The America Expansion coloring pages

19th Century American history coloring pages - (1866) - Overland Mail Stagecoach

The Overland Mail Company won a lucerative U.S. Mail contract in September 1857. The contract required the stage to go through El Paso, Texas and Fort Yuma, Arizona, (the so-called Oxbow Route). The western fare one way was $200 with most stages arriving 22 days later at their final destination. This route was an extra 600 miles longer than the central and northern stage routes but had the advantage of being free of snow. Employing over 800 at its peak, it used 250 Stagecoaches and 1800 head of stock, horses and mules and 139 relay stations or frontier forts.