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As a young man, John Butterfield followed his urge to become a stagecoach driver, saving his money and starting his own delivery business. Eventually Butterfield was involved with the founding of the American Express company. He won a $600,000 contract from Congress in 1857 to deliver the St. Louis mail to San Francisco in 25 days. The route came to be known as the "Butterfield Route."

In his later years, he moved to Utica, NY and was elected Mayor. Butterfield died four years later in 1869.

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