Written By Elizabeth Barrett

Special thanks to Karen Kondazian , author of The Whip , for this sketch of Charley Parkhurst .

Locally , a string of 40 Concord coaches operated by the Flint and Bixby Line made up the “ San Juan Express .” Passengers paid a nine-cent per mile fare to ride aboard the horse-drawn service , which carried mail and passengers on a well-traveled route operating between San Francisco and Los Angeles . The major stop was at the company ’ s headquarters at San Juan Bautista , where travelers were picked up or let off at the Plaza Hotel . During dry weather , the Concord coaches carried nine passengers on the inside and eight on top . With an average speed of about 10 miles per hour , it took a week to make the complete San Francisco to Los Angeles trip .

In those days , it was a distinct honor for a passenger to sit alongside the driver . In return , he expected to be rewarded with free drinks at the next regular stage stop , each located about 15 miles apart . While the horses were being exchanged , the driver and passengers usually waited inside the station ’ s saloon , which sometimes offered the most basic of accommodations . In spite of the frequent free booze , most stage drivers were considered sober and careful men , both courteous and gentlemanly while on the job .

At a starting salary of $ 125 per month , the stage drivers often remained at the post for years , acquiring a name and a following all their own .

Of them all , one driver in particular stands out in historic accounts today . It wasn ’ t just for his long years driving stages , or for fancy whip cracking , but because the individual carried a personal secret so well buried that no one ever guessed it until after his death .

His name was Charley Parkhurst . Born in 1812 in New England , he reputedly learned to drive stages as a youth at a livery stable . Starting out with two horses , he graduated to | four , and at last learned the skills to handle a six-horse stage . Some sources say he also worked in Massachusetts , Rhode Island and Georgia .

Charley arrived in California following the Gold Rush after sailing from the East Coast , crossing the Isthmus of Panama and then sailing up the West Coast . He worked for a stage company driving the Stockton to Mariposa line , later he drove stages between San Jose and Oakland .

For years Charley drove the stage between San Jose and Santa Cruz , as well as the San Juan Bautista run . For travelers headed further south , the stage route proceeded over the San Juan Grade , then along Old Stage Road south through Natividad to Soledad and on toward Paso Robles .

An early description noted that Charley was a “ lean , lantern-jawed , tobacco-chewing chap in blue jeans ,” who had a reputation for “ cussing all the other stage drivers off the road .” He was also an off-duty hard drinker , often seen at such spots as Deacon Howe ’ s pub in Salinas . Charley wore a patch over one eye and suffered from a deformed jaw , both accidents caused

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