Packwood Station, California
Packwood Station was a settlement established in Tulare County in 1857, on the Stockton - Los Angeles Road. From 1858 to 1861, it was a stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail route, 12 miles southeast of Visalia and 14 miles north of Tule River Station.[1]
The exact site of the settlement is unknown. It lay on land owned by the prosperous cattleman Elisha Packwood. In the winter of 1861 - 1862, the station, Packwood's cattle and all his other property were swept away in the flood waters of the Great Flood of 1862. His once fertile land was buried in sand, making the vicinity worthless and the site unrecognizable. Losing all his net worth of $40,000 and nearly his life, Packwood moved to Oregon to attempt to rebuild his fortune.[2]
References
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- San Francisco – Western terminus and 1st Division headquarters, located in downtown San Francisco.
- Clarks's Station – Located 12 miles south of San Francisco in what is now San Bruno.
- Sun Water Station – Located 9 miles south of Clarks Station in what is now San Mateo.
- Redwood City – Located 9 miles south of Sun Water Station.
- Mountain View Station – Located 12 miles south of Redwood City.
- San Jose Station – Located 11 miles south of Mountain View Station in the city of San Jose.
- Seventeen Mile House – Located 17 miles south of San Jose.
- Gilroy Station – Located 13 miles south of Seventeen Mile House in what is now Gilroy, California.
- Pacheco Pass Station – Located 18 miles east of Gilroy
- St. Louis Ranch – Located 17 miles east of Pacheco Pass.
- Lone Willow Station – Located 18 miles east of St. Louis Ranch near Los Banos.
- Temple's Ranch – Located 13 miles southeast of Lone Willow Station near Dos Palos.
- Firebaugh's Ferry – Located 15 miles southeast of Temples Ranch, on the San Joaquin River.
- Fresno City – Located 19 miles southeast of Firebaugh's Ferry.
- Elkhorn Spring Station – Located 22 miles east of Fresno City near present-day Riverdale.
- Whitmore's Ferry – Located 17 miles southeast of Elkhorn Spring Station on the Kings River.
- Head of Cross Creek Station – Located 15 miles southeast of Whitmore's Ferry.
- Visalia – Located 12 miles southeast of Cross Creek Station.
- Packwood Station – Located 12 miles east of Visalia.
- Tule River Station – Located 14 miles south of Packwood Station.
- Fountain Spring Station – Located 14 miles southeast of Tule River Station.
- Mountain House – Located 12 miles south of Fountain Spring Station.
- Posey Creek Station – Located 15 miles southwest of Mountain House, on Posey (Poso) Creek.
- Gordon's Ferry (Kern River Station) – Located 10 miles south of Posey Creek Station on the Kern River just above present-day Bakersfield.
- Kern River Slough Station – Located 12 miles south of Gordons Ferry.
- Sink of Tejon Station – Located 14 miles southwest of Kern River Slough Station.
- Fort Tejon – Located 15 miles southwest of Sink of Tejon Station.
- Reed's Station – Located 8 miles southeast of Fort Tejon, near the Tejon Pass summit.
- French John's Station – Located 14 miles east southeast of Reeds Station, in the vicinity of the mouth of Cow Springs Creek Canyon.
- Mud Spring, a later station operating in 1860, 14 miles east from French Johns and 13 miles north from Clayton's Station (formerly Widow Smith's Station).
- Widow Smith's Station (Clayton's Station, Major Gordon's Station) – Located 24 miles from French John's Station, in upper San Francisquito Canyon near Green Valley.
- King's Station – Located 10 miles south of Widow Smith's Station in lower San Francisquito Canyon.
- Hart's Station or Lyons Station – Located 12 miles south of King's Station, near Santa Clara River.
- Lopez Station – Located 8 1⁄2 miles southeast of Hart's Station, in the San Fernando Valley north of Mission San Fernando Rey de España.
- Cahuenga Station – Located 12 miles southeast of Mission San Fernando, in Cahuenga Pass, the Santa Monica Mountains.
Source: "List of Butterfield Overland Mail Stations "Itinerary of the Route"". New York Times. October 14, 1858.
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