Trains and planes

TL;DR -- Trains first, and then planes. These move from place to place, carry people and goods, or just amaze us like the fighters. Children play with toys representing these. The train is from our first century and helped build the country. The plane is later and serves similar roles but speeds up the process. 

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Last post, we reiterated on coach travel (Butterfield, for example). Now, let's take the engines of trains, first, as they're on the ground doing real work. The 250th has been an occasion to bring out some big iron. This type of locomotive was designed to pull up to a mile of loaded railcars over the mountains, in the western part of the U.S. 

Big Boy is Union Pacific 4014 which was built in 1941. This photo is from 2026 when a rebuilt engine started to travel the country while we all celebrate the 250th of ink on paper (declaring independence). It was several years before the conflict was over with the Mother Country. 

In the photo, the 4014 was leaving Denver, CO. Its size is apparent from the photo. 

"rebuilt" was from the state of last use after which the engine sat in a Museum. Once it was decided to revive the engine, it was taken to New York and dismantled. There are several things to look at with respect to that, including tooling, handling things of matter of this size, 

Big Boy, Leaves Denver, CO

Now planes are added to the topic of the post. We have mentioned some aviation themes in our posts and will do more. This is where technology excels. But, the Big Boy is heavier than the Boeing 747 which is to be expected. One slogs along the ground for miles and miles. The other jumps into the sky and moves across the Earth to another site that is configured for its arrival and eventual departure. 

Big Boy moves about on rail. That was a topic as it was not until after the Civil War that the rail industry boomed. And, at a later time, there was one track of rail from the east to the west coast. We have had many posts on the technology and history of railroad 

To end this introductory post, as kids play with toys of rails and trains: both are featured in children stories which includes multi-media. 

But, let's look at mountains. We have covered rivers for a while. These carry water out of the higher elevations. Some of those elevations were troublesome to early travelers. 

The Wasatch Range
viewed from Jordan Campus of
Salt Lake Community College, March 2006

That brings up another topic, namely Trails. We will look at another (Mormon trail) as we add to the list of note, Oregon, California, Sante Fe. 

Nowdays, one can still take a train from Denver to the west coast. But, the plane schedules are literally 1000s a day domestically. 

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Postnote: Ships on water? That's how we got here. Movement by foot? Earlier inhabitants migrated without our conveniences. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/11/2026

10/11/2026 -- Review and edit. 

Kansas Day, 2026

TL;DR -- 29 Jan 1861. That was the day that Kansas came into the Union. We look at some information about the history. But, other States will get some attention, too. 

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In this blog, we have mentioned many states, mostly those of the colonial period. But, the state of Kansas has been mentioned a lot, for various reasons. Its neighbor, Missouri, has featured as well. Then, Calfornia has had more than its share of mentions. Of the other states, Texas has come up several time. And, there are many others that we ought to consider. 

Well known area that impeded 
the travel along the Sante Fe trail
(courtesy of the Friends of Flint Hills)

A category related to States would not be a bad idea. We'll add it. Meanwhile, here are some of the posts with a Kansas theme. 

• Kansas and Lawrence (2017) -- This post reminds us that the State was a project of New England. Some of those involved are mentioned, such as Col. TW Higginson. Another post describes the trip from New England of the folks who came here and got Lawrence and the University of Kansas going. 
• Kansas Day (2024)  -- Theme of the 29 Jan 1861 entry of the State into the Union. 
• 3 Trails (2019) -- This post was about Gardner, KS where the trails split after having started in Independence, MO. They went in different directions to Sante Fe, Colorado, and Oregon (California). Hundreds of thousands of persons passed through the site. 
• KATY- western railroad (2021) -- Looks at the spread of the railroad through the southeast corner which has its own history. Several New England families who passed through or settled are mentioned. Holbrook is one example. 
• Coronado of the early times (2023) -- The Spanish explorers were into northern Kansas back in the 1540s. So, the 400th of this place happened almost 100 years ago. A related story involved Arkansas and its river. As well, Pike of the peak passed through. 

What is this about? We will look to celebrate State anniversaries. Perhaps, we might look at the Northwest Territory first. That's the area around Michigan, by the way. In The Massachusetts Magazine published by Dr. Frank and friends, there was a regular report of families that moved to the area. 

Remarks: Modified: 02/28/2026  

02/28/2026 -- Chased down the image which disappeared. 

Overland mail

TL;DR -- Bunker Hill West was on our sights early as we looked at the progress of New England's influence into the west coast. We noted that a coach company had facilities there and that the journey for some arriving had started in St. Louis and was going up to San Francisco. That route was covered in both directions. There is a group that has been documenting the company and its involvement. One of the investors was of a Gardner family. We went to look for information about him which we will report. This post is an introduction to Overland Mail as an initiative of the U.S. government starting early. 

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As earlier posts mentioned, we used the isolation of the COVID times to pay more attention to the interior of the country. We got started with the naval activities, such as coastal attempts at colonies, fishing in the waters over here every year with the expectation of going back with some dried fish, and more. Too, the naval history of New England is rich prior to the Revolution which is facing its 250th lookback and after with the proliferation of companies related to shipping. 

In those earlier times, western movement didn't go much beyond New York. Though, early on, locations like Ipswich MA sponsored migration as best they could. Except, there were the wanderers even prior to the Revolution. Northern movement down to the area of Arkansas was going on about the same time that northern New England was getting its start. Even the west saw Europeans coming into the area even before Lewis & Clark's venture. 

Once the U.S. was born, it took a generation for activity in the west to reach a level of interest with St. Louis MO as a focus area. Much of the western traffic moved through that area, partly due its proximity to where the Ohio river joined up with the Mississippi. But, there was naval access to the west coast, as well before the Gold Rush of California. Some of this was due to Hawaii being a stopover point for sailing the Pacific. We intend to look further into that theme.

But, with land movement, we can map out areas and time frames. Jedediah Strong Smith was a focus due to his going out west through St. Louis (1820s when MO became a State) and then his extensive journeying in the west, including a stint in the LA area when it was still under Spanish rule. 

It was about then that we bcause aware of the St. Louis to San Francisco (LA_SF) coach route. Our focus was mostly about LA due to it being a stopover on the trail going to  San Francisco. The image shows DTLA in 1900 which a view toward what became known as Bunker Hill West which was named by a displaced New Englander. 

1900 scene, of Bunker Hill West
where Overland Trail coaches
came in, for relief of passengers
and sources (horses)

Recently, we noticed that there have been more publications on a website on the subject with information related to the LA_SF jaunt. More information has also been provided about the TX to SF part of the trip. Now, the eastern portion has better coverage is getting attention: Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma (with respect to the Overland Mail). For instance, AR is mountainous. One thing passenger were requied to do was get out and walk with the coach as it was slowly moved through the hilly areas. 

States in the area. Kansas had a lot of east west traffic. One research provided lots of information and commentary on that state's support for Overland Mail  (as it is seen in KS). That is now the name of this activity which denotes the main purpose plus the involvement with the U.S. government. St. Louis had heavy activity as the country was divided and sold throughout the west. 

Other states involved were TX, NM and AZ in the south. We will be looking at other views on Overland Mail as the Pony Express came to be for that specific purpose and ran across the northern states.  

People? The group devoted to the history and preservation of the Overland Mail route (that is associated with Butterfield - who never put his name on the venture) (The Historic Butterfield Overland Trail in Arizona) has done remarkable research. We are fortunate in that area. One of their latest ventures is to identify the employees who saw to it that the coach made it from MO to northern CA. The infrastructure was astoundingly complicated. 

In terms of comparison, we have a post that shows how the 21 days (3 weeks) of one way of this journey compared to other situation. For instance, the same amount of time was taken for a portion of the trip by wagon train from Independence MO (across KS and NM) to Sante Fe NM. Fort Lanerd KS is on the trail and 3 weeks away from the start. 

We made contact with the Butterfield group. There was a query. One of the investors was named James V P Gardner. Who was he? On a quick look, we identified one resource from the late 1800s that suggested that he was from a New England family. James V P Gardner (son of Daniel (6) - James Van der Poel Gardner -- as descendant of George of Rhode Island) would be a cousin of the Gardiner for whom the city in Maine was named. Too, he would have been related to the Gardiner who owned the ship that wrecked off the coast of Oregon in 1850. 

We will post what we know about James V P Gardner as a preliminary report from which we will build something adequate to serve as a truthful basis for information about him. 

The information from TGS, Inc. efforts is being provided now with the caveat that we need to look further into sound/solid provenance of the sources that are used. Bringing in another factor? Technology of late has seen itself contributing more to disinformation than to information. The theme is on our watchlist and is (will be) an actual focus for the TGS, Inc. at all levels. 

John likes to use this example: From the top, we have folks of huge cachet for whom History has lots ot say; getting modern, we have the top-level offices of the G-Suite (military) and the C-Suite (the industrial/commercial part of the activity); then the huge middle management realm; down to the workers and users of whatever the economy is about in terms of keeping the modern life viable. At each level, there is no one truth that can be said to be accurate from top to bottom. Or from bottom to top. 

The computer has both helped and hindered attempts at briding the gaps. Of late, things have been more problematic than necessary for various reasons. John jokes about buckets'o'bits and their misleading clouds, though many are working to make things more stable and sustainable. We all can help. 

So, with respect to our research and reports, we will keep the "shining light on the hill" (Winthrop) in mind. Too, our site will be "bespoke" for many reasons with the goal of providing a "portal to truth" which notion comes from the mid-2010s as we incorporated in order to organize future efforts.  

About sources? We have them. For Gardner Beacon issues over the fifteen volumes, we started with a Bibliography and Source page. However, we started to provide links from the issues to posts from this blog. However, we are looking into a better organization of our several blogs for proper curation of sources. 

Note 1: The information about J V P Gardner and his life looks good, even though we need to check the provenance of the pedigree. There are many extant documents that will support this work. This Note will be updated when the post about J VP Gardner is published. 

Note 2: The following photo is more apropos being from the correct period. The Bella Union Hotel had roots back to the 1830s. The Wikipedia page has some of the history. 

Old LA and the U.S. 
(Wikipedia) 

This is east of Temple and Main Streets. Temple runs up into Bunker Hill West. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/23/2025

12/23/2025 --

Bunker Hill West - 1873

TL;DR -- Today we saw an old photo of a sketch which shows part of Bunker Hill West in the 1870s. That's early enough to be before lots of the changes introduced over the long span of US history. The English culture took over in 1847 from that of New Spain. And so, the area has lots of offer with respect to our interest in the long reach of New England. 

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Here we go with a post on LA, again. Yesterday, as we looked at New France and New Spain, we mentioned Bunker Hill West. In the early days, the hill overlooked bustling LA. Then, people built upon the hill. They tunneled under it to start to build on the other side. It was partly lowered starting in the 1960s. Now long after, the skyscrapers started to appear with the first one right by the Library which is about as old as the LA City Hall. 

This pointer is to a search on Los Angeles within our blog. There may be Bunker Hill posts that did not come up on the list. In any case, the below photo which is courtesy of the Water and Power Organization of Los Angeles, CA is from a sketch near what is now 9th Street looking north. To orient the view, the well-known City Hall is between Spring and Main Streets (shown converging here) eight blocks north above 1st Street. 

To the middle below the foothills is where one would find The Cathedral of the Angeles, not built yet. The train station is north of that. 

Of interest today are the hills on the left. If one follows the Fort Street line (left of Spring Street) up toward the hills to north, there is a building standing above the city. That was Fort Moore. Going to the left, one can see parts of Bunker Hill West. 

Prior posts had some information about the history of development of the hill. Today, we wanted to show a view indicating that there was a hill of size. According to Wikipedia, the elevation was up to 200 feet above Los Angeles. Naturally, there are higher hills including the massive 14k-foot  mountain within a morning's drive seen on the upper right. 

The Bunker Hill represents history, pre-US and post the events of 250 years ago. In this area, the culture changed several times in a manner that is representative of the changes in the US. The current stature of Bunker Hill is obvious in the photos of LA. The majority of the skyscrapers have their footing on the scraped down and leveled heights of the hill. 

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Caption of the photo: (ca. 1873)* – Panoramic sketch looking north toward downtown Los Angeles showing mostly undeveloped land.  At lower-right can be seen the junction of Main and Spring streets at a point where 9th Street will one day intersect.  Hill Street and Fort Street (later Broadway) are on the left.  The Verdugo Hills and snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains can be seen in the distance. Photo of a lithograph, courtesy of the California Historical Society. 

DTLA, 1873 

We are fortunate to have original photos, sketches, and paintings of the area. One hopes that these photos with provenance continue to be available in the age of mimic and copy in a manner that does not preserve the truth of the matter. 

But, that's a technology matter to be discussed further with an actionable focus. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/23/2025

10/11/2025 - Water and Power has a whole page of photos from Bunker Hill West from the 1930s onward, including many areas compared with photos from then and now. 

12/23/2025 -- More on the Butterfield stage as representing the U.S. government's concern for handling Overland Mail. There has been lots of research about the trail from St. Louis MO to San Francisco CA. 

Three weeks

TL;DR -- We take modern travel for granted. To wit, the Delta recoil from the Microsoft fail just a week ago. Now, we can look at the details, and ought to. As well, let's ponder three weeks of travel back in the good old days.  

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Having just written on Los Angeles and then finding more information on the California Trail to which travelers on the Oregon Trail switched if they were headed to the Great State of California. Per usual, everywhere we look in the US, we seek out connections to New England. 

A recent focus on Bunker Hill West brought to fore lots of information about people from the east coast and their activities on the left coast. For the record, this area in downtown LA is where we now find the skyscrapers. But, under many of those are destroyed records of, at least, two cultural developments. Fortunately, there is an association in LA that has photos and records about the different eras and areas. 

That will be a regular theme along with technology which comes into play due to the potential for mischief. Already, we have seen photos that seem to have been generated by methods other than a human with photoshop or the like. We're not paying close attention, yet, as there are plenty of photos for study from the repositories that are available. 

On the other hand, tales of people abound and mostly are not known. Technology, you see, can be a boon as it will help document the past better than we have ever seen. 

Case in point, in the graphic on the left, I made the connection between a middle piece of the US with a Gardner name. It was on the Oregon/California and Santa Fe Trails. At the same time, I knew of Butterfield for a long while but only paid attention of late as the researching of New England's diaspora came to be aided by technology. Butterfield's stage line went from St Louis MO down through TX into NM and AZ and onto CA and arrived in LA after three weeks. From there, it was another week plus to SF. Nowadays, that is a little more than a five-hour drive.  

In the graphic below, the bottom middle view has two lines in red on the left. Both represent three weeks. Nowadays, that's not so long. But, if you worked 21 days without a break, you would feel it. 

The shorter line goes back to the top of the graphic which is the route from Independence Mo to Ft Larned KS. Nowadays, that's less than a five-hour drive. Earlier, we had a tale of the founders of Lawrence KS, including women, from Massassachuets who traversed that same route in 1854. The trip was to found the town and the University at Lawrence. Most returned to New England after the al fresco meeting leaving a hearty crew to carry on with the settlement. 

And, it was in the summer. They only had to do one fording of a river which is not large (the Wakarusa). Now, following the route to Santa Fe through Ft Larned has lots of these.

Now, on the right, one sees a line from Boston to London. Three weeks. When on things of that time span, what could one do? Well, that voyage took a bit of time in the past. But, nowadays, a week is sufficient for a modern cruise liner to make the trip. So, three weeks would be three trips from Boston to London, a return trip, and then back to London. Let's say after that, one would spend 7 hours or so flying back to New England. We need to think of other examples. 

As the modern analysis show, One can drive the same route from St. Louis MO to San Franciscso CA in about 39 hours. Most of that would be on the U.S. Interstate system. I have driven that a lot. 

That brings up another three weeks. This Butterfield route tied in with one from San Antonio TX. From there to El Paso took about the same amount of time. See, Pre-Civil War, San Antonio to San Diego (2021). This was a combination of two routes. 

Now, the top part of the image is of a wagon train pulled mostly by oxen. In the bottom part is of a coach pulled by horses. Consider the logistic for this, as horses needed to be replaced and cared for while they recovered for their next trip. People had to be fed, and other supplies would have been essential. 

Supposedly, this is a photo of a Butterfield stage arriving in LA. On the first trip. a report rode the whole way. We need to find that article. See this post: Mirror Building (2023). 

Remarks: Modified: 07/27/2024

07/27/2024 --    

Oregon, by land

 TL;DR -- Getting to Oregon, however done, was arduous. Today, we look at the land routes and note that the ordeals are subject of studies and have been for over a century. 

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Oregon is in the west, nestled above California. They respect their history ought there so preservation of material is a common theme. Recently, the Oregon-California Trails Association had their meeting. 

There were several ways to get to the west coast and Oregon from New England. We covered the water route in several posts and articles: The Gardiner that was (2018). Gardiner's barque left Boston in July of 1849 and got to San Francisco in January of 1850. It had passengers and sold its freight at the harbor. There was a subsequent voyage to New Zealand. In October of 1850, the barque (Bostonian) wrecked along the Oregon Coast. 

Family members went out another route which was descent to Panama, getting across to the Pacific, and taking another ship north. The return trip was as arduous. We'll look at that further at some point. 

We have written a lot about the land route. As, for a while, the trail went through Gardner, KS (3 Trails, 2019) where it split with the Santa Fe Trail. Over time, as people got familiar with the Kansas City area, they ventured north on the Missouri River to where they could cut out KS and go through NE. This saved a few days. 

Young bucks in high fever were in a hurry to get to the gold field. 

On the journey through Nebraska, the traffic went by Scotts Bluff (Facebook). For now, we put in a photo of the new and the old way which is apropos. People still ride the trail; one of the east-west Interstate Highways runs through the area. So, a brief nod to technology. 

Eagle Rock and a solar car, 2022

Now, let's go further west and look at another split. In Wyoming, the US Government sponsored work to shorten the trip to California. Lander Road was the cutoff that was made. This bypass saved 60 miles for those going to California via the southern route through Idaho. 

Lots of trails crossed the countrry. We appreciate that folks keep up attention on these routes and work to preserve the historical aspects. We expect that the coming 250th of the country will see a surge of interest. At the same time, we need to keep technology on the beneficial side of things, especially with regard to its potential for aiding historical work. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/25/2024

07/25/2024 --    

Old L.A. and the U.S.

TL;DR -- We continue to look at CA via two cities in order to learn more about the Spanish period that preceded the entry of New England's influence into the area. Period photos are the enabling technology. 

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We have been looking at two CA cities, LA and SF. Early on, we had Jedediah Strong Smith representing the eastern culture in his wanderings across that country. He was there in the 1830s. Later, we looked at the Butterfield Express which brought people, goods and mail from St. Louis, MO and from points in between, such as TX and AZ, to LA and onward to SF. This was in the 1850s and was quite successful despite the arduous nature of the trip. However, the Civil War interrupted the business for a few years, but post that conflict things boomed again. 

There were several motivations for looking at this area of the country which include the early explorations when it was a territory of Spain, then the initial comings and goings by sea and land, the acceleration of the New England influence after the Civil War, and, in particular, an area of DTLA that was known as Bunker Hill. As we have mentioned, it now is full of sky scrapers (high-rise corner), but the area represents changes that were fast and furious over the years. However, a huge change was the introduction of the railroad across the country. We can read of this: Samuel Clemens took the trip by stage coach; later, R. W. Emerson took a similar trip by rail. Clemens disliked the journey so much that he returned to the east coast by sea which was no mean feat either.  

W e have mentioned, before, the Cathedral (St. Vibiana's) that moved from the base of Bunker Hill to being on top in the latter part of the 1900s as urban renewal took its toll. The older building still stands, near the LA City Hall and serves the function of an event center. Today, we saw an early photo which was from before the time that the Cathedral was built. It is a smaller Catholic church with an interesting history with respect to our continuing studies of the other colonial experiences in the founding of the U.S.  

Before going further, let's pause to recognize and honor the work of the Water and Power Associates (WPA) which has collected photos related to the history of Los Angeles. This is their mission statement: 

to inform and educate its memberrs, public officials, and the general public on critical water and energy issues affecting the citizens of Los Angeles, Southern California and the State of California.

The below photos and information are courtesy of their virtual museum and collection of period photos. 

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We start by looking at an earlier church (La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles - Wikipedia). It is on the left of this photo that looks north on the Calle Principal which is now Main Street (Wikipedia) and which has been mentioned many times. We can consider the area to be at the foot of hills to the west of DTLA such as Bunker Hill. 

Old Plaza Church 

Zanja Madre

The caption for the photo at the WPA site mentions the "Mother Trench" (Wikipedia) with this caption:

The "Old Plaza Church" facing the Plaza, 1869. The brick reservoir in the middle of the Plaza was the original terminus of the Zanja Madre.

As mentioned, LA is a very dry place. So, water was brought in early and has continued to be of concern as the population abounded, and still abounds, almost without bounds. 

But, in the beginning: 

The Pueblo de Los Angeles was an official settlement of Spain. They had three types of settlements in Alta California: presidio (military), mission (religious) and pueblo (civil). The pueblos would provide the commercial and agricultural needs of the military as an alternative to the missions. (source Wikipedia) 

When researching Jedediah's experiences, we looked briefly at the military aspect of the community. The Old Plaza Church and St. Vibiana's are examples of the religious. In some of the early photos that we show below there were other churches appearing as New England's influence grew. But, for now, let's look at travel and trade, again. Butterfield is mentioned in one of these photos. 

Old Plaza Church
and the LA City Hall

In our earlier look, we mentioned how his coaches came into the area where the Times-Mirror building is now. Let's use a photo of Main Street looking south to set the dimensions. The photo is from 1928 which was not long after City Hall was finished. We see that the civic building is just down the street from the church. 

And, the facilities used by Butterfield (and his cohorts) would have been just on the other side of the City Hall from the church. 

Quoting the WPA site: 

The Overland Mail Company operated by John Butterfield (the founder of American Express) rented space for a station until it built new quarters in 1860 at Second and Spring--the present location of Mirror Building. The Wells, Fargo and Company also had their office here and Phineas Banning (Wikipedia) operated coaches to Wilmington and San Bernardino from the hotel.

But, that brings up another view to consider. We will be looking more at the history of Bunker Hill, eventually. It is just south of Fort Moore Hill which is in the background of the church in this photo. From this perspective, one can see why there was an effort to tunnel through these hills to go west. 

Fort Moore Hill to 
the west of the 
Old Plaza Church

The PWA site on Fort Moore hill: 

Fort Hill (also known as Fort Moore Hill) was a prominent hill overlooking the pueblo of Los Angeles. Its commanding view of the city made it a strategic location.

Fort Moore was an historic U.S. Military Fort during the Mexican–American War. Its approximate location was at what is now the Hollywood Freeway near the intersection of North Hill Street and West Cesar Chavez Avenue, downtown. The hill on which it was built became known as Fort Moore Hill, most of which was removed in 1949 for construction of the freeway. The hill was located one block north of Temple Street and a short distance south of present day Cesar Chavez Avenue, between the Los Angeles Civic Center and Chinatown.

The fort is now memorialized by the Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial, 451 North Hill Street.

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Now, getting back to Butterfield, the building where he started was built in 1835. That is very early as the area was still under Spanish control. This next photo is from 1865 and shows the state of the building after additional floors were constructed. 

1865 view after
addition to 1835 building of
Isaac Williams (Wikipedia)

Quoting the PWA site: 

The Bella Union Hotel was considered the first hotel in Los Angeles. It became the Clarenden in 1873 and the St. Charles in 1875.

Constructed in 1835 as the home of Isaac Williams, a New England merchant who moved to Los Angeles three years earlier, the one story adobe became the last capitol of Alta California during the Mexican era when Governor Pio Pico purchased it for his office.

After the conquest of Los Angeles by American forces in 1847, the building was used by Lt. Archibald Gillespie, who commanded the occupying forces. Later it housed American troops, and after they left, it became a saloon. By early 1850, the building was operating as the Bella Union Hotel. Later that year, it became the county's first courthouse and beginning in 1858, it was the region's transportation hub. The Overland Mail Company operated by John Butterfield (the founder of American Express) rented space for a station until it built new quarters in 1860 at Second and Spring--the present location of Mirror Building. The Wells, Fargo and Company also had their office here and Phineas Banning operated coaches to Wilmington and San Bernardino from the hotel. 

Wikipedia quote: 

On October 7, 1858, the first Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach from the East, arrived 21 days after leaving St. Louis, Missouri. "Warren Hall was the driver, and Waterman Ormsby, a reporter, the only through passenger. In that era it was the region's transportation hub: Wells, Fargo & Co. and Phineas Banning's coaches to and from Wilmington and San Bernardino had offices there.

By way of comparison, the Sante Fe trail went from Independence, MO through Fort Larned, KS on its way to NM after passing through Gardner, KS. That trek, western MO to western KS took three weeks of hard work, daily. The coach trip took the same. Mostly, the horses did the work. However, think of the difficulties of the trip compared to our modern times and its highways. 

Isaac Williams is an example of the multifaceted gents who were into fur searching, trading and then ranching. Earlier, we looked at William S. Bent, New Englander, and his adventures in the middle of the country; he was a cohort of Kit Carson and others. Williams was close to the same time and followed Jedediah Strong Smith out through the Mojave Desert to the lower coast.  

Connection: One owner was Obed Macy (WikiTree) who was a Thomas Gardner descendant of a Nantucket Island family. 

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Let's do one more photo as the three-story building that started as the Bella Union Hotel (Wikipedia) and became the St. Charles Hotel was there for a long while. And, it has a storied history that needs some attention. We will look more closely. The Daily Mirror sent an artist to visit the St. Charles and published a sketch March 16, 1936. It was demolished in 1940. 

As well, we will look at Bunker Hill houses and other buildings and identify those built by New England families. There are many photos to browse through which show the houses to be quite demonstrative of culture and money, considering the problems of LA and obtaining building materials. In one case, a mansion was converted to an apartment hotel and operated for years. 

Labeled photo, 1869

This photo is from one end of Bunker Hill which sweeps around to the right. It mentions the Times building and the "old" Overland Stage Corral. The Civil War interrupted the flow of traffic. This was several years after that conflict. Notice that the 3rd Street dig for the tunnel had already started. 

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So, as grounding or control, here is a modern view of the Bunker Hill area and its surroundings from Kenneth Hahn State Park (Times article). 

May human curators reign for a long while. Thank you, Power and Water Associates. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/23/2025

12/23/2025 -- More on the Butterfield stage as representing the U.S. government's concern for handling Overland Mail. There has been lots of research about the trail from St. Louis MO to San Francisco CA. 

What do we know?

TL;DR -- So, what happened in 2023? Lots. The world has changed, and it has not. People showed their seemingly limitless capacity to bow to the machine. 

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This post serves two purposes. For one, it looks at AI (usual sense) over the past year and collects material pertinent to ongoing discussion and work. The first list contains links with some commentary for each of item. This collection points to different periods over the last year. OpenAI made their announcement on 30 Nov 2022. At that time, we had these two posts which pertained to our continuing topics of research which includes technology.

• Family Search (29 Nov 2022) - we have used this site form the beginning. It represents the efforts of descendants of those who went west. Over the past few years, our focus was on the Interior of the country for several reasons.   
• Perspective, a necessity (1 Dec 2022) - the post looked at veterans from Ipswich, MA (after the Revolution) who went out to Ohio and created a settlement. The trip was well-documented and even repeated later in the 1900s. At the time, that was Michigan Territory. It was only 40 years later that the Santa Fe Trail was formed out of St. Louis, MO. A mere half-century after that, the railroad allowed easier coast to coast travelling. 

The image shows a copy of the "All time, popular" count by post. The topmost, related to the marriage of Thomas and Margaret, comes from the 2014 timeframe. The next one is 2021 as is the one titled "St Louis MO to San Francisco CA" which has spawned several of posts and discussions. The "San Francisco" post is from 2023. 

So, we will continue this area of research as there is plenty questions that are open. Our FAQ will be updated in 2023 to account for new information. In the post titled "A(rtificial) I(Intelligence) researched properly", we go through our own work over the past decade and make some predictions about the future. Given that this work carries on prior research allows a longer time frame that seems to be normal now. So, we will continue to describe things from the historical viewpoint, both technolically and phenomenonally (which is how we view the U.S.). 

Disclosure: We did not get involved with the xnn/LMM, generative material until after a couple of months had elapsed.  As noted above, our timeframe is much longer than normal; and, we need to slow things down in order to establish a little bit of maturity. All of this will be discussed. 

So, going forward, the second list deals with the major change in 2023. We will also use this to start a summarization of our positions on the subjects. The list follows a sequential timeline and uses posts from this blog and related material. 

• Introducing ChatGPT (30 Nov 2022) - there is a thorough overview of the motivation and what was being offered. But, access to the OpenAI system was announced. It did not take long for millions of people to sign up. We did see references to this activity on sites like Quora (who offered POE, later; the head of this organization is on the Board of OpenAI - mentioned them, in yesterday's post - Little Exeter NH).
• ChatGPT (2 Feb 2022) - we heard of the system from a colleague (a linguist) in late Jan and finally got around to doing a query on the 2nd (Groundhog Day). We asked about Thomas Gardner and thought that we were enlightening the thing with a suggestion. In this post, we mentioned that the output did not read correctly. That is a result of the techniques used and can be controlled, somewhat. On the other hand, there is a "omni" and "know-it-all" nuance that is obvious. The New York Times review, How ChatGPT Kicked Off an A.I. Arms Race (3 Feb 2023), looked at some of the issues which were to get increasing attention over the year.  
• Square one? (19 Mar 2023) - Gloucester MA had kicked off their 400th. We were supporting from a distance without bringing in the crew as that would be a 2024 issue, we thought. Our thought was, too, to emphasize Margaret (Fryer) Gardner's contribution. We had not been paying attention to the feeds from WikiTree, however a researcher in Feb of 2023 went through the load of images from the digitized files of Sherborne, Dorset. In doing so, he discovered birth records for about all of the Gardner children, as having been born in the old country. Seeth was born in Salem. So, the family did come over. Did Thomas come over to support the Cape Ann effort? Rev. Hubbard suggested such. Remember, he talked to the principals. But, one thing noticed a while ago was that the Conant family's book did not mention Gardner. Nor did the Woodbury writeup. This feat of technology is interesting in itself, for various reasons. The current state of affairs? There are two Thomas Gardner profiles on WikiTree. One is our Thomas; the other has no information about him. So, one or two? It's like being back at the questions of two or three wives. We settled that in 2012 using the same records. So, Gardner Research opened the door. In the meantime, we did research on California families (the long reach of New England). 
• Research notes (2 Apr 2023) - using our new WP site, we summarized the situation and provided a copy of the list of names and births. There is a gap between the birth of John and Samuel which might show Thomas being away. John was born in December. Thomas could have left without knowing that Margaret was with child. Supported conjecturing will be allowed and supported by technology. Note: at some point, let's discuss how an imaginary basis (of several types) supports science.  
• Technology, computing (May 2023) - after some reading and discussion, I contacted the head of the former Sperry Univac Knowledge Systems Center. He wrote a brief article on how Univac got involved with the effort in the mid-1980s. Lately, one hears more of this, but our contention then and now was that the machine learning solely approach is unbalanced. Hence, we see that the output is not to be taken without some bit of salt (perhaps, a whole lot). But, that is not how it ought to be. Stay tuned. There are several other approaches that can bring maturity. A recent survey points to the diminishing in trust which has been ongoing for a while. But, ChatGPT and its ilk are accelerating the downward slide. Fact? Not there. Fiction? Have at it. Except, one caution (rule) would suggest that "fake" results be tagged as such (analog, truth in advertising). 
• Intro to Bard (7 Jul 2023) - after some time with ChatGPT and looking at issues all around, we finally tried Bard. That activity was all research including things like evaluating how the generative approach performed with mathematical problems. One thing to note is that Wolfram tied this approach to his mathematics system early one, mostly to have more full interchange with users. We need to see how this work is progressing. But, there is a lot more. Bard, basically, was more palatable as it did not try to be argumentative nor did it spout out just to hear itself speaking, so to speak. The post, To Bard or not, summarized some of the issues. For instance, we ran into a PhD thesis that looked at concepts from Kant (the philosopher) being brought bear during training. A known downfall is that the xNN, as being used, squashed nuance. One cannot expect to retract either input or its influence; definitely, there is a need to honor the requirements for footnotes and other referencing modes. In Dec of 2023, Bard was updated significantly. We tried it, but the issue of more fiction than fact remained. One noted improvement was that Bard now stresses teaming, human and machine (rather the "omni" status mentioned above). That was significiant as it changes the tone of the interchange. 
•  ChatGPT a year on: 3 ways the AI chatbot has completely changed the world in 12 months (30 Nov 2023) - we don't agree with the list, as a huge result is trust and its diminishing. What to believe? All of these purveyours suggest checking the results give by their system. Oh, we all have time and energy for that? 
• AI not solely ML (4 Dec 2023) - this is our retort and focus for the future. We need to bring to awareness the knowledge work done in the industrial world. There are many varieties. But, the focus needs to be on humans and their abilities. Enhancements would not be of the machine and its dominance; no, human would obtain an extremely useful tool if this were to be done right.  

So, themes abound. But, what is America about? The dream? Technology can be both a boon and a bane. Why has the latter been more prevalent? We still say AIn't about the emergence of "intelligence" of note. On the other hand, phenomenal mathematical processing has been done by the computer. That could be and ought to be our focus going forward. 

We have a super abacus and slide rule at our disposal now. That is, if only we can understand the need for maturity and the capabilities that it brings. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/04/2025

12/22/2023 -- Dartmouth '99; New Frontier, 21st Century Type. ... THE FUTURE OF AI IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE, talk at Gairdner Foundation, Oct 25, 2023. 

12/28/2024 -- See updates in GB, XIV, 1 for 2024 updates. 

04/04/2025 -- David T. Gardner has been exercisting Grok with prompts and reports finding documents that support his claim about Wyllym Gardynyr (see King Slayer Court blog). ... We have begun to incorporate changes into the structure and context of the blog. See Restart, somewhat. 

Oregon, at last

TL;DR -- Oregon is right above California. We have looked at the lower State of late. Time to raise the focus to the north. Many people, for decades, got to the western State across the land. Some went by ship. Some even came down from Canada. 

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Oregon Trail
(Wikipedia) 

Meaning, it's time to bring Oregon (see map, 1846) into focus through a few post. We have had many posts about Oregon and other western locations as well as about the trails that carried people to their destination. The Canadians were there first having come down from the York Factory under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company. 

For a good while, the upper boundary of the U.S. in the region was not settled. Early visitors from the U.S. were mountain men (trappers) after fur. Jedediah Strong Smith was in the region in the 1820s. 

Some arrived by ship from the east coast, especially after the Gold Rush moved north from California. We researched that with respect to the Barque Bostonian that wrecked along the Oregon coast in 1850 after leaving Boston in July of 1849 and arriving in San Francisco early the next year. 

Many posts were about the trails that early on went through Gardner KS. That lower traffic went by the location of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. The upper traffic sped up the trip a few days and was pioneered by the youngsters who were in a hurry. Rather than cross the river and head via land from Independence MO, the travelers went up river past St. Joseph MO to Nebraska and went west where they met those coming up from the lower trail. 

There are several subjects to touch upon. Many pioneers to Oregon were from New England. However, many of these travelers were new to the country and following Horace Greeley's advice to "go west" which he did himself. 

We recently saw this service advertised: Oregon Trail Genealogy. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/14/2023

06/14/2023 -- 

California, Golden State

TL;DR -- Our first bit of tasks dealt with learning about New England, especially little Essex County of MA. Later, we considered movement away from that area either to the south or to the west. And, by water, too, as that traffic had been constant from the beginning. After the Revolution and Lewis & Clark's journey, the expansion started in earnest. However, the interior of the U.S. is huge and took a while to be carved up. Travel across the country took time by land. And work. Too, water travel was full of its travails. With the 400th from the beginning, the 250th coming up relates to the U.S. being populated. California will get a little more focus as it is first by many categories. 

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Our first mention of the Golden State was in 2015 which is the sixth year after the blog had its first post. It was a brief mention as we researched the Barque Bostonian owned by Henry Gardiner that wrecked in Oregon. The ship had been in San Francisco prior to that. But, we found out that it had also been in New Zealand and a number of other places. 

Then, about that time, while being at a lavender farm near Lawrence, KS and realizing that the trails had passed through that area, the thought was: did the students up on Mount Oread see the trekkers as they labored past? The post: Gardner KS (11 Aug 2015). We had seen signs while traveling but were overwhelmed with learning New England particularities. Even little Essex County was unknown to us and took some time for study. A year later, we started to update the information dealing with the western movement (Gardner Junction).   

Of course, given the drive to get to the gold rush as fast as possible, the CA traffic dwindled after the young guys figured that going up the Missouri River past St. Joseph saved them a few days. Rather than the circuitous route into upper KS and then heading northwest to NE, they just got off the boat and joined the trail goers after a shorter jaunt. But, traffic to the southwest (Santa Fe) still went through Gardner, KS as did some going to CO first and then joining the OR/CA trail in Wyoming. 

That deals with movement by land. While researching the early venturers (mountain men, trappers), we looked at CA, too, principally. Though, Jedediah Strong Smith got there in 1826 and was the first European to go across the Mojave desert (even doing so in the summer). Then, he mapped out the Interstate system with his wanderings before coming back to meet his demise in the Great Plains region. Along with and after him, there were other travelers that we looked at. 

But, there is an area that we have avoided, to dated. How did CA end up with its 1850 entry into the U.S.? For this historic portion, we will use documents published by the U.S. By 1847, the area of California was home to 150K indigenous people plus about 14K folks of European ancestry. Most of the Europeans lived south of Monterey, especially Los Angeles. San Francisco (then Yerba Buena) had a scattering, until after the 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter's who had arrived in 1838. In 1849, 100K additional people arrived from the U.S. and Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. 

We will back up and look further at New Spain in California. Mexico had won its Independence in 1821. As well, we will look into the lives of the indigenous folks prior to and after the arrival of the Europeans. 

There will be more posts on this and other states. As well as New England States and Missouri, we have looked at Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan which got started after the Revolution, mostly by restless veterans. So, we will cover the States, interior and along the coast lines. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/28/2023

04/28/2023 -- 

Go West, wrote Horace

TL;DR -- Supposedly, the phrase associated with "Go west" is attributed to Horace Greeley. While researching, we found that Horace had gone west, prior to the Civil War. He did it cross country and wrote of the journey in detail. This information pertains to our current time and issues; as such, it is worthy of our attention. 

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In an earlier post, we looked at two cousins, one of which was Adolphus Greeley and the other was USN Captain George William Coffin. They met in the Artic as the latter rescued the former who had been stranded with the crew of his Lady Franklin Bay Expedition. 

A generation earlier, we have another name, Horace Greeley who shares ancestors with Adolphus. Too, Horace journeyed west prior to the Civil War. We ran into his correspondence while researching the historic weather of Donner Pass with respect to the California Trail as this topic is part of our interest in the western expansion and the related trails that crossed the vast interior of the country.  

As an aside, this winter's total snowfall will set a new record. 

Before getting into the gist, we provide profiles for Horace (WikiTree, Wikipedia) and Adolphus (WikiTree, Wikipedia) Greeley. Also, we provide more information on George William Coffin who was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the U.S. Navy. 

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Along with information about trails and passes, we ran into an on-line copy of Horace's book on his trip: An Overland Journey from New York to San Francisco (1860). His journey started in New York by rail and boat until he reached St. Joseph, MO. Until others who headed off west on the trails, Horace went down to Kansas for a Republican Convention at Osawatomie, KS. He mentions going through Lawrence which whose settlement was supported by The New England Emigrant Aid Company. The Convention was on the 18th of May in 1859 (Miami County). This chapter of the book was submitted from Atchison, KS on May 15th. 

His book has thirty-four Chapters of which more than ten are on Kansas, the Plains, the Desert, and gold. These will be of interest as we pursue the history of the U.S. and its interior. He heads west out of Denver by jaunting up to Fort Laramie (Chapter 16) and then west to Utah. Several Chapters deal with Salt Lake City and the area. And, he provides several views of California (Chapters 27 to 33). His final Chapter looks at traffic into and out of San Francisco and discusses the need for a railroad. 

In our post, St. Louis MO to San Francisco CA, we describe the route from St. Louis down into Texas and across the southern border to Los Angeles, CA and then up the coast to San Francisco. The 1860 portion (top) of this graphic shows the transportation status when Horace went west. 

Horace Greeley returned by boat. For this book, his last Chapter was posted on the 9th of September of 1859. 

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Of note, this was no virtual trip. We have to match this effort up with that of the comedic guy (Samuel Clemens), later. As said, we had several posts on this theme (starting with the mountain men). 

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This story has several points of interest related to our work. This applies even to our current interest in technology and its historical impact, especially as activities of our times may portend to the future. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/14/2023

06/16/2023 -- Added "Horace" to the title. He went himself.  

19th Century details

TL;DR -- Earlier we took a look at transcontinental travel in the early 19th century and its ardors. There was nothing easy about the ordeals, but people took up the gauntlet. Here we look at one site where travelers made their presence known and link to a map that has local details of interest. 

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We have had several posts on trails. Recently, we looked at a well-known trail (to Santa Fe) as it was the terminus of another trail in New Spain which provided other trails such as that which provided a route used by the Butterfield Overland Mail Company in carrying mail, freight, and passengers from the east coast, through St. Louis and to San Francisco. This was pre-Civil War and was interrupted. Further north, the Pony Express went from St. Joseph, MO to California carrying mail. Butterfield established a new route up north using coaches. Mark Twain wrote of his journey on this route. 

There was another Butterfield in that area who was not related and who had a  Butterfield Overland Dispatch (using a post at the Legends of America site) through Kansas. Both of these Butterfield gents had investors back east. The amount of stations, equipment, horses and people required to have regular routes was tremendous. As we know, the rails of steel were going to play havoc with these routes. But, that was enough later for history to be made. 

As a reminder, at the same time, there was regular traffic from New England which moved south by sail to the area of Panama which involved going across land from ship to ship and then sailing back north. Of course, one could go around South America. We looked at this briefly when writing of the Bostonian (barque) that wrecked along the Oregon coast in 1850. The barque left Boston in July and arrived at San Francisco the following January. It was later seen in New Zealand and, evidently, carried goods to San Francisco before venturing north to its fate. Gardiner, OR resulted from that incident. The overland trails had as many dangers; but, even without those happenstances, the travel was arduous. 

Besides looking further at the specifics of these overland efforts where we find the two Butterfields, we want to bring in more detail as is required for doing history of the events better and for considering the people involved in a more respectful light. Also, the area in the center of the U.S. was very busy. For comparison, we looked at a railroad town and its specifics from the early 1900s (see KATY - western railroad). 

Let's start with a map that comes from KDOT (see 19th Century Kansas Trails). Notice that the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails come into the area in the northeast corner. The Oregon Trail splits off and heads northwest. Another trail in that area is the Butterfield Overland Dispatch which terminated in Denver, CO. The other Butterfield route would have been north of this area. 

Click for detailed 
map from KDOT

The map includes other trails of interest including those used by indigents and that related to the cattle trade where heads were brought as herds to a rail terminus for loading. As one looks at images, the wild west was in this area (see Dodge City). "Hell on the plains" might apply to our few decades of the web. 

Looking at some of the details, there was a military road (double green) that went from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Scott and further south. This was there early. We mentioned a Mission in the southeast corner (see Memorial Day 2022). Nathaniel Boone (son of Daniel) was in the area. Col. T.W. Higginson was in Lawrence and Topeka. Lawrence was founded as part of the abolitionists' interest in keeping Kansas free. Take a close look and note a trail (blue dashes) from Leavenworth which was originally for supplying Army posts as they expanded westward but ended up with a California connection. 

In a recent post, we looked at how Ipswich MA got Ohio going. That was not long after the Revolution and was similar many ways with what happened later out west. In fact, we included a graphic (map) showing both areas. So, we could look at this type of detail across the whole of the region. 

One of our interests is the long reach of New England. Both Butterfields were from New England (their relationship, if any, needs to be researched). For the most part, we will be taking time to link with both genealogical and historical information (see Lorenzo and Peggy). As well, we have a technology interest and want to include specifics of the reality of the earlier times. After all, everyone here had forebears who were alive then. The particulars of the American west are such that we can see the transitions clearly over the frontier century's span. We mentioned it before, but this map brings up the fact: going from the northeast (Kansas City) to Ft. Larned (south central, look for Great Bend) took three weeks of daily work on the Santa Fe Trail. 

One more detail, Jedediah Strong Smith was last seen in the area of Point of Rocks (lower left - southwest). He was killed by an indigent part. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/12/2022

12/11/2022 -- 

St. Louis MO to San Francisco CA

TL;DR -- New England has a long arm as there were two centuries along the East side prior to any attempts at expanding west. For most situations, one can find newly arrived families as well as those of various older lineages. In particular, we will focus on individuals including their business activity. A case is Butterfield who was Yankee and quite active out west. In his life, we see the impact of the Civil War. Too, we see progress via technology, such as the telegraph and the train. Butterfield did other things, but he designed a system to transport people, mail, and goods overland from St. Louis to San Francisco sweeping down through the southern regions. This was a regular activity for more than two years and deserves attention, for many reasons. 

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The 250th of the American Revolution gives us a chance to relook at history. One thing to note is that the rebellion was the onus of the 5th Generation. Post the conflict, the 6th and the 7th were involved with the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny. Of course, we will look at that, too. But, in this context, we are looking at particular periods leading up to the 20th century whereby the U.S. slowly got its bearings. As we follow the populace, we will note the state of technology and more.  

Earlier, we mentioned the Butterfield Overland Express which went from St. Louis, MO to San Francisco, CA by swinging down south into Texas, ran across the bottom of NM and AZ (Tucson), went along the southern border to Los Angeles, and then up to San Francisco. We can do that trip easily now, all by Interstate Highways. The image shows the modern look with about 40 hours estimated for the trip. That means that drivers switching off would make the trip in two days (see map, courtesy of Google maps). 

As an aside, flying now from STL to SFO is a little over four  hours. Also, there are faster modes by air.

Even though part of the Butterfield route ran from 1849 until 1882 when the railroad offered a better means, the Civil War interrupted the pattern in 1861. This was a regular run by a system that employed people and animals and required equipment. The organizational work must have been mind-boggling with little communication means beyond telegraph. The Schedule for Sept 16, 1858 (available on-line) laid out the route, the time, and discusses some of the particulars (see following image) about the company and its mission. 

Butterfield: Miles, Hours
(from SF to StL)

On digging deeper, we found that John Warren Butterfield (WikiTree profile of John) was the owner. Too, he came from New England stock which raises our interest. The part of this route that ran from West Texas to Southern California had been established by another New Englander, George F. Giddings, of the Ipswich, MA family. 

On looking further at John, we found that he was involved with the start of American Express, too, with two other New Englanders, Henry Wells (WikiTree profile of Henry) and William George Fargo (WikiTree profile of  William). Yes, Wells and Fargo established Wells Fargo (their motif was a stagecoach with horses) in San Francisco during this period. 

As the country expanded, the need for business communication increased all around. Too, the U.S. Postmaster General had the responsibilities for mails and used companies. AmEx started in Buffalo, NY in 1850 but established itself in Manhattan, NY before too long. It's focus became financial express. 

As people spread west, there was a corresponding need for personal, as well as business, mail. And, delivery was a growing business. Another business model involved moving people with coaches. Hence, the need for the overland express. Of those available at the time, the Postmaster General decided that Butterfield's express was the most capable. 

At the time, there was a more northern route (Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company) which included the Pony Express. This was the means that Mark Twain used to go west and that he wrote of later. We will look further for comparative views on this subject from those who were there. The southern route, though longer, was preferred due to less hassle related to snow issues. However, in the summer, there was the opposite as part of the route was labeled El Camino del Diablo.

The Civil War interfered with the business success of these express companies. Some of the routing was moved up north while the southern route was abandoned. Fortunately, the rail system became a little transcontinental in 1869 thereby offering an improved method for this type of express from Kansas City to San Francisco and all points between That is, there was one line running across the country. Leland Stanford led these choices. It took another couple of decades to get more rail installed. These three maps indicate the rail lines in red. The west is without rail in the 1860s. Then, we see the one line of the 1870s. Finally, see 1890s which still has lots of open space in the west. 

So, things were booming prior to the Civil War as the new nation got its legs. Then, the war was a huge disrupter across the board. It took another generation or two to recover. That, too, is part of the U.S. story. 

We think that the western stories need to be brought to attention. For the 300th, the ceremonies were mainly east coast. However, it was not long after WWI. In 1890, the largest concentration of red is in IL showing the prominence of Chicago and its access to the Lakes. The slight red around the lower Mississippi is due, in part, to the river being so useful for transportation. Notice eastern Texas as opposed to its western counterpart. Again, that is due to the flow related to the shipping industry of the Gulf. 

Reminder, we looked the Unfoldment. Notice the change of the population pattern through time. 

Remarks: Modified: 08/23/2026

06/19/2021 -- Very old St. Louis in the State of Missouri. 

10/06/2022 -- Have used this post in many posts, newsletters and comment. Updated the error for the URL for the post on the Gidding's route: West Texas to Southern California

12/23/2025 -- More on the Butterfield stage as representing the U.S. government's concern for handling Overland Mail. There has been lots of research about the trail from St. Louis MO to San Francisco CA. 

08/23/2026 -- Image of schedule disappeared from Wikipedia. Swapped in a snap of the divisions of the route which covered almost 3,000 miles and took almost 600 hours.