Across The Fence: The Butterfield Overland Mail

On the Sept., 15, 1858 the newly formed Butterfield Overland Mail Company sent its first Concord stages on their inaugural journey across the U.S. One stage left Saint Louis, Mo., and another left San Francisco, Calif., and within 25 days, each would reach their destination on the opposite end of the Overland Route.

The history of our Nebraska Panhandle does not include this historic event in the annals of Nebraska's pioneers. But two years later, in 1860, Nebraska would play host to a major portion of the Pony Express Route as it followed the old Oregon and California trails. Though the Pony...