butterfield pass is a 14 mile lightly trafficked pointtopoint trail located near gila bend, arizona that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. Gila pioneer trail appears in many history books as an implied single route, but is in fact a collection of trails loosely following the gila river valley. In the 1800s, the butterfield overland mail got letters from st.
Ahnert will discuss his book the butterfield trail and overland mail company in arizona, 18581861, at 10. The butterfield trail in western yuma county arizona. Dragoon springs is located at the northern end of the dragoon mountains in cochise county, arizona. Over the years several groups of avocational archeologists and historians. Essential books for the centennial the butterfield. This book is a comprehensive account of the butterfield trail in new mexico.
This book is a comprehensive account of the butterfield trail in arizona. Subsequently, other stage lines operated along the route until the southern pacific railroad arrived in yuma, arizona in 1877. Generally, the butterfield stage route through arizona followed what is today interstate 10. Current photos of the area show how the landscape has. Dragoon springs stage station was the second of the two stone fortified stations constructed in arizona and was the last going west on the 2,700 mile trail from tipton, missouri, to san francisco, california. The trail is rated as moderate and primarily used for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking. Additional current gps maps allow the reader to visit the route.
Pamphlet was published to commemorate the centennial of overland mail. Butterfield to gadsen loop trail arizona alltrails. Company has been basically covered in my 2011 book the butterfield trail and overland mail company in arizona, 18581861, this comprehensive report is prepared as an aid to historians. George is wellversed on his subject, has walked the ground extensively and has utilized all known sources on the butterfield trail. Twentytwo photographs, taken over a 40 year period, demonstrate what the trail looks like, a massacre site, graves, the military telegraph line of 18731880, a possible butterfield. Ahnert was able to collect many firsthand accounts about the stagecoach service. Little can equal the excitement, danger and romance of. This book was written to mark the physical route and station locations in the most hazardous segment of the butterfield trail arizona where heat, sand, and waterless terrain threatened the traveler in equal measure with the apaches and other warring indian tribesmen who disputed every mile of the way.
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