Butterfield stage returns to Cleburne

A Butterfield stagecoach will make an appearance at the 19th annual Springfest on April 25-27 in Cleburne.

The stage used to stop in Cleburne at Mrs. Wren’s, where Cleburne Eye Clinic is located, but during Springfest participants who want to ride the coach can meet it at Market Square.

The first run of the Butterfield Overland Stage Line was made in September 1858 and went from Missouri through North Texas to California.

Abbot-Downing Co. of Concord, N.H., built the coaches for Butterfield at a cost of $1,050 each.

The coming of the railroad hastened the end of the stagecoach era, which was essentially over by the end of the 1880s, though some stage lines operated in rural areas past 1900.

Other activities planned for Springfest, which is sponsored by the Downtown Cleburne Association, are food, arts and craft vendors, amusement rides, live entertainment, an antique car show and activities along the creek.

For information about Springfest, call Bettye Cook at 817-648-1230.

— Special to the Times-Review