San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line facts for kids

The San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line, also known as the Jackass Mail, was an important early mail and travel service in the United States. It helped connect the Eastern United States to California using stagecoaches and mail delivery. This service ran from 1857 to 1861. James E. Birch started and paid for this line. He was given the first contract to deliver mail along a special "Southern Route." This contract meant coaches had to leave San Antonio and San Diego twice a month. Each trip was supposed to take 30 days.

Starting the Mail Line

James Birch had a big idea for how people and mail could travel across the country. He imagined a journey that started in New Orleans. From there, travelers would take a mail steamer (a type of boat) for 540 mi (870 km) to Indianola, Texas. Then, they would switch to a daily line of four-horse mail coaches. These coaches would travel 140 mi (230 km) to San Antonio.

From San Antonio, the main part of the journey began. The San Antonio and San Diego Line would cover 1,476 mi (2,375 km). It followed the San Antonio–El Paso Road and continued north to Mesilla. From Mesilla, it used the Southern Emigrant Trail all the way to San Diego. Once on the Pacific Coast, passengers could then take a boat to San Francisco.

To make this happen, Birch teamed up with George Henry Giddings. Giddings already ran the San Antonio-El Paso Mail service. This covered more than half of the route to La Mesilla. A total of 87 places for water and stage stations were set up. Isaiah C. Woods, who used to work for Adams & Company of California, managed this huge task.

On the very first mail trip, they were still setting up the line. Mule teams and coaches traveled west from San Antonio. Superintendent Woods made sure they had everything they needed. This was important because they were crossing wild lands in Texas, New Mexico Territory, and Southern California. There were almost no towns or services along the way. The vehicles they used were called celerity wagons or mud wagons. They were also known as ambulances because the military used similar vehicles. These were different from the more famous Concord stagecoach.

Stations and Water Stops

The mail line needed many stops along its long route. Water holes were planned about 30 mi (48 km) apart. However, many of these were just places to get water and had no people working there. Actual stations, where coaches could rest and change mules, were sometimes as far as 100 mi (160 km) apart.

Most of these early stations were very simple. They might have just a brush corral for the animals and a small hut (called a jacal) for the person watching over it. Many stops were simply camping spots near springs or river crossings. Coaches would stop there for the night. Only the main locations like San Antonio, El Paso, and San Diego had larger buildings.

The biggest and most important station between El Paso and San Diego was at Maricopa Wells, Arizona. This was the halfway point where mail coaches traveling east and west would meet. An adobe house and a corral were built there. During its time, the company had 65 workers. It also owned 50 coaches and 400 mules.

How the Mail Line Performed

On July 9, 1857, just 17 days after Birch signed his contract, the first mail left San Antonio. It was carried by horseback and reached San Diego from San Antonio in 53 days. The second mail left San Antonio on July 24. This time, it was sent by coach and arrived in San Diego 38 days later. On average, coaches traveled about 40 mi (64 km) each day.

Sadly, James Birch died at sea before the first mail even reached its destination. After his death, his contract was given to George H. Giddings and R. E. Doyle. Isaiah Woods stayed on as the superintendent. The company's main office was in New York. Only about 40 trips were made over the entire route before the service was reduced.

Replaced by Other Mail Services

On September 20, 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail Company started its own stagecoach line. It used many of the same roads and station sites that Birch and Woods had set up. This was especially true for the route from El Paso, Texas, to Warner's Ranch, California.

The San Antonio–San Diego Line was not completely taken over by the Butterfield line. However, on December 1, 1858, the part of the route between El Paso and Fort Yuma was cut. This was because the Butterfield Overland Mail already offered service on that section. The remaining service from San Antonio to El Paso and from Fort Yuma to San Diego was improved. Instead of twice a month, trips became weekly. The money the government paid them also increased.

By 1860, the western part of the route from Fort Yuma to San Diego was stopped. This left only the 367 mi (591 km) section from San Antonio to Camp Stockton. This section also became a weekly service. The part between Camp Stockton and El Paso also became weekly. This meant that the mail service from New Orleans all the way to San Francisco was now weekly.

Overland Mail Corporation

After the Butterfield Overland mail service stopped on March 12, 1861, the San Antonio and San Diego Mail Line changed its name and joined with other interests. It became known as the Overland Mail Corporation.

In May 1861, this new company received a contract to run mail service for another year. It was supposed to cover the entire route from San Antonio, through Camp Stockton, to Tucson, and then to places in California. They tried to start this new service on April 1. However, the American Civil War began, and there were attacks by Apache groups on the stations and coaches. These attacks were partly due to the Bascom affair. Because of these problems, the company had to give up. The eastern part of the line was stopped on June 30, 1861. The very end came when the Camp Stockton to Tucson part of the line was stopped on August 2, 1861.