The town of Tipton, Missouri was created in 1857-58 by William Tipton Seely on land that he owned about 160 miles west of St. Louis.
Seely was an Englishman who moved from England to America in 1793. He fought on the side of the US (in Virginia's militia) in the War of 1812, moved to Missouri after the War, opened a general store there and became a successful business owner/land owner/land speculator by the mid 1850s; he referred to the small settlement that developed around his store as Round Hill.
After learning of the coming of the railroad to his part of the State, Seely struck an agreement with Pacific Railroad (of Missouri) in December 1857 - he donated some of his land to be used for the railroad's track bed in exchange for the railroad company creating a plan for a town near its planned rail station on land owned by Seely. With the layout in place, Seely began selling lots to those looking to settle in the area and build a home or business - the town became Tipton and, from contemporary accounts, grew rapidly. The rail line arrived in Tipton in December 1858.
Interestingly, there is no record of Seely moving to/living in Tipton - the town he created.The town of Tipton quickly made a name for itself as a key component of John Warren Butterfield's Overland Mail Company (OMC); the OMC carried mail between St.Louis in the east and San Francisco in the west following the Southern Overland Trail. Butterfield won a $600,000 annual contract from the US Post Office to deliver mail between St. Louis and California; the service ran between 1958 and 1861. (With the outbreak of the US Civil War in 1861, the OMC was ordered by Congress to transfer its mail route to the Central Overland Trail to ensure it remained in Union hands. It combined operations with the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, operated by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell of Pony Express fame). Tipton was the eastern terminus of the stagecoach portion of the OMC mail route; the route's ultimate eastern terminus was St. Louis, with mail delivered to St. Louis from Tipton via railroad rather than stagecoach.
Morgan Moore Moulder (D-MO) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that called for "the coinage of special 50-cent pieces in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of Tipton, Missouri, and the overland mail from Tipton, Missouri, to San Erancisco, California." The bill was introduced in late June 1958, just two months before Congress would adjourn.
Upon its introduction, the bill was immediately referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency.
The bill's language indicates that Representative Moulder was proposing a circulating commemorative half dollar vs. a not-intended-for-circulation (NIFC) coin. The bill did not restrict the Mint facilities that could be engaged nor did it specify a quantity to be minted. Such details, along with the designs to be used for the coin, were left to the Secretary of the Treasury.
The bill was never reported out of Committee, and died for lack of action when the 85th Congress adjourned in August 1958.
The Post Office Department paid tribute to its postal associate from a century before in 1958 with a four-cent commemorative stamp that celebrated the Overland Mail service; First Day of Issue (FDI) ceremonies were held in San Francisco, CA - the western terminus of the route.
1958 Overland Mail Centennial Stamp
For my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including many more What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 12/25/2022 12:22 am
