Butterfield Trail -- Atoka OK
N 34° 23.944 W 096° 07.002
14S E 765055 N 3810174
This historic marker near the Confederate Cemetery at the Confederate Memorial Museum outside of Atoka OK marks the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail route through the OK Indian Territory of the late 1850s.
Waymark Code: WMGMB2
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 03/19/2013
Views: 7
The waymark is a pink granite historic marker explaining the history of the Butterfield Overland Mail route which operated in Indian Territory 1857-1861. The monument is on the old trail near the Confederate Cemetery at the Confederate Memorial Museum outside of Atoka, OK on US 69.
The text of the marker reads as follows:
OKLAHOMA CENTENNIAL '07
HISTORIC
BUTTERFIELD TRAIL
In Indian Territory
1857-1861
On Spetember 18, 1861, The John Butterfield Company received a Federal contract to transport mail from Missouri to San Francisco in under 25 days. Semiweekly trips began a year later. Twelve relay stations lined the Butterfield Trail in Indian Territory. Three (Waddell's Station, Geary's Station, and Boggy Depot) were in present-day Atoka County (see back) [map of Atoka County and station locations]
The Butterfield Trail permitted early transcontinental communication and was vital to settling the west. But its impact was short-lived. Service was halted by the Civil War (1861-1865). Afterward, railroads transported mail much more quickly.
Commemorating the
150th anniversary
of the Butterfield Trail in
Indian Territory
September 16, 2007
Sponsored by
The Lake Atoka Reservation Association
The Oklahoma City Water Water Utilities Trust
The City of Atoka
The City of Oklahoma City
[graphic of stagecoach and team]
Road of Trail Name: Butterfield Trail
State: OK
County: Atoka County
Historical Significance:
This marker sits on the old Butterfield Stage Trail. That trail was established in 1857 to run mail between Missouri and San Francisco CA. This trail facilitated transcontinental communication (promising delivery of mail in under 25 days), which helped settle the West. This marker is at the site of the Boggy Depot station in what was then known as Indian Territory.
Years in use: 4
How you discovered it:
We have seen several Butterfield Trail makers in our travels, but found this one when we stopped to see the Middle Boggy Creek Confederate Cemetery.
Book on Wagon Road or Trial:
"900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail" by A. C. Greene (available from Amazon)
Website Explination:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfield_Overland_Mail
and (the site we prefer because we know the folks)
http://www.bridgeporttxhistorical.org/Pages/Butter%20Field%20Overland%20Mail%20Co.html
Why?:
This was a stage road that was developed for transcontinental mail delivery from Missouri to California. The Butterfield Overland Mail ran over 2900 miles, but lasted only a few years before railroad expansion across the west rendered transcontinental stagecoach mail service obsolete.
Directions:
The marker is located on the grounds of the Confederate Memorial Museum north of Atoka OK on US 69. The address is 258 N Hwy 69, Atoka, OK. There are several signs in town and along US 69 guiding you to the museum and this waymark.
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Visit Instructions:
To post a log for this Waymark the poster must have a picture of either themselves, GPSr, or mascot. People in the picture with information about the waymark are preferred. If the waymarker can not be in the picture a picture of their GPSr or mascot will qualify. There are no exceptions to this rule.