1860 : Pony Express debuts
On this day in 1860, the first Pony Express mail, traveling by horse
and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves St. Joseph, Missouri, and
Sacramento, California. Ten days later, on April 13, the westbound
rider and mail packet completed the approximately 1,800-mile journey
and arrived in Sacramento, beating the eastbound packet's arrival in
St. Joseph by two days and setting a new standard for speedy mail
delivery. Although ultimately short-lived and unprofitable, the Pony
Express captivated America's imagination and helped win federal aid
for a more economical overland postal system. It also contributed to
the economy of the towns on its route and served the mail-service
needs of the American West in the days before the telegraph or an
efficient transcontinental railroad.
The Pony Express debuted at a time before radios and telephones, when
California, which achieved statehood in 1850, was still largely cut
off from the eastern part of the country. Letters sent from New York
to the West Coast traveled by ship, which typically took at least a
month, or by stagecoach on the recently established Butterfield
Express overland route, which could take from three weeks to many
months to arrive. Compared to the snail's pace of the existing
delivery methods, the Pony Express' average delivery time of 10 days
seemed like lightning speed.
The Pony Express Company, the brainchild of William H. Russell,
William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, owners of a freight
business, was set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail
across the present-day states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming,
Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. Riders, who were paid
approximately $25 per week and carried loads estimated at up to 20
pounds of mail, were changed every 75 to 100 miles, with horses
switched out every 10 to 15 miles. Among the riders was the legendary
frontiersman and showman William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917), who
reportedly signed on with the Pony Express at age 14. The company's
riders set their fastest time with Lincoln's inaugural address, which
was delivered in just less than eight days.
The initial cost of Pony Express delivery was $5 for every half-ounce
of mail. The company began as a private enterprise and its owners
hoped to gain a profitable delivery contract from the U.S. government,
but that never happened. With the advent of the first transcontinental
telegraph line in October 1861, the Pony Express ceased operations.
However, the legend of the lone Pony Express rider galloping across
the Old West frontier to deliver the mail lives on today.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1860 : Pony Express debuts
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=4885
1882 : Jesse James shot in the back
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4886
1936 : Bruno Hauptmann executed
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4887
1948 : Truman signs Marshall Plan
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4888
1996 : Ron Brown killed in plane crash
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4889
1996 : Unabomber arrested
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6856
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On this day in 1860, the first Pony Express mail, traveling by horse
and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves St. Joseph, Missouri, and
Sacramento, California. Ten days later, on April 13, the westbound
rider and mail packet completed the approximately 1,800-mile journey
and arrived in Sacramento, beating the eastbound packet's arrival in
St. Joseph by two days and setting a new standard for speedy mail
delivery. Although ultimately short-lived and unprofitable, the Pony
Express captivated America's imagination and helped win federal aid
for a more economical overland postal system. It also contributed to
the economy of the towns on its route and served the mail-service
needs of the American West in the days before the telegraph or an
efficient transcontinental railroad.
The Pony Express debuted at a time before radios and telephones, when
California, which achieved statehood in 1850, was still largely cut
off from the eastern part of the country. Letters sent from New York
to the West Coast traveled by ship, which typically took at least a
month, or by stagecoach on the recently established Butterfield
Express overland route, which could take from three weeks to many
months to arrive. Compared to the snail's pace of the existing
delivery methods, the Pony Express' average delivery time of 10 days
seemed like lightning speed.
The Pony Express Company, the brainchild of William H. Russell,
William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, owners of a freight
business, was set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail
across the present-day states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming,
Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. Riders, who were paid
approximately $25 per week and carried loads estimated at up to 20
pounds of mail, were changed every 75 to 100 miles, with horses
switched out every 10 to 15 miles. Among the riders was the legendary
frontiersman and showman William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917), who
reportedly signed on with the Pony Express at age 14. The company's
riders set their fastest time with Lincoln's inaugural address, which
was delivered in just less than eight days.
The initial cost of Pony Express delivery was $5 for every half-ounce
of mail. The company began as a private enterprise and its owners
hoped to gain a profitable delivery contract from the U.S. government,
but that never happened. With the advent of the first transcontinental
telegraph line in October 1861, the Pony Express ceased operations.
However, the legend of the lone Pony Express rider galloping across
the Old West frontier to deliver the mail lives on today.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1860 : Pony Express debuts
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=4885
1882 : Jesse James shot in the back
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4886
1936 : Bruno Hauptmann executed
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4887
1948 : Truman signs Marshall Plan
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4888
1996 : Ron Brown killed in plane crash
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4889
1996 : Unabomber arrested
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6856
#########################################
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