Central Overland Trail by Zina Abbott

While developing the plot for my most recent covered wagon story in the Prairie Roses Collection, I decided for the covered wagon accompanying some of my characters to travel the Central Overland Trail between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Carson, Nevada Territory.

The first bit of confusion I needed to clear up in my own mind was that there were two Central trails and routes which, although they somewhat connected, were not the same. The Overland Trail/Route, also known as the Overland Stage Line, started at the St. Joseph, Missouri and ended at Placerville, California.

The Central Overland Trail was a transportation route from Salt Lake City, Utah, south of the Great Salt Lake through the mountains of central Nevada to Carson City, Nevada. Particularly during the decade between 1859 through 1869, until the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed, it served as an important trail through Utah, Nevada, and California for emigrants, mail, freight, and stagecoach passengers. Once developed, many California-bound travelers chose it over the more-established California Trail that followed the Humboldt River.

Maj. Howard Egan

The trail was first scouted in 1855 by Howard Egan. He used it to drive livestock between Salt Lake City and California. Egan’s route went straight through the high mountain ranges of the Great Basin that most earlier explorers had worked so hard to avoid. However, he discovered a series of mountain passes and mountain springs that aligned to allow an almost straight path across the middle of Utah and Nevada. 

Although many of these places were named later, Egan discovered what we now know as the Schell Creek Range, which could be crossed at Schellbourne Pass. He crossed the Cherry Creek Range at what is now Egan Pass, the Ruby Mountains at Overland Pass, the Diamond Mountains at a different Overland Pass, the Toiyabe Range at Emigrant Pass, and the Desatoya Mountains as Basque Summit. There were other smaller ranges and two large deserts that also needed to be crossed. However, there were a series of springs along the route, which allowed travelers access to water.

Central Overland Trail marker

The advantage of this trail compared to the California Trail was that it was 280 miles shorter. Using the Central Overland Trail could save travelers two weeks of travel time—an important consideration for emigrants headed for California using the Emigrant/Carson Pass Trail.

About 1858, when the U.S. Army learned of this new route, they sent out a survey expedition led by Captain James H. Simpson. The goal was to determine if this would be a good route for delivering supplies to Fort Floyd in Utah. In 1859 and 1860, the Army then improved the trail and springs for use by wagons and stagecoaches.

The southwestern Butterfield Overland Mail route had followed the Gila River to California since 1858. In 1861, John Butterfield, also switched the Butterfield Overland Mail route to the Central Route to avoid possible hostilities with the approach the American Civil War.

George Chorpenning, who held a mail contract for the western part of the nation, immediately realized the value of this more direct route. He had been using the northerly Humboldt Route along the Humboldt River (California Trail), but switched to the Central Overland Trail. The various stage lines, by traveling day and night and changing their teams at about 10 to 20 mile intervals, could transport light freight, passengers, and mail to or from the Missouri River towns to California in about 25–28 days.

In May 1860, the transportation firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell  acquired George Chorpenning’s contract for mail service from Utah to California. At that point, the Central Overland Trail was joined as part of the Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express (C.O.C. & P.P.) route. In addition to freight, they also operated a stagecoach line.

At the encouragement of William H. Russell, in 1860, they formed the Pony Express. With the COC&PP as the parent company and under the direction of Russell, the Pony Express route used the Central Overland Trail for part of the western leg of their fast 10-day mail delivery. Home and relay stations were built along the Central Overland Trail to support both the Pony Express and the stagecoach lines that traveled this route. The firm utilized its partner, William H. Russell’s, equipment and portions of his former Leavenworth & Pike’s Peak Express route, as well as purchasing other lines running to Salt Lake City.

However, the company faired very poorly. The Pony Express experienced heavy losses. After the completion of the Transcontinental Telegraph, the Pony Express became obsolete. The business ran out of cash, and soon the company employees referred to C.O.C.& P.P. Express as “Clean Out of Cash and Poor Pay.” The company collapsed in 1861, and the holdings were sold at a public sale for $100,000 to Ben Holladay on March 21, 1862,

 

Ruins of the Cold Springs Stagecoach Station ctsy Ramartin

 

That was not the end of the Central Overland Trail. California and Nevada produced gold and silver, which was transported as stagecoach cargo going east along that route to support the Civil War. Nearly all stage lines were heavily subsidized to carry the mail. After the American Civil War, Wells Fargo & Co. absorbed the Butterfield stage lines and ran stage coaches and freight wagons along the Central Overland Route. Wells Fargo also developed the first agriculture in the Ruby Valley in Nevada to help support their livestock. The Army established Fort Ruby at the southern end of Ruby Valley in Nevada to protect travelers against marauding Indians along the road.

The Central Overland Trail continued to be used by stagecoaches, freighters, and wagon trains until the coming of the First Transcontinental Railroad made the trail all but obsolete except for local traffic.

The desert regions of central Utah and Nevada are dry and mostly desolate desert. For some beautiful pictures of the location of Cold Springs Station, part of this route, please CLICK HERE

To view the ruins of both Cold Springs Station and Sand Springs Station please CLICK HERE

In my most recently published book, Lucy, part of the Prairie Roses Collection, I set a scene along the Central Overland Trail. Lucy is currently available as an ebook, for sale or at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It is also available in paperback. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE

 

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Overland_Route

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/central-overland/

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/leavenworth-pikes-peak/

https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/122499640

https://noehill.com/nv_churchill/poi_central_trail_27.asp

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/a-socially-distanced-excursion-to-original-pony-express-stations-in-nevada.htm

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-overlandstage/