As pervasive as the stagecoach industry was in America for at least 200 years, doesn’t it make sense that at least a few women were somehow involved? Well, guess what, there were far more than a few. Women drove stagecoaches, groomed and shod the stage horses, hoisted mail bags and boxes of gold bullion, negotiated contracts, bought and managed stage lines, defended (with their six-shooters) their cargo from bandits, and robbed stages in addition to their traditional roles as housekeepers, cooks, and laundresses, and oh yes, mothers to multiple children. And usually women’s contributions to stagecoach history were ignored. Stagecoach Women offers a non-academic, but expansive survey of stagecoach history in the United States enriched by the personal stories of women who contributed to the evolution and success of a captivating facet of American history.
