Butterfield Overland Mail

The Butterfield Overland Mail was a mail and passenger stagecoach service that linked the Western and Eastern states. John Butterfield, president of the Overland Mail Company, won a federal government contact in 1857 to take and deliver mail twice weekly in both directions between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, California. The service ran from September 1858 until March 1861, when events leading to the Civil War ended its operations. The route had a number of stops, including a large, well-equipped one in Franklin (present El Paso). The route through West Texas, later known as the Upper Road, followed a path from Hueco Tanks into Franklin. Route changes led to the development of the Lower Road, which cut south and followed the Rio Grande through San Elizario and Ysleta. The Lower Road provided a more reliable source of water and better protection from Native American attacks than the Upper Road. Both paths converged at the Concordia settlement, where Concordia Cemetery is now located. The Butterfield Trail continued to Franklin and followed the river north to Cottonwoods (now Anthony, TX), then veered west. The route boosted commerce in El Paso and helped increase the town’s population. It also strengthened the city’s link to the U.S. Stage service along the Butterfield Overland Mail terminated in 1861, although a Confederate mail service used the trail until 1862. The path later became the base for other routes, including roads and highways. Today, traces of the Upper Road remain visible on Fort Bliss and El Paso International Airport property. The trail’s legacy continues to live through the commerce and people which it brought to El Paso, and its bonding of the town to the rest of the United States. (2008)

Butterfield Overland Mail is a historical marker in El Paso, El Paso County, dedicated in 2008. It is one of 94 historical markers documented in El Paso County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 140 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.8232, -106.3381 near El Paso. The nearest cataloged historic site is Biggs Army Airfield (historical marker), about 3.0 miles away. Others within a short drive include Fort Bliss at Lanoria Mesa, Evergreen East, and Fort Bliss.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507015036. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.