How To Send A Letter From New York To San Francisco In The 1850's

The good news was that at with the end of the Mexican/American War California became a state in 1850. The tough news was how to communicate with such a distant outpost. Our major settlement in California was San Francisco and after the 1849 Gold Rush began it and the surrounding areas grew rapidly.

Those heading out to join the Gold Rush had two ways to get to California. The first was overland and the other was by sea.

Neither route was appealing. Overland could take three to four months over a rough landscape with the possibility of Indian attacks and even more likely the lack of water. The overland trip could be so difficult many of the gold seekers who tried this option reached their destinations minus their horses and wagons.

The sea voyage could take more than six months sailing around the southern tip of South America. Weather was always an obstacle and the sheer amount of time on board the cramped vessel made the voyage incredibly difficult.

There was also a way to travel by sea and land through the Isthmus of Panama shown below. You sailed from New York to Panama then a five day journey through the jungle to catch a ship heading north to San Francisco. None of these alternatives would be considered a vacation. Every one came with dangers.
 

Remember, this was the era before the Butterfield Overland Stage route and before the transcontinental railroad and it gives you an idea why San Francisco became such a busy and important seaport.

In 1848 the Pacific Mail Steamship Company began to bring agricultural products east from California. The Gold Rush started a year later...a year later statehood and their original purpose changed from agriculture to passengers, general goods and mail. Also, the Panama Railroad began construction in 1850 with the route completed in 1855. This meant that the land portion of the Isthmus route was made much easier and faster. Prior to the railroad, mail was hauled by mule, steamboat or canoe. It was a rugged journey through the Central American rainforest. The new railroad provided plenty of reasons why not to sail around the southern tip of South America.

The SS California, the sidewheeler shown left, was the first ship of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company beginning service in 1850. Built in New York in 1848, the SS California steamed to San Francisco and then operated between Panama City and San Francisco until 1854 and for a few more years as a spare steamer in both ports.

There was competition between Pacific Mail and the U.S. Mail Steamship Company out of New York but eventually the two companies merged into the Pacific Steamship Mail Company.

Mail Transit Duration

After the construction of the Panama Railroad, mail transit time was from 25-29 days from New York to San Francisco. Bags of mail per steamer were in the 275-350 range. The arrival of a mail steamer to San Francisco was a big event. Guns would be shot off to announce it's arrival before entering the wharf. Crowds would gather at the wharf to learn if they had mail. Postage appears to have been anything from 2 cents to 15 cents per letter depending on where it was to go and whether there would be a special courier handling it. Postage could also be much higher depending on size and whether it had an isolated destination. The two stamps below are from the government's initial issue in 1847.

A stagecoach line was not big competition to the mail steamers. For one thing they were not as fast. They were also less reliable due to breakdown, Indian attacks and wars and they couldn't handle the volume of mail a steamer could. During the Civil War years Union stage routes were moved up into the central part of the country because the Confederacy controlled the southern route. The 18 month long Pony Express in the early 1860's was created primarily to get Union mail to California quickly during the Civil War. Ten days was the average which was quite fast.

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company had a good overall safety record in an era where steamer disasters and wrecks were reported almost daily in the newspapers.

The Pacific Mail Steamer Golden Gate shown left was one of their best. The ship was averaging the San Francisco to Panama City leg in just a bit over eleven days which was fast. Unfortunately, on July 21st, 1862, the SS Golden Gate caught fire off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico and sank. It was carrying over 300 passengers, about $1.4 million in gold as well as mail. An estimated 238 people were lost.

Enter the Transcontinental Railroad

The first serious competition to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was the transcontinental railroad completed in 1869. An express train could make the journey from New York to San Francisco in about 84 hours, a fraction of a steamer's duration. Even non-express trains could make the coast to coast journey in a fraction of a steamers time. The train was also more reliable. A steamer was at the mercy of weather and unreliable and often the dangerous maritime boilers. At the same time the transcontinental railroad act was passed by Congress, funds were provided for future construction of a telegraph line following the same route.

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company began trans-Pacific mail service in 1867 with scheduled service from San Francisco to Hong Kong, Yokohama and Shanghai. This was a passenger, freight and mail service route. Commerce with Asian nations would continue to grow through the decades.


San Francisco Bay is the  west coast's finest natural harbor and the area would have grown with or without the steamer mail service. Manifest Destiny meant sooner or later the west coast would grow and the fact that the Bay Area could handle an unlimited amount of shipping just made things happen sooner.

With or without the Gold Rush the Bay Area's geographic location and natural advantages guaranteed it's long term importance. San Francisco today remains one of the busiest seaports in the world.

Sites to See in the San Francisco Bay Area


A must stop for anyone interested in the shipping history of the San Francisco Bay area will want to visit the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Located on the west side of Fisherman's Wharf, it is one of the most complete maritime museums in the country. Photos, documents, woodworking and boat building shops and at the Hyde Street Pier a large display of refurbished vessels including the old sidewheeler ferry boat the Eureka.

Nearby there are also a retired Navy W.W. II submarine the Pampanito and a transport ship Jeremiah O'Brien which took part in the D-Day landing. You'll have a lot of fun while learning about San Francisco's maritime history. Perfect visit for the whole family.

See our Western Trips articles on the links below...

USS Pampanito

Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brien

(Article copyright Western trips)