how far apart were stagecoach relay stations

How the US Post Office Has Delivered the Mail Through the Decades - History Pony stations were generally located between 5 to 20 miles apart. All of those things should be remembered when the romance of stagecoach travel comes to a grinding halt and reality rears up. In the front is a cabriolet fixed to the body of the coach, for the accommodation of three passengers, who are protected from the rain above, by the projecting roof of the coach, and in front by two heavy curtains of leather, well oiled, and smelling somewhat offensively, fastened to the roof. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". . Old relay post, Cond-sur-l'Escaut, France, "Le relais", by Achille Laug, 1909, Fine arts museum of Carcassonne, France, 600 year-old facade of the Angel and Royal Inn showing its central entrance for coaches. The larger stations, called Home Stations, generally run by a couple or family, were usually situated about 50 miles apart and provided passengers with meager meals and overnight lodging. Stagecoaches, post chaises, private vehicles, individual riders and the like followed the already long-established system for messengers, couriers and letter-carriers. [10] By 1797 there were forty-two routes. In 1863, Hailey ran the first saddle train from Walla Walla to the Boise Basin, a distance of 285 miles, to service miners moving into the Boise area for the new gold rush. Part of this was due to greatly improved roading see Turnpike trusts and part to improved vehicles. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses. The earth sufficed for the floors. On November 1, 1866, Holladay sold his entire operation to Wells Fargo because he saw that the construction of the transcontinental railroad by Union Pacific was shortening his route across Nebraska. Walking Away Is Not Forever. The first rail delivery between Liverpool and Manchester took place on 11 November 1830. The food, service and the cooking showed it, and the walls of the houses were decorated with chromos. Ranches in the area were used, if the location fit. Though many types of stagecoaches were used for various purposes, the most often used for passenger service was the Concord Stagecoach, first built in 1827. The 'home' stations, where the drivers, and frequently the stages, were changed and where meals were served, were fifty to sixty miles apart. Once when a driver turned back, Henry Todd "fired" him, swung the pouches across his own back, swan the raging stream, and delivered the mail at Fort Sill a few hours later. They took over the business of carrying mail (proving as fast and reliable yet cheaper than couriers or mail carriers) and newspapers. Those were the times when the stage was most vulnerable to robbery. A more uncouth clumsy machine can scarcely be imagined. Why is it called a stage coach? - AnswersAll Unlike the movies, nobody wanted to chase a stagecoach on a horse at a dead run when you could calmly step in front of it while it was inching along. "Don't linger too long on the pewter wash basin at the station. Spit on the leeward side of the coach. And a stage could carry more people, providing the rider was willing to cling to the railings amid luggage lashed to the top. By the mid 17th century, a basic infrastructure had been put in place. Ah, the Old West, when men were men and women were women and you could tell the hero from the villain by the color of the hats. They were used to connect towns and cities with railroad stops to outlying mining and agricultural areas. By the early 1840s most London-based coaches had been withdrawn from service.[10]. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. iv. [10], Steel springs had been used in suspensions for vehicles since 1695. A service to Edinburgh was added the next year, and Palmer was rewarded by being made Surveyor and Comptroller General of the Post Office. [11], Impressed by the trial run, Pitt authorised the creation of new routes. Its big, heavy coaches were the Concord type, built for tests of durability. Common in England and continental Europe[5] posting declined once railways provided faster transport that was much more comfortable. By the mid 17th century a coach would depart every Monday and Thursday from London to Liverpool and, during the summer months, take about ten days to make the journey. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. However, this was not the end of the stagecoach, as it continued to be utilized in areas without railroad service for several more decades. For other uses, see. The table was rough pine boards and the benches or chairs were equally rough. Pie was another staple article, and such pie! I have eaten dinner at a home station when the meat was never more ambitious than bacon. It consisted of a sole-leather, lard-soaked crust, half baked, with a thin veneer of dried apples daubed with brown sugar. Through metonymy the name stage also came to be used for a stagecoach alone. The first stagecoach started out from San Francisco on September 14, 1858, at ten minutes after midnight. Can I change my ticket after I've bought it online? No ice was ever seen on the table. That meant a horse would pull the stagecoach for about a two or three hour shift. Hollenberg, Kansas Pony Express Station by Kathy Alexander. John Hailey was another pioneer of Western transportation. (FYI: Ranches, or Road Ranches, in Pony Express days, were watering spots/little supply stores/emigrant trail hostels/stopover places or the like, not like the big-acreage cattle/horse holdings, as we know today. [7], In 1754, a Manchester-based company began a new service called the "Flying Coach". From the 1860s through the early 1880s, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company operated steamships from San Francisco to Portland, and steamboats on the Columbia River from Portland to Umatilla, Oregon, and Wallula on the Washington side of the river. While railways started being constructed in Palestine in the last years of the 19th Century, stagecoaches were still a major means of public transport until the outbreak of The First World War, and in peripheral areas were still used in the early years of British Mandatory rule. They built their first Concord stagecoach in 1827 employing long leather straps under their stagecoaches which gave a swinging motion.[20]. Maximum efficiency was a priority. Lighter faster and better-bred horses were used as the road surfaces smoothed and heavy mud-slogging could be forgotten. Then the former prisoners relieved the passengers of all their valuables and order the driver to select the bet mules for their mount. 6 How far apart were stagecoach relay stations? The body of the carriage rests upon large thongs of leather, fastened to heavy blocks of wood, instead of springs, and the whole is drawn by seven horses.[18]. His travel from Bath to London took a single day to the mail's three days. The Overland Trail, also known as the Overland Stage Line, was a stagecoach and wagon road in the American West. The license holders paid a special tax for this right and could employ subcontractors and hired wagons. By the end of the 17th century stagecoach routes ran up and down the three main roads in England. Describing a journey he took in 1861, in his 1872 book, Roughing It, Mark Twain wrote that the Concord stage's ride was like "a cradle on wheels". Two men in Concord, New Hampshire, developed what became a popular solution. The trip took just over three weeks, and the stagecoach averaged approximately six miles per hour. It was regularly used as a public conveyance on an established route usually to a regular schedule. During the night, however, some daring members of the gang of horse thieves that roamed the frontiers filed the chains to the door in two and made good their escape with the mules. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. changing horses at relay stations set at 10-15 mile intervals along the nearly 2,000-mile route; the . The local postmasters delivered the letters as well as providing horses to the royal couriers. Stagecoaches are more comfortable than riding your own animal. Stage is the space between the places known as stations or stops known to Europeans as posts or relays. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History. [note 1] A professional coachman might accompany them to avert disaster. The last American chapter in the use of the stage coaches took place between 1890 and about 1915. Mountain Stagecoach by Rey Britton and Company, Adventures & Tragedies on the Overland Trail, John Butterfield & the Overland Mail Company, Canyon Station Treasure Near Kingman, Arizona, Cowboys, Trail Blazers, & Stagecoach Drivers List, Clark Old Chieftain Foss Boisterous California Stage Driver, George Baldy Green A Popular Stage Driver, A Journey to Denver via the Butterfield Overland Dispatch, Knights of the Lash: Old-Time Stage Drivers of the West Coast, Delia Haskett Rawson Carrying the U.S. Mail, Russell, Majors & Waddell Transportation in the Old West, Virginia Dale, Colorado Stage Station Treasure, Wells Fargo Staging & Banking in the Old West. It was about nightfall when the sheriff's posse rode into the little town. This way each driver and conductor became intimately familiar with his section of trail. Life at both the home and relay stations was very hard. The speed of travel remained constant until the mid-18th century. Around twenty years later in 1880 John Pleasant Gray recorded after travelling from Tucson to Tombstone on J.D. He spent the remained of his life on his allotment. "Butterfields men were rough tough frontiersman as no other men could handle the hardships that Butterfield would put them through. The stage lines most profitable contracts were U.S. Mail contracts, which were hotly contested. There were about 25 home stations along the route. Though the Pony Express is often credited with being the first fast mail service from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast, the Overland Mail Company began a twice-weekly mail service in September 1858. What do you need to know about the fetal station? There were stops at regularly scheduled intervals at stations where travelers could get off the stagecoach to unwind, and horse teams could be changed. The driver on the eastbound stage would meet the driver of the westbound stage at a timetable station and they would exchange mail and passengers and turn back. Before rail service reached the West Coast steamboats, stagecoaches, and wagons were the principal means of transportation to and from the inland areas of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho territories. [10], Palmer made much use of the "flying" stagecoach services between cities in the course of his business, and noted that it seemed far more efficient than the system of mail delivery then in operation. The faade of the main building as it appears today was built about 600 years ago. Stagecoaches continued to be a major form of transportation even after railroads were built into the Northwest. pp. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The speed of coaches in this period rose from around 6 miles per hour (9.7km/h) (including stops for provisioning) to 8 miles per hour (13km/h)[15] and greatly increased the level of mobility in the country, both for people and for mail. We'll need your StagecoachSmart card number and details of the ticket you bought on board. You can't change your ticket but you can request a refund and buy a new one. Within the month the service had been extended from London to Norwich, Nottingham, Liverpool and Manchester, and by the end of 1785 services to the following major towns and cities of England and Wales had also been linked: Leeds, Dover, Portsmouth, Poole, Exeter, Gloucester, Worcester, Holyhead and Carlisle. In a 1967 article in The Carriage Journal, published for the Carriage Association of America, Paul H Downing recounts that the word post is derived from the Latin postis which in turn derives from the word which means to place an upright timber (a post) as a convenient place to attach a public notice. The Pony Express Trail route went through a number of changes over time, to adjust to ground conditions, seasonal weather or other circumstances. This new line connected the Pacific Northwest to the rest of the country by railroad. The first stagecoach in the American colonies was owned by Jonathan Wardwell of Boston. The Walla Walla and Columbia River Railroad connected Walla Walla to markets throughout the West. A simple stage supposedly held up to nine adult passengers, but that was if everyone's legs and knees were intertwined. That meant a horse would pull the stagecoach for about a two or three hour shift. The Stagecoach: A Photo Essay on Western Travel He invested several hundred thousand dollars to build stations and fix the roads; to obtain the necessary live and rolling stock, forage, provisions; and to provide the men, arms, and ammunition for the protection of life, property, and the U.S. mail. Its characteristic layout beyond the central coach entrance from the Market Square has a long enclosed rear courtyard, old stables and another entrance to the rear. Over the years, the New Hampshire-based company manufactured over 40 types of carriages and wagons, earning a reputation that their coaches rarely broke down; instead, they just wore out. The coaches weighed more than a ton and cost between $1500 and $1800. He received $1,800,000 for the Overland Stage Line, an enormous sum in those days. Wallula was a major steamboat port and later an important junction for the Oregon Railroad and Navigation and Northern Pacific railroads. Numerous stagecoach lines and express services dotted the American West as entrepreneurs fought to compete for passengers, freight, and, most importantly, profitable government mail contracts. 6:25 PM - Tanya Tucker. The table furniture was of ironstone ware and tin, with iron spoons and heavy knives. New stagecoaches often known as Park Drags began to be built to order. By 1829 Boston was the hub of 77 stagecoach lines; by 1832 there were 106. "Never attempt to fire a gun or pistol while on the road, it may frighten the team; and the careless handling and cocking of the weapon makes nervous people nervous. At one time, more than 150 stations were situated between Kansas and California. It was in 1875 that the elder Todd was acting as general manager of the Southwestern Stage Coach Company, which had its headquarters in Caldwell, Kansas, and its terminal at Henrietta, Texas. At each relay (swing) station, riders would exchange their tired horse for a fresh one. A simplified and lightened vehicle known as a stage wagon, mud-coach, or mud-wagon, was used in the United States under difficult conditions. February 10, 1927-Logan County News-Henry A. Todd, one of those brave and daring men who came to the Indian country when both it and he were young, died in 1913 at the age of 67 years. They were ordinary 'Pikers' who had never known any better living in former days. The company saved money by doing its own freighting in this manner. [12], In the 18th and 19th centuries passenger transport was almost exclusively by road though there were coastal passenger vessels and, later, passenger boats on canals. The stagecoach was required to work six times a week (except for the Shabbat) and to carry free of charge the mails and medicines of the Rehovot pharmacy. It was on one of the first trips out of Caldwell that the following incident, well calculated to discourage the new owners of the route, took place: A young driver had been entrusted to drive the stage. These stations also included stables where the horses could be changed, a blacksmith and repair shop, and a telegraph station. Steamboats were forerunners of the railroad as an important factor in the development of the West. The postal delivery service in Britain had existed in the same form for about 150 yearsfrom its introduction in 1635, mounted carriers had ridden between "posts" where the postmaster would remove the letters for the local area before handing the remaining letters and any additions to the next rider. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It was a similar style of passenger conveyance to the Berline coach. Stagecoaches usually had a driver and also an armed guard armed with a sawed-off .12-gauge hence "riding shotgun" but even so, that wasn't always deterrent. Speeds improved from 4 or 5mph (6.4 or 8.0km/h) in the 1690s to 10mph (16km/h) in the 1830s. 6 N., R 22 E.) where meals were served to Overland Mail passengers soon after the establishment of the stage line, Riddle's Station (Sec. Creeping through the valley, crawling oer the hill, Splashing through the branches, rumbling oer the mill, Putting nervous gentlemen in a towering rage. . A large pot of mustard containing an iron spoon which had partially succumbed to the attack of the vinegar always decorated the center of the tableThe butter was canned, and the milk was condensed.The inventors of canned food and bottled products deserve a place of honor in the annals of our country, for without their products, the settlement of the West would have been a far worse task. In England regular posts were set up in the 16th century. They may have simply been someones house who was willing to barter or sell water, food and/or goods to travelers.). Stagecoaches of the American West - Legends of America Located at the western base of Lemhi Pass (SW of Dillon, Montana) in the town of Tendoy, Idaho on a Shoshoni Indian Reservation. The rear doors were secured by a heavy log, which was chained and locked. Reforms of the turnpike trusts, new methods of road building and the improved construction of coaches led to a sustained rise in the comfort and speed of the average journey - from an average journey length of 2 days for the Cambridge-London route in 1750 to a length of under 7 hours in 1820. Until well into the 19th century an overland traveller anxious to reach a destination as fast as possible depended on animals. Stage stations were built every 15-20 miles. The responsibility therefore rested entire on the young man's shoulders. By the end of the 17th century, stage-coach routes ran up and down the three main roads in England. In 1884, the Union Pacific Railroad completed the Oregon Short Line, which left U.P. Here, drivers were usually switched. In 1877, the Omaha Herald published suggestions to stagecoach travelers providing practical ideas to make the journey as comfortable as possible. by stagecoach or wagon train How far did a stagecoach travel in a day? ut neurology residents. The buildings were erected by standing small longs on end, using clay to fill in the interstices, which made a strong, durable wall. [1], Some familiar images of the stagecoach are that of a Royal Mail coach passing through a turnpike gate, a Dickensian passenger coach covered in snow pulling up at a coaching inn, a highwayman demanding a coach to "stand and deliver" and a Wells Fargo stagecoach arriving at or leaving a Wild West town. The diligence from Le Havre to Paris was described by a fastidious English visitor of 1803 with a thoroughness that distinguished it from its English contemporary, the stage coach. It was isolated, primitive and dangerous. Butterfield Overland Mail: The World's Longest Stagecoach Route - TheTravel 1:30 PM - The Cactus Blossoms. Spent horses were replaced with fresh horses at stage stations, posts, or relays. However, lodging was often no more than a dirt floor. Over all, clay was spread smoothly. The driver on the eastbound stage would meet the driver of the westbound stage at a timetable station and they would exchange mail and passengers and turn back. "Drive off with your wagon." The stages kept on day and night, and so of course, the drivers had both daylight and darkness. Or daily changes of clothing. What happens to atoms during chemical reaction? This town today is one of those passed through on the Fort Elliott trail, now a modern highway, leading out of Elk City, Oklahoma. Bathe your feet before starting in cold water, and wear loose overshoes and gloves two sizes too large. Beginning in the 18th century crude wagons began to be used to carry passengers between cities and towns, first within New England in 1744, then between New York and Philadelphia in 1756. Stock feed was hauled from Wichita by wagon, as no part of the country then had ever been touched by the plow. Boggy Depot (Sec. It was advertised with the following announcement - "However incredible it may appear, this coach will actually (barring accidents) arrive in London in four days and a half after leaving Manchester." Though stagecoach travel for passengers was uncomfortable, it was often the only means of travel and was certainly safer than traveling alone. Going to the dug-out occupied by Bill Brooks, one of the leaders of the gang, they called him out, and with a pistol pointed straight at his breast, informed him that he was under arrest. If passengers wanted to sleep, they were required to do so sitting up, and it was considered bad etiquette to rest ones head on another passenger. For this distinguished guest, the road between Jaffa and Jerusalem was greatly improved, making possible the passage of carriages. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California.It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company.. During its 18 months of operation, the Pony Express reduced the time for messages to travel between the east and west US coast to . They were truly unsung heroes. Feed had to be hauled, in some cases, hundreds of miles, all at a heavy expense, and, as the country produced nothing then, provisions were hauled by wagons from the Missouri River, Utah, and California. A similar service was begun from Liverpool three years later, using coaches with steel spring suspension. 24, t. 6 N., R. 21 E.) at east end of the Narrows, about 3 miles northeast of Red Oak, Latimer County. 4-5, T. 2 N., R 15 E.) near present rock schoolhouse on county road, Pittsburgh County, just south of Elm Creek. Robberies were not uncommon, but they weren't the norm, either. Stagecoach arrives at Ely, Nevada on Railroad Day - September 1906 It took over 4 days and 27 stage stops just to cross Southern Arizona. Goods were taken by wagon, and later by railroad, from Wallula to Walla Walla. This account of early travel in the inland west by John W. Lundin and Stephen J. Lundin comes from a book the Lundins are writing about their great-grandparents, Matthew and Isabelle McFall, who were pioneers of Idaho. Stations - National Pony Express Association Individually mounted riders are subject to their personal endurance limits. To secure his mules from horse thieves, the driver placed a farm wagon across the front entrance of the stable, with instructions to two of the company's employees to sleep in the wagon bed. It does not store any personal data. Stagecoaches, often known by the French name "Diligence" - a smaller model with room for six passengers and a bigger one for ten, drawn by two horses (in the city, on the plain or on a good road) or three (on intercity and elevated roads) - were the main means of public transportation in Ottoman Palestine between the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Along the many stage routes, stations were established about every 12 miles that included two types of stations "swing" and "home." As the stage driver neared the station, he or she would blow a small brass bugle or trumpet to alert the station . The stockholders of the southwestern Stage Coach Company were H. M. Vaill, I. P. Williamson, of Independence, Missouri, and John R. Mino, also a citizen of Missouri. For most of human history, this was the fastest way to transport people and parcels over land. The more numerous swing stations, generally run by a few bachelor stock tenders, were smaller and usually consisted of little more than a small cabin and a barn or corral. 3, T. 7 S., R. 8 #.) These owners were (often very expert) amateur gentlemen-coachmen, occasionally gentlewomen. Stagecoach Stations - True West Magazine Stage fare was twenty cents per mile. [8] A string of coaching inns operated as stopping points for travellers on the route between London and Liverpool. Some are based on location or station master names, distances from or to, etc. Don't discuss politics or religion, nor point out places on the road where horrible murders have been committed. Some owners would parade their vehicles and magnificently dressed passengers in fashionable locations. Along the many stage routes, stations were established about every 12 miles that included two types of stations swing and home. As the stage driver neared the station, he or she would blow a small brass bugle or trumpet to alert the station staff of the impending arrival. The driver's daily work averaged this fifty or sixty miles, at a rate of about five miles an hour. What was the station called on a stagecoach? In those days, before the era of railroads and the age of miracles, the company's operations ranked as probably the greatest chain of transportation operating throughout the West. A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses.

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