John Butterfield

John Butterfield was born in 1801. He was born in Berne, New York. John grew up on a farm. He grew up with all the new technology of the world around him. In the 1800s, this included the first steamboat and the electric telegraph.

When John was 19, he decided that he wanted to be a stagecoach driver. He saved money and he opened his own business. The business was a delivery business. After hard work, he became the owner of one of the largest stagecoach companies. Later he helped to create a bigger business with other men. This business was the American Express Company.

Congress established a mail route in 1857. This Mail route went from St. Louis through Springfield to San Francisco, California. This became known as the Butterfield Route. Click on the image below to go to a bigger map.

John Butterfield was given the job to deliver the mail. He was paid $600,000. John carried the mail on the first leg of the first Journey. He went right through Springfield. It was during this time that he said, “Remember Boys, nothing must stop the mail." His company delivered the mail for 2 ½ more years. Then his company joined with the Wells Fargo Company.

His stagecoach company and the Butterfield route were important for Springfield and this area of Missouri. These are images of the stagecoaches that brought people and mail to Springfield:

John moved to Utica, New York. In 1865 he became the mayor of Utica. He died in 1869. He was 59. John Butterfield established the longest mail route in the world at that time. He helped connect people separated by 2000 miles.

Author: Paul Mack
Sources: Joann Mazzio, The Butterfield Overland Mail: Stitching the Country Together
Mary Emma Gibson and Lola Potts, Butterfield Overland Mail
Bob Katz, Father of the Butterfield Overland Mail
See the sites of Southern New Mexico Online and Desert USA
Portrait of John Butterfield is courtesy of The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County (For use in conjunction with the SMSU Campus Compact/WorldCom grant project. You must request permission from the History Museum for Springfield-Greene County to print, copy, or download this image for any other use.)