Prior to 1880, all the passenger business and transportation of the
mails for the entire country west of Fort Worth was conducted by stage
lines, which radiated from the city as the railroads do now.
The first line of importance and one that attracted the attention of the
entire country was the Fort Worth and Fort Concho stage line which ran a
daily line from this city to Fort Concho which stood where San Angelo is
now located. This was what was known in postoffice parlance as "star
route" service.
In 1877 a contract was let by the Post Office Department for a daily
line from Fort Worth to Fort Yuma, Arizona, a distance of 1560 miles,
the longest stage line in the world. Fort Worth shouted itself hoarse
when the announcement was made and a banquet was given the manager of
the line, Mr. J. T. Chidester. Bob McCart who had but recently come to
the city from Bloomington, Illinois, was the principal speaker on the
occasion and one who heard his speech must have been impressed with the
fact that this was the greatest commercial enterprise in all history, up
to that time. The stages were run through to Yuma in seventeen days. But
this was found to be too long. The coyotes and horned frogs that
inhabited most of the country beyond the Concho could not afford to wait
that long for their mail and so the Second Assistant Postmaster General,
at the earnest solicitation of the inhabitants, and the contractors,
agreed to increase the compensation one hundred per cent. if the trip
could be made in thirteen days--which was easy. It was one of the
matters for Congressional investigation of the "Star Route Steal" but
they never found Chidester. The mail left Fort Worth in a concord coach
pulled by six horses and ran to Tharp Springs, where it was transferred
to a surrey with two horses. These went as far as Brownwood, where a
buckboard and two bronchos took it the remainder of the way, if they
were not interrupted.