The Butterfield Overland Stage transported mail twice a week from St. Louis to San Francisco in 25 days. At the time, it was the largest land-mail contract ever awarded in the United States, requiring mail deliveries year-round. On its route through Southern Arizona, from July 1857 to March 1861, the Butterfield Overland Stage stopped in Tucson. The Butterfield Station was in the northwest corner of Tucson. Li'l Abner's Steakhouse, at 8501 N. Silverbell, was built on the remains of that stagecoach stop.
The article Butterfield Sets the Stage has more about the establishment of the Butterfield Overland Stage route and early mail delivery. Old West Legends: John Butterfield & the Overland Mail Company includes the distance and time it took to cover the miles.
Sources:
"Swap May Save Hohokam Site" Arizona Daily Star, May 28, 2006, Page B1.
"Steak Dinner Will Suit Dad to a T" Arizona Daily Star, June 17, 1994, Page E12.
"Traffic Turns Country Ways to Dust; Old Rural Life is Fading into Tract Homes" Arizona Daily Star, March 29, 1994, Page 1.
Groves, Melody. "Butterfield Sets the Stage" Wild West Magazine | Historynet.com
"Old West Legends: John Butterfield & the Overland Mail Company" | Legends of America | legendsofamerica.com
California Department of Parks and Recreation Website: Butterfield Overland Mail, opens a new window. Accessed 3/23/2022
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