DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's got the word on this one, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Here's what it says, right here in Loving County, Texas. Over these very tracks passed the Butterfield Stage — 1858 to 1861 — and what a thing it was.
For the first time in history, a combined passenger and mail service ran all the way from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. Let that sit a moment. Atlantic to Pacific.
One continuous line of coaches, mules, dust, and determination. John Butterfield's company didn't tiptoe into this operation. They came in with 1,350 mules and horses and 90 Concord coaches and wagons, rolling westward out of St.
Louis and Memphis. The stages moved fast, too — despite the fact that real roads were more of a suggestion than a reality out here. How'd they manage to keep passengers fed and horses fresh?
A signal given on approach to a station would guarantee food on the table and a fresh team ready to go. That's a system. Stations were spaced anywhere from 12 to 113 miles apart, and route changes were made regularly — often just to find water.
Because water, out here, was everything. Now, the passengers and the crew? They wore guns.
That detail's in there plain as daylight. And here's a choice the company made that speaks to the thinking of the time: west of Fort Belknap, they switched to mules. The reason, according to the marker, is that Indians liked horses.
Mules were less tempting, and that reduced the danger of attack. Practical math in a dangerous country. One way, the trip took 25 days total — and seven of those were spent just crossing Texas.
The route cut through near Preston, which is now sitting under the waters of Lake Texoma, then on to Jacksboro, Fort Belknap, Fort Chadbourne, and El Paso. Twenty-five days. 2,700 miles. And the one-way fare was $200.
That wasn't pocket change. Now this particular marker, here in Loving County, stands at a stretch that was something else entirely on that very first run. The inaugural trip launched September 16th, 1858, and rolled through to October 12th, 1858.
And this span — 113 miles of it, from Emigrants' Crossing, 82 miles south of here, all the way to Pope's Crossing, 31 miles north — had no team change at all on that first crossing. None. The whole 113 miles on the same animals.
The route ran parallel to the Pecos River through here, and that first run was blazing the trail in the most literal sense. By November, the company had caught up with itself — three change stations established in this area, one of them being Skillman's Stop, six miles north of here. And then in 1860, the route was shortened, shifting to run by way of Forts Stockton, Davis, and Quitman, west of the Pecos.
Three years of operation. 1858 to 1861. Atlantic to Pacific, through some of the most unforgiving country on the continent — and for seven days of every trip, right through Texas. The land here remembers it, even if the road doesn't.
And this marker, on a park site donated by Mr. and Mrs. N. F.
Chapman of Pecos, Texas, makes sure the story doesn't get swallowed up like Preston did — quietly, under the water.
What the marker says
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