"During the entire Butterfield-Southern Route operation, October 1858 to April 1861, Carrillo's Buena Vista, being the olden Warner Ranch House acquired from Portilla and repaired by the Carrillos, served as the home-owned Butterfield Station on Warner's Ranch." - William L. Wright, The Butterfield Station at Warner's Ranch, 1960

BUTTERFIELD, IN ASSOCIATION WITH MESSRS. WELLS & FARGO, was responsible for building and repairing roads and bridges, and set up 150 stage stations. The delivery of mail was the top priority on the Butterfield stages; however, they did carry passengers who could afford the $200 fare, about $3,000 today. The fare did not include meals, which cost an average of a dollar each three times a day. These mail lines were guaranteed to be rugged, but they got the mail through.

Stations were typically located 10 to 20 miles apart. There were no overnight stops, so passengers slept aboard the stage. They were allowed 25 pounds of baggage, two blankets, and a canteen. The time allotted for shifting the baggage and passengers was just nine minutes at a station. Then, the cry of "all aboard" and young John Butterfield's crack of the whip sent the stage flying again.

At each station, passengers disembarked for a quick meal and to refresh themselves while, at "swing stations," the driver changed the horses. Most stages made the journey from St. Louis to San Francisco in about 22 days.

The Butterfield Line used two types of coaches. The stage coaches we're familiar with—the famous Concord coaches, manufactured by Abbot, Downing and Company of Concord, New Hampshire—served the beginning and end of the line. Other, plainer vehicles called stage wagons, or celerity wagons, were the work horses used for much of the route. Concord coaches were full bodied coaches while the stage wagons had open upper sides and canvas tops over a frame.

(Left) This example of a light stage is located at the ranch house now and is being slowly restored, it is similar to Butterfield's celerity wagons. Photo courtesy Warner's Ranch Historical Society. (Right) SOHO's own replica Concord stagecoach pulled by Belgian draft horses. Photo by Sandé Lollis

The illustration above appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 23, 1858, depicting the first coach driven by John Butterfield, Jr. The Overland Mail stage, with a team of four horses, left Tipton, Missouri, en route to Fort Smith, Arkansas and listed seven passengers aboard:

• John Butterfield, president of the Overland Mail Company
• Waterman Ormsby, correspondent of the New York Herald
• Judge John Foster Wheeler, his wife, and two children of Fort Smith
• Mr. T. B. Corbin of Washington, D.C.
• John Butterfield, Jr., stage driver "on the box"