The Stage Stop

Stagecoach Travel Along The Old Wire Road

  Stagecoach travel on the Old Wire Road began long before it was known by that name.  During this period it was known as the St. Louis-Springfield Road.  Although this road extended from St. Louis to Fort Smith, Arkansas and even further into what later became Oklahoma, here we are only concentrating on the St. Louis to Springfield, Missouri section.  This is the part of the road that the historic Hosmer Dairy Farm was built on and still exists today.

  Little detailed information and exact dates are available on early stage travel.  American entrepreneurship would suggest that early travel would have been provided by  independent drivers who would provide their services and any wagon or buggy that they had to transport people or freight to their desired destination for a certain fee.  They were probably not on a set schedule, unless warranted by increased demand. As the need increased, the teamster needed a place to get fresh horses and a place to provide food for himself, his passengers, and his tired horses.  A farmer along the road, looking for extra income, would provide this service and this resulted in what was known as a Stage Stand or what is better known today as a Stage Stop or Stagecoach Stop.   

  Stage travel became much more organized with the coming of the Star Postal Routes.  The Federal Government let bids for private contractors to deliver mail on certain routes with certain schedules.  For example, the route from St. Louis to Springfield including mail drops at towns and stations in between may be bid in two or three sections; but one contractor, with the right bid, might be awarded the entire route.  With a highly prized mail contract and a stagecoach, the contractor could now provide mail service as well as passenger service on a set schedule. 

  The Stage Stops were a very important part of a Stage Line.  The Stage Stop would provide feed and pasture for the Stage Line’s horses as well as exchanging fresh horses for the tired ones when the stage arrived.  They greased the wheels of the stagecoach if needed.  The Stage Stop also provided services for the passengers including meals and overnight stays when desired.

  These mail contract were rebid on a regular basis, and the winning contractor would decide where the Stage Stop would be.  So different farms along the route may have provided this service at different times over the years.