Pony express debuts on april 3, 1860, the first pony express mail, traveling by horse and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves st. Nov 02, 2016 their book lists 195 pony express riders, based on evidence from eyewitness accounts, newspapers, census records, and other primary sources. We visited four different stops on our two week dual sport motorcycle trip in five western states. Across nevada with the pony express and overland stage line. The pony express mail system is an important part of. Nardone started his adventure on april 3 at the former pony express headquarters in st. Pony express national historic trail salt lake city 2020. This relay system along the pony express national historic trail crossing eight states was the most direct and practical means of eastwest communications in 1860. Along the route visitors can enjoy history and a variety of recreation. The pony express traila fading, rutted 1900mile track thats slowly disappearing into the shadows and annals of american history. The pony express national historic trail goes through blm managed lands in california, colorado, nevada, utah, and wyoming.
History of the pony express history ponyexpressstation. The history of the pony express the pony express was a private mail service which operated between st. The thing that makes it great is that the author had many photos of the before and after sites of the actual pony express. The first ride of the pony express read an excerpt travel with the first pony express riders through the dramatic and dangerous wild west in a celebration of americas finest frontiersmen. Be a junior ranger pony express national historic trail u.
Junior ranger program become a junior ranger for the pony express national historic trail. Men wanted the undersigned wishes to hire ten or a dozen men, familiar with the management of horses, as hostlers, or riders on the overland express route. Their book lists 195 pony express riders, based on evidence from eyewitness accounts, newspapers, census records, and other primary sources. The pony express trail was 2,000 miles just over 3,200 kilometers long and could be traveled in eight to 10 days by a series of riders. Poster from the pony express, advertising fast mail delivery to san francisco. Email or send a picture of your completed booklet to us, and earn your junior ranger badge. From 18601861 the station was used as a pony express station. The 20yearold was scheduled to make his usual 75mile run from fridays station east to. Joseph, missouri, to sacramento, california the pony express could deliver a letter faster than ever before. The pony express trail national backcountry byway begins near fairfield and ends at ibapah, utah.
Pony express historical timeline pony express museum st. Called the greatest enterprise of modern times, the endeavorwhich lasted only nineteenth monthsrecruited young men willing to risk life and limb in a relay race that crossed the frontier on a route from st. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the pony express like never before, in no time at all. Visschers book a thrilling and truthful history of the pony express was published in 1908, nearly half a century after the pony express went out of business. Please make reservations at least 2 weeks in advance. Explains the route of the pony express and accounts from pony express riders. Sep 08, 2015 the book smoothed the stories of his early life, and expanded his stockdriving jobs, supposed pony express service and indian skirmishes into dramas of frontier nerve, pluck and progress.
Bibliography pony express national historic trail u. The real story behind the pony express wells fargo history. Joseph, missouri, from there to join and generally follow the thenexisting oregoncalifornia trail to fort bridger, wyoming. Pony express national historic trail visit the usa. This is an outstanding book about the pony express. The account would later be written down in twains book roughing it. Exploring the historic pony express trail in utahs west. Visschers book a thrilling and truthful history of the pony express was. Studded with 153 stations, the pony express trail used 80 riders and between 400 and 500 horses to carry mail from the settled midwest to the new state of california. Visit trail traces, visitor centers, museums, hiking trails, historic structures and forts related to the pony express national historic trail. Be a junior ranger pony express national historic trail.
Every 75 miles, they handed the mail to a new rider. The horseandrider system became the united states most direct and practical means of eastwest communications before the telegraph, delivering mail in the unprecedented time of ten days. History westward expansion the pony express was a mail delivery service that ran between missouri and california. Joseph, it followed a wellworn road made by tens of thousands of wagons since the mid1840s that originally carried emigrants to homes in oregon, california, and salt lake citynearly halfamillion by 1860. Joseph, missouri and san francisco, california, from april 3, 1860 to october 1861. Why the shortlived pony express still fascinates us. Pony express national historic trail, santa fe, new mexico. Download the junior ranger program, print the program front to back, and fold it in half. Young men once rode horses to carry mail from missouri to california in the unprecedented time of only 10 days.
The shortlived mailrelay system was a financial disaster doomed by the telegraph, but its. Dec 22, 2009 the pony express combines the legends and lore of this remarkable mail service with contemporary photography and archival images and documents from the past, and celebrates the sesquicentennial of the startand endof those daring rides, which ended with the completion of the transcontinental railroad. In operation for only 18 months between april 1860 and october 1861, the pony express nevertheless has become synonymous with the old west. In 1860, the first pony express rider set out on a trail from missouri to california. Apr 03, 2010 150 years later, pony express rides on in legend april 3 marks the 150th birthday of the pony express. Riders could deliver mail in just 10 days, compared to the three weeks traditional stagecoach delivery required. Pony express national historic trail, salt lake city.
Download the text only trail brochure in large print andor the information found below. Aug 29, 2018 in may 1860, robert pony bob haslam took off on the most legendary ride in pony express history. The horseandrider system became the united states most direct and practical means of eastwest. The riders horses were mostly tough california mustangs and the. After the pony express ended, the station was used as an overland trail stage station, bunk house, storage house, and dwelling until 1931. Learn the true history of americas most famous failed business and how it became a legend still celebrated today. The book is set a day or two after abraham lincolns election and the pony express is bringing news of what happened in the election to the west, not. Rare book and special collections divisionlibrary of congress, washington, d. Sep 15, 2017 but of all the 19thcentury traffic, the fastest men on the trail were the riders of the pony express. May 16, 2018 the pony express only lasted 18 months, but the mail delivery service remains one of the most enduring icons of the american west its story told in dime novels and in westerns like the 1990s. Pony express national historic trail in the united states is the historic route of the pony. Lewin and taylor also describe 61 pony express riders, many of whom came from missouri, illinois, ohio, new york, pennsylvania and even ireland and england. But the pony express delivered the mail across a continent at a critical time and captured the imagination of people all over the world like. Pony express simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Starting with the foundation of the pony express in the controversy around slavery and the missouri compromise and the role the express played in keeping california in the union as a free state. Mar 01, 2010 this is an outstanding book about the pony express. The travelers guide to the pony express trail historic trail guide series joe. Aug 05, 2019 learn the true history of americas most famous failed business and how it became a legend still celebrated today. Butterfield overland mail officially the overland mail company was a stagecoach service in the united states operating from 1858 to 1861. The pony express mail system is an important part of history, with much of the original route remaining. The pony express started with 80 riders, 400 horses and over 100 stations that were spaced every 1012 miles along the trail. Featuring christopher corbett pony express rider wade watkins. Although a financially disastrous brief enterprise, the pony express and.
Buffalo bill cody was just 14 years old, so the story goes, when he made his worldfamous ride for the pony express. In the era before electronic communication, the pony express was the thread that tied east to west. The service was backed by businessman william hepburn russell 1812 72, who hired 80 riders and kept 400 horses and ponies to make the relay journey around the clock. Written about 100 years ago, this history of the pony express is a fun and interesting read. The pony express only lasted 18 months, but the mail delivery service remains one of the most enduring icons of the american west its story told in. The pony express national historic trail is a united states national historic trail commemorating the mail service route through the old west, between st. Orphans preferred was the call that went out to the daring of heart when the pony express was organized nearly 150 years ago in april 1860. The routes from each eastern terminus met at fort smith, arkansas, and then continued through indian territory oklahoma. Young men on small, fast horses, would ride segments of the trail to bring mail. Pony express historical timeline pony express museum. But of all the 19thcentury traffic, the fastest men on the trail were the riders of the pony express.
Using the pony express, mail could arrive in california in as few as 9 days rather than the weeks it took to arrive when sent by horse carriage. Pony express national historic trail travel guide at. He has done a great job researching the area of the pony express and includes hundreds of. Frequently asked questions about pony express museum tours. A great early chapter book about a fictional boy and the pony express. He has done a great job researching the area of the pony express and includes hundreds of photos and maps of the trail. The pony express was a way to deliver mail quickly across the mountains and deserts between missouri and california. The pony express shut down not long after the telegraph was completed. The pony express national historic trail is the route where young men on horseback once carried the nations mail across the country between 1860 and 1861.
A wonderful way to learn facts about history through a story telling medium that engages the reader and helps them remember those facts long after the book has been put back on the shelf. It was an astonishing fact that a letter could be delivered across the 1,800 mile trail in only 10 days. The publications listed below are a mustangmix of both, despite the best intentions of their authors. Heroes of the pony express american cowboy western. The pony express was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, and mail using relays. Leaving red buttes on the north platte river near presentday casper, wyo. Stories of the express and the riders are a fun read. Pony express national historic trail salt lake city. April 3, 2010 was the pony express 150th anniversary. Lewin and taylor also describe 61 pony express riders, many of whom came from missouri, illinois, ohio.
This article, by the grandson of one of the pony express owners, is an excellent study of the overland mail company and pony express history. Apr 01, 2020 pony express debuts on april 3, 1860, the first pony express mail, traveling by horse and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves st. The pony express was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, and mail using relays of horsemounted riders that operated from april 3, 1860, to october 24, 1861, between missouri and california in the united states of america operated by central overland california and pikes peak express company, the pony express was a great financial investment to the u. But the pony express delivered the mail across a continent at a critical time and captured the imagination of people all over the world like few events in the history of the american west. Pony express history is partly fact and largely legend. Clemens encounters a pony express rider in western nebraska. As a result of the 1849 gold rush, the 1847 mormon exodus to utah and the thousands who moved west on the oregon trail starting in the 1840s, the need for a fast mail service beyond the rocky mountains became obvious. Riders would stop every 16 to 24 kilometers 10 to 15 miles to hop onto a fresh horse at the four to six relay. Pony express national historic trail home facebook. Nov 15, 2018 the pony express reduced that time by more than half, making mail delivery in 10 days or less possible for the first time. The pony express was a mail delivering service started on april 3, 1860. Pony express riders switched horses every 25 miles to keep moving quickly. Anyone wondering how the story of the pony express became muddled need only consider that it took half a century to write a book about the subject, and its author was a dubious chronicler. This relay system along the pony express national historic trail crossing eight states was the most direct and practical means of eastwest communications in.
The travelers guide to the pony express trail historic trail guide. In the brief history of the pony express, it only happened once that the mail did not go through. The pony express began april 3, 1860, and it operated for only 18 months at which time the transcontinental telegraph began operation. Eighty men rode for the company, each carrying the mail for an average of 100 miles. Joseph, missouri, and sacramento, california, and from sacramento to san francisco, california, by steamer april 1860october 1861. Joseph, missouri, via kansas, nebraska, colorado, wyoming. The nearly 2,000mile route passes through a variety of public and private lands. Readers who prefer their history securely documented and controlled may be in for a rough ride, for hardly a statement ever written about the pony express has escaped challenge. Complete the program by using the official map and guide text look for. Pony express national historic trail has its own junior ranger program. There were 190 stations along the long and arduous route used by the pony express. About this time, with the indian wars on the plains all but over, with the buffalo nearly gone and the plains filling up with cattle, cody must have realized.
Jul 07, 2016 the pony express traila fading, rutted 1900mile track thats slowly disappearing into the shadows and annals of american history. The trail crosses eight states following an impressive relay system. The smoke signal the pony express the overland mail, spring 1968, no. Following guidance from the white house, centers for disease control and prevention, and. His route took him along what we now call the oregoncaliforniamormon trail. The history and legacy of americas most famous mail service comprehensively examines the history of the pony express from beginning to end, explaining how it operated and who worked for it. Mail from two eastern termini, memphis, tennessee, and st. Its purpose is to preserve the original pony express trail and to continue the memory and importance of pony express in american history in partnership with the national park service, pony express trail association, and the oregoncalifornia trails association.
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