This rider signed cover is a commemorative reenactment of the
Jackass mail, which was the first official trans-continental overland mail
stage line in the USA.
The San Antonio- San Diego Mail line of June 1857 contract was was awarded James Birch who was to provide semi-monthly service on a thirty-day schedule. For this, Birch would receive $150,000 per year subsidy from the government.
In less than thirty days, Birch dispatched the first mail west from San Antonio. Mules, rather than horses, were to pull the coaches and for this reason and the fact that pack mules actually carried the mail over the final 180 mile stretch from Ft. Yuma to San Diego, Birch’s new venture was more commonly known as the “Jackass Mail Line”. The departure dates were set for the 9th and 24th of each month.
The usefulness of the “Jackass Line” came to an end when operations of the Butterfield & Overland Mail began in September 1858, much of the usefulness of the “Jackass Line” had come to an end when operations of the Butterfield & Overland Mail began.
The San Antonio- San Diego Mail line of June 1857 contract was was awarded James Birch who was to provide semi-monthly service on a thirty-day schedule. For this, Birch would receive $150,000 per year subsidy from the government.
In less than thirty days, Birch dispatched the first mail west from San Antonio. Mules, rather than horses, were to pull the coaches and for this reason and the fact that pack mules actually carried the mail over the final 180 mile stretch from Ft. Yuma to San Diego, Birch’s new venture was more commonly known as the “Jackass Mail Line”. The departure dates were set for the 9th and 24th of each month.
The usefulness of the “Jackass Line” came to an end when operations of the Butterfield & Overland Mail began in September 1858, much of the usefulness of the “Jackass Line” had come to an end when operations of the Butterfield & Overland Mail began.
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