ew modern Nebraskans have traveled in
a stagecoach, and then only in a parade
or as part of a re-enactment. Traveling for days
inside a crowded coach over the dusty prairie is an
experience we can only imagine.
When Nebraska Territory was opened to settlement,
however, the stagecoach was the principal overland means of
public transportation for people who could afford it. Before
the railroads came, it was the fastest means of travel.
Nebraska City freighter William Fulton in 1899 recalled
his early Nebraska experiences that included more time
spent in a stagecoach than he wanted.
In an August 18, 1899, letter to Jay A. Barrett of the
Nebraska State Historical Society, Fulton wrote: "I left St.
Louis, Mo., in February, 1859, and came to Nebraska City
by stage coach from St. Joseph, Mo. The ice being too soft
to bear the weight of the coach the passengers walked across
the river from the Iowa side."
Fulton said the rates for transportation of passengers
were high and the wayside accommodations poor. In 1860
a typical man's daily wage ranged from $1 to $1.50 a day.
Fulton writes:
"The Overland Stage Company in 1863 charged $75 fare
to Denver and $150 to Salt Lake City, while in 1866 they
got the price up to $150 to Denver and $350 to Salt Lake
A Brief History
NSHS
RG2586-3
Golden Spike Days Parade, Omaha, circa 1935. By the 20th century the stagecoach had become an icon of the Old West.
By the Nebraska State Historical Society
F
12 NEBRASKAland • JUNE 2017
Stagecoach Travel
