Downtown in St. Louis, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Speedy Delivery

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 2017

1. Speedy Delivery Marker

Inscription.
Today you can get a package from St. Louis to California in less than 24 hours. But before planes and trains, speedy deliveries to the West went by stagecoach.

Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield capitalized on the country's rapid westward expansion. In the 1850s, they built an express stagecoach delivery service between St. Louis and California. A few years later in 1857, Butterfield started the Overland Mail Company after he won a government contract to deliver US mail between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, California. Their success reinforced St. Louis as the gateway to the west.

Every week the Overland Mail Company sent stagecoaches on a 2,812-mile journey to deliver mail to California in 25 days or less.

Wells, Fargo, and Butterfield were partners in the American Express Company and Wells, Fargo & Company, providing express travel and banking services from here westward.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the Butterfield Overland Mail series list.

Location. 38°

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37.616′ N, 90° 11.05′ W. Marker is in St. Louis, Missouri. It is in Downtown. Marker can be reached from Walnut Street east of Memorial Drive, on the left when traveling east. Marker is located on the Gateway Arch trail, a couple of hundred feet north of the Arch, in Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Louis MO 63102, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Curves Ahead (here, next to this marker); Gateway to the West (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Action and Reaction (about 300 feet away); The Captains' Return (about 400 feet away); Miles of Steamboats (about 500 feet away); The Gateway Arch (about 600 feet away); Pierre Laclede (about 600 feet away); August 1, 1993 (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Louis.

More about this marker. Marker is a large composite plaque, mounted horizontally on waist-high posts.

Also see . . .
1. The Surprising Start of Well, Fargo and Co. Wells Fargo History website entry (Submitted on June 14, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

2. Southern Overland Mail Company. Brittanica website entry:
The company operated a 25-day, semiweekly stagecoach run along a route from St. Louis, Mo., through El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, New Mexico Territory, to San Francisco. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861,

Marker detail: Michael Building image. Click for full size.

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Archives, Eugene Taylor, 1939

2. Marker detail: Michael Building

These stagecoach companies had offices in the Michael Building, which stood here on First Street from 1849 until 1939.

the southern route was abandoned, and the government contract was awarded to the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express, which operated through Salt Lake City, Utah. The Central Overland was purchased in 1862 by Ben Holladay, and the Holladay Overland Stage Company was sold to Wells, Fargo and Company in 1866. The company’s stagecoach operations were maintained until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. (Submitted on August 28, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. John Butterfield & the Overland Mail Company. Legends of America website entry:
As scheduled, mail started from each end of the 2,800 mile-long stretch on September 16, 1858. The passenger fair was $200. The first westbound trip was made in about 24 days. Travelers were in motion day and night, stopping only for meals and to switch out stock or equipment at stations placed from 9-60 miles apart. On approaching a station, the conductor would blow a horn so fresh mules or horses would be ready and waiting. (Submitted on August 28, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: The St. Louis street grid once covered the Arch grounds down to the river image. Click for full size.

3. Marker detail: The St. Louis street grid once covered the Arch grounds down to the river

Marker detail: Overland Mail route image. Click for full size.

4. Marker detail: Overland Mail route

Every week the Overland Mail Company sent stagecoaches on a 2,812-mile journey to deliver mail to California in 25 days or less.

Speedy Delivery Marker (<i>wide view; looking west across park toward downtown St. Louis</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 2017

5. Speedy Delivery Marker (wide view; looking west across park toward downtown St. Louis)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 28, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 326 times since then and 34 times this year. Last updated on October 15, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 28, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.