How Good was Mail Service in the Old West

The California Gold Rush put westward expansion on steroids. Californians were demanding better mail service, which up to then had been almost non-existent. From 1858 to 1861, John Butterfield’s Overland Mail transported passengers and mail twice a week in both directions along the southern route between St. Louis and San Francisco also known as the Ox Bow Route. The stagecoach traveled day and night on the 2,800-mile journey that took about 24 days to complete. The speed averaged about 5 m