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Collection

Goshen Stage Coach records, 1797-1801

1 volume

This volume contains financial accounts related to the operation of the "Goshen Stage" line between Goshen, New York, and New York City from 1797 to 1801. Most entries document fares paid by passengers, and fees associated with passengers' baggage or other transported items.

This volume contains 173 pages of financial accounts related to the operation of the "Goshen Stage" stagecoach line between Goshen, New York, and New York City from 1797 to 1801. The first 5 pages (numbered 16-20, following 15 blank pages) record accounts with individuals for such charges as carrying baggage (March 11, 1797-July 8, 1798). The remaining pages (numbered 22-193) consist of double-entry accounts for fares and fees paid by the coach's passengers between March 8, 1797, and August 7, 1801.

The stagecoach ran between Goshen, New York, and New York City every few days, and stopped at Chester or other towns along the way. The amount of the fare was prorated depending on the distance traveled. Some passengers paid additional baggage fees, and most paid for their travel in cash.

Collection

Portland & White Mountains Stage Coach records, 1836-1838

1 volume

This volume contains records for riders of the Portland & White Mountains stagecoach, which ran in the area of Portland, Maine, northwest to Conway, New Hampshire. Kept haphazardly, with writing often overlapping other writing, the driver documented the location where he picked up passengers, the number of seats they occupied, and occasionally their names. Pick up locations were often at hotels and taverns, such as the Cumberland House and American House in Portland.

This volume contains records for riders of the Portland & White Mountains stagecoach, which ran in the area of Portland, Maine, northwest to Conway, New Hampshire. Kept haphazardly, with writing often overlapping other writing, the driver documented the location where he picked up passengers, the number of seats they occupied, and occasionally their names. Pick up locations were often at hotels and taverns, such as the Cumberland House and American House in Portland.

Laid into the volume are two, likely unrelated items: a real photo postcard of a stagecoach with a driver and two horses, and a "Stage and Rail Road" ticket from Charlestown to Philadelphia, May 17, 1853.

Collection

Texas travel diary, 1838

1 volume

This travel diary records the daily progress of a team of prospectors exploring possible routes for stagecoach lines in Texas, 1838. The entries primarily document details relevant to stagecoach operations such as terrain, populations, soil types, climate, and distances traveled.

This Texas travel diary records the daily progress of a team of prospectors exploring possible routes for stagecoach lines. The author does not record his personal experiences and includes only details relevant to operating a stagecoach line: terrain; banks and depths of rivers to be forded; costs of oats, corn and hay for feeding horses; the presence of Indians; populations to support mail delivery and transportation over the route; availability of timber for building bridges and ferries; competition from other stage lines; availability of potable water; agricultural potential of the land along the route; and mileages from one place to another.

The team set out from Jefferson City in mule-drawn wagons on January 4, 1838, and traveled southwest into the Indian Territory (later Oklahoma). They crossed into the Oklahoma Cherokee Indian Territory at Neosho on January 18, and then headed south to Fort Gibson, where the author went alone on horseback to Fort Smith on the Arkansas border, and rejoined the group later.

They crossed Texas at Preston on the Red River (North of Dallas) at the end of January and arrived at Franklin (now El Paso) on March 17. On March 21, they set out on the return trip, taking a slightly different route, and returned to Preston on Sunday, April 11.

Of special interest are the descriptions of the terrain diagonally southwest across the Indian Territory (later Oklahoma) and Texas in the early days of United States possession, while Texas was still an independent republic. The author notes the difficulties that would be encountered in establishing a mail and stage coach line through this terrain and comments on the agricultural possibilities of the land. He describes streams and rivers and recommends potential settings for stations.