Stagecoach ticket and victualing expenses – Missouri and California State Quarter Coins

Today, the Missouri and California State Quarter Coins remember the stagecoach trips begun at St. Joseph, Missouri and Placerville, California with the first Overland Daily Mail 155 years ago.

From the Sacramento Daily Union of July 1861:

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ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST DAILY OVERLAND MAIL.

The first stage of the Daily Overland Mail line between St. Joseph, Mo., and Placerville, arrived at the latter place yesterday morning at half-past five. The mails and passengers came through to this city by the noon train from Folsom.

The Stage left St. Joseph on the 1st of July, at nine o’clock, making the through trip to this city in seventeen days, four hours and fifteen minutes. But one passenger came through from Missouri, though two started from St. Joseph.

One of them, S. Miller, stopped at Laramie to await the arrival of some missing baggage. The other, Thomas Miller, is a resident of Oregon, for which State he will leave to-day or to-morrow by the Sacramento and Portland line of stages.

When he arrives at his journey’s end, he will have made one of the longest continuous stage trips that can be taken in any part of the world where stage coaches are run.

We are indebted to him for some information concerning the first trip of the Overland Mail coach.

The stage reached Julesburgh, 480 miles this side of St. Joseph, at the crossing of the Platte, at five P. M. July 5th, and passed Fort Laramie at noon on the following day.

On the 7th reached Horseshoe Creek station, where the Agent had left orders for the detention of the stage until the next day, on account of a want of stock at one of the stations ahead. A delay of 10 hours was experienced at this place.

On the 8th the stage crossed the North Platte bridge, passing through the Devil’s Gate, at the edge of the Rocky Mountain chain, at dusk of the same day.

The next day reached Pacific creek, the first stream on the route where waters run towards the Pacific.

On the 10th, at 4 A. M., crossed Green river, and on the 11th, at 5:30 P. M., arrived at Salt Lake City.

Leaving Salt Lake at 6:30 same evening, the stage crossed the desolate region which spreads out for miles to the westward, making the first considerable halt at Deep creek, 175 miles this side of the City of the “Saints,” on the 13th inst.

On the 14th they were at Ruby valley; on the morning of the 16th, telegraphed their arrival at Sands’ station; by 4 p. m. same day were at Fort Churchill, and at 10:20 in the evening arrived at Carson City.

Here the stage party, now numbering four or five, including one of the proprietors of the line, stopped all night, starting the next morning, along with the mails, on the regular nine o’clock daily stage for Placerville.

Here the progress of the overland journey ceases to be regulated by the arrival of the stage at the different stations, and must depend upon making the connection in time for the morning stage of another line, or lose sometimes perhaps a whole day.

The party now were on the last section of the route, and came through in good style, reaching Placerville at half past five A. M. on the 18th of July. They were received at Upper Placerville by a cavalcade and band of music, and the stage escorted into town amid the cheers of citizens and the firing of guns.

At six o’clock the mails and our through passenger were again on their way, reaching Sacramento at half past three P. M.

Our informant speaks in highly favorable terms of the route and the arrangements which the Stage Company are making for the fulfillment of the terms of their contract as regards the carrying of both mails and passengers.

The stations, when all up, will be twelve miles distant from each other. The refreshment houses are not yet in order, nor is the road as fully stocked as it is designed to have it; but another fortnight will be sufficient, it is thought, to provide all requisite wayside conveniences, so that travelers to and from the Pacific may take the stage at either end of the route with a tolerable certainty of being carried through in seventeen days, and of finding rude but wholesome and abundant food along the journey.

On the trip just ended, the delays from the incompleteness of the stations, and insufficiency of stock made a difference of forty hours in the aggregate time of the journey.

It is the opinion of our informant that the trip can be made at this season of the year in twelve days with ease.

The price of a ticket by Overland stage from St. Joseph to Placerville was two hundred dollars, and the victualing expenses of the trip amount to about thirty dollars more.

When there are not more than four persons in the stage, arrangements for passing the night on the seats of the stage wagon, used as a common bed, may be made very comfortably.

The first mails to the Pacific by the Daily Line are very light. Not more than five bags came through, two of which are for San Francisco.

The Overland Mail stage which left this city on the 1st of July was met nine days out from Placerville, about 70 miles this side of Green river. Passengers well, and everything betokening a speedy and comfortable trip.

No unfriendly Indians were encountered along the route, though parties were cultivating the acquaintance and good will of the whites at most of the stations.

The emigration to California has mainly taken the route by the way of Honey Lake Valley. Grass and water were not plentiful along the route, but no signs of suffering were seen among the emigrants.

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The Missouri and California State Quarter Coins show with an image, circa 1933, of an old stagecoach stop in Wyoming.

Missouri and California State Quarter Coins