Route of Old Butterfield Stagecoach Road

Postage was ten cents a half ounce, and in 1860 it brought in $119,766.77. Early in 1859 Sherman became a distribution point, giving Texas settlements postal service through the Butterfield. A Concord coach had room for five or six passengers, and at times more were crowded in. They rode with firearms ready and rarely rested, because a traveler who laid over forfeited his seat and might be marooned for a month before he got another. Service on the southern route ended in March 1861, when the contract was modified to move the line north out of Texas.

What the plaque says

Route of Old Butterfield Stagecoach Road Over these tracks passed the Butterfield Stage, 1858-1861, providing for first time in history a combined passenger and mail service from Atlantic to Pacific coast. Operating westward from St. Louis and Memphis, John Butterfield's company used 1,350 mules and horses and 90 Concord coaches and wagons. Stages traveled rapidly, despite lack of real roads. A signal given approaching a station would assure food on table for travelers, and fresh horses ready. Stations were 12 to 113 miles apart. Route changes were often made to obtain water. The passengers and crew wore guns. Indians liked horses, so to reduce the danger of Indian attacks, mules were used west of Ft. Belknap. Trip one way took 25 days-- 7 consumed in crossing Texas, from near Preston (now under Lake Texoma) to Jacksboro, Ft. Belknap, Ft. Chadbourne, and El Paso. One-way fare for the 2,700 miles was $200. This marks a 113-mile span, from Emigrants' Crossing (82 mi. S) to Pope's Crossing (31 mi. N), that on inaugural trip, Sept. 16 - Oct. 12, 1858, had no team-change. Route ran parallel to Pecos River. By November there were 3 change stations in this area, one being Skillman's Stop (6 mi. N). Route was shortened in 1860, going by Forts Stockson, Davis and Quitman, west of the Pecos. Incise on base: Park site donated by Mr. and Mrs. N. F. Chapman, Pecos, Texas (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Roy Orbison Museum — 26 mi
  A volunteer-run room in the oil town where Roy Orbison spent his high school years, opened on request, with a guitar he played and his tinted prescription sunglasses.

More markers nearby

• Goodnight-Loving Trail — steps away
• Mentone — 0.4 mi
• Loving County — 0.5 mi
• Oliver Loving, C.S.A. — 0.5 mi