Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station is a

stage station A stage station or relay station, also known as a staging post, a posting station, or a stage stop, is a facility along a main road or trade route where a traveller can rest and/or replace exhausted working animals (mostly horse riding, riding h ...

in the western foothills of the

Laguna Mountains The Laguna Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges in eastern San Diego County, California. The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately . The mountains have long been inhabited by the indigenous Kumey ...

, in northern

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

. It is located on State Route 79, northwest of

Warner Springs Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is on the Pacific Crest Trail. Geography Warner Springs has a post office; its ZIP Code is 92086. It is loca ...

and

Warner's Ranch Warner's Ranch, near Warner Springs, California, was notable as a way station for large numbers of emigrants on the Southern Emigrant Trail from 1849 to 1861, as it was a stop on both the Gila River Trail and the Butterfield Overland Mail stagec ...

. The station was built on the site of Camp Wright, an 1860s Civil War outpost.

Camp Wright

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Camp Wright was a Union Army outpost in the

Pacific coast theater of the American Civil War The Pacific coast theater of the American Civil War consists of major military operations in the United States on the Pacific Ocean and in the states and Territories west of the Continental Divide. The theater was encompassed by the Department ...

. It was established to protect the route to

Fort Yuma Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was established in 1848. It served as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861. The fort was retired from ...

on the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, and intercept secessionist sympathizers traveling to the east to join the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

.Warner Spring Ranch Resort.com: History— John Warner
A detachment of California Volunteer cavalry and infantry first established Camp Wright at

near Warner Springs, in October 1861. The cold and windy conditions in the higher altitude of the exposed San Jose Valley caused the commander to change its site to the more sheltered Oak Grove location in November. At about the same time, the

Dan Showalter Daniel Showalter (1830–1866), was a California miner, state legislator, duelist, secessionist, and Confederate States of America military officer in Texas. Early life Daniel Showalter was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania and came to Califor ...

party of secessionists were attempting to avoid the post and make their way across the desert to join the Confederate Army in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. They were pursued from

Temecula Temecula (; , ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a tourist and ...

by a

1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry The 1st Regiment California Cavalry was a cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. First formed as a battalion, the unit later expanded to regimental size. History The regiment was first formed as the 1st Battalion, 1st ...

patrol from Camp Wright, intercepted in the hills west of the San Jose Valley (site of Warner's Ranch) with the support of a

1st California Infantry The 1st Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States. History Most of the 1st California was recruited from Augu ...

detachment from the camp, and captured without shots being fired November 20–29, 1861. After being imprisoned at Fort Yuma, Showalter and the others were released upon swearing loyalty to the Union. They later made their way to the Confederacy. For a short time in March 1862 Camp Wright was the headquarters of the

5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry The 5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States, attached to the Department of the Pacific and Department of ...

before it moved on.Records of California men in the war of the rebellion 1861 to 1867, By California. Adjutant General's Office, SACRAMENTO: State Office, J. D. Young, Supt. State Printing. 1890. p.672
/ref> Used for the rest of the war as a transit camp for troops moving along the road to and from

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

and

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

, the camp was abandoned in 1866. The Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station, in operation between 1858 and 1860, is the only surviving station of the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

stagecoach line across the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. The adobe building the

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

station used was built in 1858, and on the former site of Camp Wright (1861–1862). It was a stop between

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Fort Yuma on the San Francisco to St. Louis route. It is a well-preserved one-story

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

building among

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coast ...

Historic Landmarks

The site of Camp Wright was registered as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

in 1950. The Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station on its site was registered as a separate California Historical Landmark in 1952. The Oak Grove station was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1961.Patricia Heintzelman and Charles Snell (1975) , National Park Service and The location of another nearby station at

is also a National Historic Landmark.

References

External links

National Park Service: Oak Grove Butterfield StationNational Park Service—Discover Our Shared Heritage program: "Early History of the California Coast"
— ''travel Itinerary''. {{National Register of Historic Places in California Butterfield Overland Mail in California Adobe buildings and structures in California Transportation buildings and structures in San Diego County, California California in the American Civil War Forts in California American Civil War army posts Warner Springs, California History of San Diego County, California California Historical Landmarks National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in San Diego County, California 1858 establishments in California 1850s in California 1860s in California Former installations of the United States Army American frontier Laguna Mountains Stagecoach stations on the National Register of Historic Places Stagecoach stations in California Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California

Camp Wright

Historic Landmarks

See also

References

External links