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John Warren Butterfield (1801-1869) –
Born in Berne, New York in 1801, John grew up on a farm and was mostly
self-educated. At the age of 19, he became a professional stage driver in
Albany, New York. He married Malinda Harriet Baker in 1822 and after
carefully saving his money, he became the owner/operator of a livery
business. Later he established stage routes throughout New York as well as
getting involved in other means of transportation, including steamboats on
Lake Ontario, the street railroad in Utica, local plank-roads, and the
Black River Railroad.
Through shrewd business skills, he soon
controlled most of the stage lines west of New York and in 1849 formed the
Butterfield, Wasson & Company. The following year, he merged his company
with two rivals, Wells & Company and Livingston, Fargo & Company, to form
the American Express Company (the same company that exists today.)
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John Warren Butterfield
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In 1857, American
Express won the government contract for the first
transcontinental stage line, carrying the mail from Missouri
to California and receiving $600,000 per year. Prior to this,
mail had been carried to the west by various private
companies, some under federal contract, using various routes,
including ocean steamer around South America, or overland
across the Isthmus of Panama. When finalized, the new mail
contract was the largest that had ever been awarded. The
original bid request was responded to by nine companies, all
submitting routes that were north of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
However, once the bid was awarded, the southern Postmaster
General mandated that the new line travel through Fort Smith,
Arkansas, to El Paso, Texas, and through Fort Yuma, California
before making its way to San Francisco. This new route,
called the "Ox-bow Route," added 600 miles to the original
bids. American
Express complied and formed the Overland Mail
Company to carry the mail, for which Butterfield became
president.
Service began
in September, 1858, but, unfortunately, was a short-lived
venture, as when the Civil War began, service was discontinued
in 1861. Portions of the Butterfield Road were then used by
both the Confederate and the Union armies, leaving portions of
the west virtually cut off from outside communication. In the
meantime, Wells Fargo continued to prosper with its more
northerly routes. However, the transcontinental railroad soon
replaced the need for overland stagecoaches and the old
Butterfield line was never resurrected.
John Butterfield later became the
mayor of Utica, New York. After suffering a stroke, he died in
1869.
The Butterfield Stage
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