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FINE APPEARANCE. AN EXTREMELY RARE COVER WITH THE FANCY FORT KEARNY "OREGON ROUTE" EAGLE HANDSTAMP, CARRIED ON THE WOODSON CONTRACT MAIL ROUTE BETWEEN SALT LAKE CITY AND INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI. THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF THIS MARKING RECORDED IN BLACK.
The letter enclosure to this cover is datelined at Fort Kearny (modern-day Nebraska) on June 15, 1852. The Woodson Contract mail left Salt Lake City on June 13 (two weeks late) and picked up this cover en route, before arriving at Independence, Missouri, around July 8. The "O.R." in the handstamp stands for "Oregon Route", which was a postal designation for the Platte River Road. Post offices along the route used "O.R." in their postmarks and mail to the Oregon Route was often misdirected to Oregon. Only four examples of the fancy Fort Kearny "O.R." Eagle handstamp are recorded--this is the only example in black.
Illustrated in Mails of the Westward Expansion on p. 125. Ex Risvold and Walske (Image)
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THE ONLY RECORDED COVER CARRIED ON THE STOCKTON-KANSAS CITY OVERLAND MAIL ROUTE. A GREAT RARITY OF WESTERN MAILS.
According to Mails of the Westward Expansion, the Post Office Department signed a four-year contract for Route 15050 with Jacob Hall on May 28, 1858, calling for monthly service between Kansas City, Missouri, and Stockton, California, via Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Ft. Mohave. Hall transferred his contract to Barrow, Porter & Crenshaw (he had been partners with Hall on another Santa Fe mail contract). Westbound service began on October 1, 1858, from Kansas City, arriving without incident in Stockton on November 24. The first eastbound trip was not so lucky. After departing Stockton with 50-60 letters on November 1, they encountered hostile Indians and were forced to return home. In total only six successful trips were completed under the contract. The cover offered here was carried on the fourth successful eastbound trip, which left on February 1, 1859, and arrived in Kansas City around March 29. This is the only surviving cover from any of the Stockton-Kansas City contract trips. The contract was terminated as of July 1, 1860.
Illustrated in Mails of the Westward Expansion on p. 183. Ex Risvold and Walske (Image)