STAGE LINES & LIVERIES.

1850-PRESENT

© Bancroft Library.
(c1855)

1850 March 27 - Gold was found in Columbia by the Hildreth Party; men mostly from the state of Maine. Within a few months the stages were coming in from all over bringing new and old miners to the "New Diggins" in hopes of finding color.

1852 Early express stagelines into Columbia included C.A. Todd.

1853-56 Alvin N. Fisher, Cooper & McCarthys, Red Bird Line, California Stage Company and Dillon & Co., were just some of the stagelines by this time, making daily runs.

1854 A. Clark and Bartlette are owners of the Livery Stable across from the Clark Hotel, on the southeast corner of Fulton and Broadway streets. All Liveries played an important part for the traveling businessman to have a place to care for his horse(s). It was convenient to have the livery near the hotel. Here is their ad in the Businessmen's Directory of 1856.

© Bancroft Library.
Bartlette & Clark's Livery Stable 1855

1856 The Opposition Line of Stages ran an ad in the Weekly Columbia.

1856 Clark & Bartlette sell Livery. It was called the Broadway Livery Stable.

1856 newspaper ad

1856 Parker & Stone run an ad in the Weekly Columbian newpaper.

1857 Wells, Fargo & Co. Express have been doing business in Columbia. (See Wells, Fargo page.)

Typical stagecoach (Abbott & Downing Passenger "mud" wagon) of the era.

1865 The Old Line of Stages ran an ad in the last Columbia newspaper,called the Tuolumne Courier.

The back portion of the Broadway Livery Stable c1866.

1868 The Broadway Livery Stable goes out of business and the lot is mined.

1888 George M. Trask buys from Michael & Kelli the Stage Stable on the southeast corner of Fulton & Broadway Streets.

The Trask Livery Stable on the left and Wells Fargo on the right 1890

1898 George M. Trask operates the Broadway Stable. The Columbia & Sonora Stage Line operates from this Livery.

In search for more 20th century data

1954 The brick building between the Wells, Fargo & Co. Express and the Bank is restored. It becomes the stage depot for town.

1960 April - Zane Orr owns the concession and runs the coach from the City Hotel.

1962 Zane uses the lot (Colombo Saloon) for his stage concession. Later the same year moving it to the current location.

1966-1973 Frank Coleman drove Stage in Columbia. (Frank was part Mi Wuk and was born in Coulterville, April 15, 1894. He first drove stage when he was 15 in Yosemite. Here is a newspaper clipping with him driving a "six-up" in Columbia.)

1969-1983 Louie & Chris Gookin drove stage in Columbia.

1973 Stagecoach Depot was located on the south/west corner of Main & State Streets. (per "Columbia Memories" by W. Lee Roddy)

1983 July 1 - Davene Stoller buys the stagecoach concession.

1999 June 20 - Davene Stoller looses bid on concession.

1999 June - Frank and Marshall Long are the stagecoach concessionaires. Known as the A. N. Fisher Stagecoach.

2006 August - Frank and Marshall Long sell out to Tom Fraser.

2006 Tom Fraser is the stagecoach concessionaire. Known as Quartz Mountain Stage Line & Saddle Horses.

Great source materials:
Stagecoach Heyday by William H. Boyd.

Via Western Express & Stagecoach by Oscar O. Winther.

This page is created for the benefit of the public by
Columbia Booksellers & Stationers
22725 Main Street
Columbia California 95310-9401

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A WORK IN PROGRESS,
created for the visitors to the Columbia State Historic park.
© Columbia State Historic Park & Floyd D. P. Øydegaard.