SMITH'S STATION - BUTTERFIELD TRAIL
SMITH'S STATION ON THE BUTTERFIELD TRAIL
ON VIEW AT THE GRACE MUSEUM
DECEMBER 1, 2022 - JULY 15, 2023
Lectures at the Grace Museum in Abilene, Texas
Joe Allen’s Lecture
Debbie Lile's Lecture
Michael Grauer's Lecture
Smith's Station - a station of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route
From 1858 until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, a station of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route was located here.
Despite a brief existence, it was an important stop on the early stage line that reached from Missouri to California. Stages made the trip in under 25 days, a marked improvement on earlier communication links with the rapidly developing West.
Located on Chimney Creek between stage stops at Clear Fork (26 MI. NE) and Fort Phantom Hill (12 MI. SW), Smith's Station was the only Butterfield stop located in present Shackelford County.
In March of 2004 Joe Allen, an historical archeologist, followed the Butterfield Trail and discovered many artifacts along the way.
OFFICIAL BUTTERFIELD TRAIL DOCUMENTS
Excerpt from "A Personal Country" by A.C. Greene published in 1969, Chapter 13, "The Butterfield and I", pages 201-206. Reflects observations of the Butterfield Stage and Chimney Creek Ranch.
Historical Marker application, Smith's Station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, submitted by Joseph E. Blanton, February 25, 1982 and attachments. Actual wording on Exhibit A, page 188.
Narrative History to support application for historical marker for Smith's Station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route by Joseph E. Blanton.
Excerpt from "The Butterfield Overland Mail, 1857-1869" by Roscoe P. Conkling and Margaret B. Conkling published in 1947, pages 327-328. Reflects observations about Smith's Station.
Excerpt from "The Butterfield Overland Mail" by Waterman L. Ormsby, published in 1960, "Only Through Passenger on the First Westbound Stage", published in 1858, page 48. This paragraph describes the primitive living conditions at Smith's Station during that time.
Excerpt from "900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail - published in 1994"
