he stagecoaches belonged to Tthe Overland Mail Company, organized by New York transportation giant John Butter昀椀eld in 1857. Awarded the government contract to provide the 昀椀rst transcontinental overland mail service, Butter昀椀eld set up the line in a year’s time, a remarkable feat given the infrastructure required along the frontier. The stage line operated for two and a half years on the “Southern Route,” passing through Missouri, Arkansas, Indian Territory, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California, bound for San Francisco to serve a recently transplanted population hungry for news from the east and letters from home. The service operated successfully, transporting mail and passengers in both directions ef昀椀ciently and safely, for the most part, during its brief life. The 昀椀rst westbound 20