“Stagecoach Mary” broke all boundaries of race, gender and age. She drove the mail stagecoach along the trails that linked Cascade to the remote homesteads. She began life as a slave in Hickman County, Tenn. She learned to read and write.

When Mary heard that the United States Postal Service was looking for someone to deliver mail from the town of Cascade, Montana to families in the surrounding areas, she applied for the job. Even thought she was about 60 years old at the time, Mary proved herself the fastest applicant to hitch a team of six horses and was hired. Thus, Mary became the second woman and first African American woman to work for the United States Postal Service. She was only the second American woman in all to work for the United States Postal Service.