San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line
Encyclopedia
The San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line, also known as the Jackass Mail, was the earliest overland stagecoach
and mail operation from the eastern United States
to California
. It was the creation of organized and financed by James E. Birch
the head of the California Stage Company. Birch was awarded the first contract for over land service on the "Southern Route", designated Route 8076. This contract required a semi-monthly service in four-horse coaches, scheduled to leave San Antonio and San Diego on the ninth and the 24th of each month, with 30 days allowed for each trip.
. There one transferred to a daily line of four-horse mail coaches traveling 140 miles to San Antonio, Texas
. Then one would take the San Antonio and San Diego Line 1,476 miles from San Antonio via El Paso and then the Southern Emigrant Trail
to San Diego. Once on the Pacific Coast the passenger could board a California Steam Navigation Company vessel to San Francisco.
To accomplish this, 87 stage stations were organized by Superintendent Isaiah C. Woods, formerly of Adams Express Company
in San Francisco. On the first mail run, they were setting up the line as the mule trains and coaches journeyed west from San Antonio. Superintendent Woods prepared a self-contained outfit for this journey across the unsettled country of Texas, New Mexico Territory
and Southern California
with almost no existing infrastructure. The vehicles used were celerity wagons or mud wagons, also called ambulances, which was the military use for the same type of vehicle at that time, rather than the better known Concord stagecoach. Water holes were set up at 30 mile intervals but many were unmanned and actual stations sometimes were separated by as much as 100 miles.
These first stations were at most a brush corral and a mud-walled hut, while the most were merely camping places at springs or stream crossings. Only the three at San Antonio, El Paso
and San Diego, had substantial buildings. The largest and most important station between El Paso and San Diego was at Maricopa Wells
, Arizona
, the dividing point on the route, where the eastbound and westbound mails met and turned back. Here was erected an adobe house and corral. During the company's existence it employed 65 men in all capacities, and owned 50 coaches and 400 mules.
On July 9, 1857, 17 days after Birch concluded his contract, the first mail left San Antonio and was carried on horseback arriving at San Diego from San Antonio in 53 days. The second mail, which left San Antonio July 24, was sent by coach and arrived in San Diego 38 days later. The average rate of travel over the route was about 40 miles a day.
Following the death of Birch at sea before the first mails reached their destinations, his contract was transferred to G. H. Giddings and R. E. Doyle. Woods was retained as superintendent with company head-quarters in New York. Only about 40 trips were ever made over the entire route before the service was curtailed.
Company began operating their stageline over the road, and using the station sites pioneered by Birch and Woods from El Paso, Texas, to Warner's Ranch, California. The San Antonio-San Diego Line was not absorbed by the Butterfield line but on December 1, 1858, the portion of the route between El Paso and Fort Yuma was cut from the service because it duplicated the service of the Butterfield Butterfield Overland. The service from San Antonio to El Paso and from Fort Yuma
to San Diego was improved from semi-monthly to weekly trips and its subsidy was increased.
During the year 1860, the west end of the route from Fort Yuma to San Diego was ended, leaving nothing but the 367-mile portion from San Antonio to Camp Stockton which was put on a weekly basis. Between Camp Stockton and El Paso it was put on a weekly basis. The service was thus improved to a weekly basis all the way from New Orleans to San Francisco.
In May 1861, this company was given a new contract for the year ending June 30, 1862, to operate a mail service over the entire route from San Antonio via Camp Stockton, to Tucson and points in California. An attempt was made to fulfill the contract, beginning April 1, but with the development of the Civil War, and Apache attacks on the stations and coaches of the line resulting from the Bascom Affair
the contractors were compelled to give up. The eastern portion of the line was curtailed June 30, 1861. The end came when the Camp Stockton to Tucson part of the line was discontinued August 2, 1861.
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
and mail operation from the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It was the creation of organized and financed by James E. Birch
James E. Birch
He was born in Port Hill, Prince Edward Island, the son of Thomas Birch, an Irish immigrant. He worked as a clerk for James and John Yeo for thirteen years. He then went to Boston for several months and returned to work for the Yeos as bookkeeper for three more years...
the head of the California Stage Company. Birch was awarded the first contract for over land service on the "Southern Route", designated Route 8076. This contract required a semi-monthly service in four-horse coaches, scheduled to leave San Antonio and San Diego on the ninth and the 24th of each month, with 30 days allowed for each trip.
Foundation of the Line
Birch envisioned that at New Orleans, one could take a five-times-a-week mail steamer to 540 miles to Indianola, TexasIndianola, Texas
Indianola is a ghost town located on Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The community, once the county seat of Calhoun County, is a part of the Victoria, Texas, Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1875, the city had a population of 5,000, but on September 15 of that year, a...
. There one transferred to a daily line of four-horse mail coaches traveling 140 miles to San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. Then one would take the San Antonio and San Diego Line 1,476 miles from San Antonio via El Paso and then the Southern Emigrant Trail
Southern Emigrant Trail
Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, Kearny Trail, and Butterfield Stage Trail, was a major land route for immigration into California from the eastern United States that followed the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico during the California Gold Rush...
to San Diego. Once on the Pacific Coast the passenger could board a California Steam Navigation Company vessel to San Francisco.
To accomplish this, 87 stage stations were organized by Superintendent Isaiah C. Woods, formerly of Adams Express Company
Adams Express Company
The Adams Express Company is a publicly traded diversified equity fund that traces its roots to a 19th century freight and cargo transport company. The Company uses a conservative investment philosophy, and the portfolio is managed with the expectation that it will generate solid returns with...
in San Francisco. On the first mail run, they were setting up the line as the mule trains and coaches journeyed west from San Antonio. Superintendent Woods prepared a self-contained outfit for this journey across the unsettled country of Texas, New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
and Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
with almost no existing infrastructure. The vehicles used were celerity wagons or mud wagons, also called ambulances, which was the military use for the same type of vehicle at that time, rather than the better known Concord stagecoach. Water holes were set up at 30 mile intervals but many were unmanned and actual stations sometimes were separated by as much as 100 miles.
These first stations were at most a brush corral and a mud-walled hut, while the most were merely camping places at springs or stream crossings. Only the three at San Antonio, El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
and San Diego, had substantial buildings. The largest and most important station between El Paso and San Diego was at Maricopa Wells
Maricopa, Arizona
-Surrounding Municipalities:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 43,482 people, 14,359 households, and 11,110 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,356.8 people per square mile . There were 17,240 housing units at an average density of 540.4 per square mile...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, the dividing point on the route, where the eastbound and westbound mails met and turned back. Here was erected an adobe house and corral. During the company's existence it employed 65 men in all capacities, and owned 50 coaches and 400 mules.
On July 9, 1857, 17 days after Birch concluded his contract, the first mail left San Antonio and was carried on horseback arriving at San Diego from San Antonio in 53 days. The second mail, which left San Antonio July 24, was sent by coach and arrived in San Diego 38 days later. The average rate of travel over the route was about 40 miles a day.
Following the death of Birch at sea before the first mails reached their destinations, his contract was transferred to G. H. Giddings and R. E. Doyle. Woods was retained as superintendent with company head-quarters in New York. Only about 40 trips were ever made over the entire route before the service was curtailed.
Supplanted by the Butterfield Overland Mail
On September 20, 1858, the Butterfield Overland MailButterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
Company began operating their stageline over the road, and using the station sites pioneered by Birch and Woods from El Paso, Texas, to Warner's Ranch, California. The San Antonio-San Diego Line was not absorbed by the Butterfield line but on December 1, 1858, the portion of the route between El Paso and Fort Yuma was cut from the service because it duplicated the service of the Butterfield Butterfield Overland. The service from San Antonio to El Paso and from Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...
to San Diego was improved from semi-monthly to weekly trips and its subsidy was increased.
During the year 1860, the west end of the route from Fort Yuma to San Diego was ended, leaving nothing but the 367-mile portion from San Antonio to Camp Stockton which was put on a weekly basis. Between Camp Stockton and El Paso it was put on a weekly basis. The service was thus improved to a weekly basis all the way from New Orleans to San Francisco.
Overland Mail Corporation
After the final suspension of the Butterfield Overland mail, March 12, 1861, the San Antonio and San Diego Mail Line reorganized and merged its interests under the title of the Overland Mail Corporation.In May 1861, this company was given a new contract for the year ending June 30, 1862, to operate a mail service over the entire route from San Antonio via Camp Stockton, to Tucson and points in California. An attempt was made to fulfill the contract, beginning April 1, but with the development of the Civil War, and Apache attacks on the stations and coaches of the line resulting from the Bascom Affair
Bascom Affair
The Bascom Affair is considered to be the key event in triggering the 1860s Apache War. The Apache Wars were fought during the nineteenth century between the U.S. military and many tribes in what is now the southwestern United States...
the contractors were compelled to give up. The eastern portion of the line was curtailed June 30, 1861. The end came when the Camp Stockton to Tucson part of the line was discontinued August 2, 1861.