In 1865 David Butterfield opened the 592-mile Smoky Hill route from Atchison, Kansas, to Denver, Colorado, cutting nearly two days from the Platte River route used by most freighters. The first wagon train on Butterfield's route left Atchison on June 25, 1865, with a military escort, and after several way stations were built, stage service began; the first stage, with Butterfield aboard, reached Denver in only twelve days. The Butterfield Overland Dispatch initially prospered with tri-weekly express service between Atchison and Denver. Pond Creek Station in Wallace County, a home station on the line, was laid out in September 1865 and provided meals for passengers and fresh draft animals for the stage. Its two-story wood station building, stable, and three dugouts used as rifle pits were built close together and connected by underground tunnels for defense, with a stone corral for livestock and a rock enclosure for hay storage nearby. From 1865 to 1867, increased traffic across their lands brought resistance from some Native Americans, causing major trouble for the Butterfield Overland Dispatch and other travelers, especially in western Kansas, as stations were attacked and burned, stages were waylaid, and drivers, passengers, and Indians were killed. In September 1865 Camp Pond Creek was established near Pond Creek Station as a military post and was initially garrisoned by H Company, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, made up of ex-Confederate soldiers sometimes called Galvanized Yankees. The following spring the post was moved about three miles east and renamed Fort Wallace in honor of General William H.L. Wallace, who died during the Civil War. Troops at Fort Wallace spent much of their time escorting stages and freight wagons and protecting crews building the Kansas Pacific Railroad. After the railroad reached Denver in 1870, Fort Wallace remained an active military post until May 31, 1882, and the Fort Wallace Military Reservation was ordered sold by Act of Congress on October 19, 1888.