Historic Butterfield Trail in Indian Territory
N 34° 23.937 W 096° 07.005
14S E 765051 N 3810161
This historic marker about the Butterfield Trail that came through this area in the late 1850s is located on the grounds of the Confederate Memorial Museum north of Atoka OK on US 69.
Waymark Code: WMGMBE
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 03/19/2013
Views: 9
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]
County: Atoka
Record Address:: 258 N Hwy 69 Atoka, OK 74525
Web site if available: [Web Link]
Rate the Site:
Date Erected: 2007
Sponsor (Who put it there): Lake Atoka Reservation Assn, OKC Water Utility, Cities of Atoka and OKC
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Visit Instructions:1 - Must visit the site in person.
2 - New Photo required.
3 - Give some new insight to the marker/site.