My kids prefer to learn through stories and I have found that they remember what they’ve learned better this way than when I expose them to a bunch of facts. That’s what I like about The First Overland Mail, the events that took place in history are presented in story form blending in quotes journals naturally.

The First Overland Mail is a part of a series by Landmark Books, a Random House company.  It was written in 1953 by Robert  E. Pinkerton and illustrated by Paul Lantz.

Like you, I was born in a time when the mail comes within 2-3 business days. If I want to pay a hefty price, I can mail from Washington D.C. to San Francisco overnight. That’s 2,852 miles in one night! When John Butterfield was setting up just one mail line across the country, it had to travel stagecoach from Saint Louis, MO to San Francisco, CA in 25 days. The coach rode 24/7, minus changing horses and coach every 10-25 miles. Stations had to be assembled with horses, food, and guards at the ready.

In the book, I was surprised when I learned how many details John Butterfield and company had to attend to in order to start on time. There were many challenges both before and after the first coach traversed the country.

I would definitely recommend this book over reading a page or two (that may be quite generous as some may give less than a paragraph) about it in a text book. This is part of our country’s heritage and teaches us that hard work and perseverance is what made our country.