Butterfield Overland Mail Route Stations

Booth Number One

Location of Marker: On State Highway 40, three miles north and three-quarters mile east of Stillwater, Payne County.

Placed on the south boundary of the Cherokee Outlet, this both registered thousands of hopeful homesteaders for the opening of the area to settlement on September 16, 1893.

Butterfield Overland Mail Route Stations

Location of Markers:

Walker's: At site of old Choctaw Agency, about one and one-half miles northeast of Spiro, LeFlore County,.

Trahern's: At Latham, eight miles west of Shady Point, LeFlore County.

Holloway's: At the "Narrows," three miles northeast of Red Oak, Latimer County.

Riddle's: East of Wilburton, one and one-half miles on section line road at Lutie, off U.S. Highway 270 on country road at Old Riddle Cemetery, Latimer County.

Pusley's: South of Gaines Creek about three miles southwest of Higgins, Latimer County.

Blackburn's: North of Pine Top School in sections Four and Five, Township Two North, Range Fifteen East, Pittsburg County.

Waddell's: On county road three miles west of Wesley, Atoka County.

Geary's: Inundated by Atoka Reservoir, about one and one-half miles southwest of Stringtown, Atoka County.

Boggy Depot: Four miles south of State Highway 7 bridge on Clear Boggy River, in Boggy Depot Park, Atoka County.

Nail's: East side of Blue River, about two miles southwest of Kenefic, Bryan County.

Fisher's: Two miles south of U.S. Highway 70 and four miles west of Durant, Bryan County.

Colbert's Ferry: On grounds of the old B.F. Colbert home site and near grave, about one and one-half miles southeast of Colbert, Bryan County.

Edwards Store: About seven miles northeast of Red Oak, Latimer County. Originally the log home of Thomas Edwards, the site became important as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, which operated from 1858 to 1861 between Tipton, Missouri and San Francisco, California. It was also the first location of the Red Oak Post Office, which was established on March 11, 1868, with Thomas Edwards as postmaster.

Created by an act of Congress on March 3, 1857, the Butterfield Overland Mail carried passengers and mail between Tipton, Missouri, and San Francisco, California. This provided the first transcontinental link between the Atlantic Seaboard and the Pacific Coast of the United States. Running through Oklahoma for 197 miles, the route had twelve stations within the state: Walker's, Trahern's Holloway's, Riddle's, Pusley's, Blackburn's, Waddell's, Geary's, Boggy Depot, Nail's, Fisher's and Colbert's Ferry.

Mountain Station: On top of Blue Mountain near Mountain Station Cemetery, about thirteen miles southeast of Wilburton, Latimer County.

Located on the old Fort Smith to Boggy Depot Road, a stage stand for changing horses and a toll road were established here in 1866 under Choctaw law. Between 1858 and 1861, the road served as a portion of Butterfield Overland Mail Route.

The above information is from the book, Mark of Heritage, by Muriel H. Wright, courtesy of Oklahoma Historical Society.