What was the name of the 1860s stagecoach company that connected Missouri with California?

The Butterfield Overland Mail was the 1860s stagecoach company that connected Missouri with California.

The service began operating in September 1858 under a U.S. mail contract awarded to John Butterfield. Its southern route ran through places including St. Louis, Memphis, Little Rock, El Paso, Tucson, and Los Angeles before reaching San Francisco. The route was chosen partly because it avoided the heavy winter snows of the central Rocky Mountains.

Butterfield coaches carried passengers, mail, and express shipments across more than 2,700 miles. The trip normally took about 25 days, far longer than the famous Pony Express, which carried only lightweight mail and operated for roughly 18 months.

The company lost its federal contract when the Civil War disrupted its southern route. Mail service was shifted to a central route in 1861, and the Butterfield operation became part of the Overland Mail Company. Its stage stations helped establish travel corridors later used by railroads and highways.