Vermont men Jared L. Sanderson and Bradley Barlow, during the Civil War, established the Barlow-Sanderson Overland Mail Company, which first carried mail. It operated a stage line between Sedalia and Warrensburg, Missouri. By 1863, it also operated a line from Kansas City, Missouri, to Fort Scott, Kansas. In 1866, it expanded westward and transferred its headquarters from Kansas City to Junction City, Colorado.

By 1867, the two entrepreneurs had established a route from Missouri to California over the Santa Fe Trail and changed the name to the Barlow and Sanderson Company. They also had several shorter routes, such as Fort Larned, Kansas, to Fort Lyon, Colorado, and Bent’s Fort to Pueblo, Colorado. By 1869, they concentrated on expanding their routes in Colorado due to the booming mining industry.

In July 1870, the Company bought out the Denver and Santa Fe Stage Line and renamed it the Southern Overland Mail and Express. Later that year, in December, they moved their headquarters to Denver. The company continued to grow in Colorado, becoming the largest stage line in the area, and in 1874, the headquarters moved again to Granada, Colorado.

Two years later, despite rumors of bribery and corruption within the company, the stage line continued to expand. However, by 1878, Bradley Barlow withdrew, and the company’s name was changed to J.L. Sanderson and Company Overland Stage and Express Line. In 1879, the railroad pushed through Colorado, dramatically cutting into the stage line business. Still, the company hung on for several more years, again relocating its headquarters to Buena Vista. Though business was down, the stage lines continued to operate into the 1880s, though often plagued by bandits.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated May 2025.

Also See:

Drivers and Their Whips

Knights of the Lash: Old Time Stage Drivers of the West Coast

Stagecoach Kings (Lines) & Drivers

Stagecoaches of the American West

See Sources.