Pony Express - Fasted Mail Across the West

Pony Express - Fasted Mail Across the West

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Actual Pony Express Rider in 1860 or 1861,

courtesy National Archives.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

Special saddle bags that could be moved to a fresh horse very quickly at a change station were used. The rider changed to a fresh horse at each station, taking only the mail pouch (called a mochila) with him. The mochila was thrown over the saddle and held in place by the weight of the rider sitting on it. Each corner had a cantina, or pocket. Bundles of mail were placed in these cantinas, which were padlocked for safety. The mochila could hold 20 pounds of mail along with the 20 pounds of material carried on the horse, allowing for a total of 165 pounds on the horse's back. Riders were changed about every 100 miles.

Amazingly, these young riders carried approximately 35,000 pieces of mail over more than 650,000 miles during the time the Pony Express existed. Further, only one rider lost his life when he was killed by hostile Indians, and only one sack of mail was lost during this time.

The Pony Express is credited with helping to keep California in the Union by providing rapid communication between the two coasts. News of the election of Abraham Lincoln to the United States presidency in 1860 and of the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 reached California via the Pony Express.

While the Pony Express dramatically improved the communication between the east and west, it was a financial disaster for its owners. Hoping to gain the million dollar government mail contract, the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company spent about $700,000 on the project, losing about $200,000 of their investment. After the Pacific Telegraph Company completed its line to San Francisco in October, 1861, the company declared bankruptcy and closed down.

Pony Express Monument in St. Joseph, Missouri,

April 3, 2005, Kathy Weiser.

Ben Holladay, the owner of the Overland Mail Company who had been awarded the million dollar government contract, acquired the Pony Express through foreclosure on March 21, 1862. Four years later he sold out to Wells Fargo for $2,000,000.

The Pony Express marked the highest development in overland travel prior to the coming of the transcontinental railroad, which it preceded by nine years. It, in fact, proved the feasibility of a transcontinental road and demonstrated that such a line could be built and operated continuously the year around - a feat that had previously been regarded as impossible.

Both the Pony Express Headquarters and the Pony Express Stables still stand in St. Joseph, Missouri today, serving as two different museums.

Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, © April, 2005

Inside the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph,

Missouri, April 3, 2005, David Alexander.

The Pony Express National Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri displays educational, state of the art exhibits conveying the need, creation, operation and termination of the Pony Express. Whatever your age, you’re sure to be captivated by the stories and images on an era long passed.

Contact Information:

Pony Express National Museum
914 Penn Street
St. Joseph, Missouri 64503

800-530-5930/816-279-5059

Also See:

Tales & Trails of the American West

The Pony Express headquarters were located in the

Patee Hotel in St. Joseph, Missouri. This building now serves as the Patee Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri. April 3, 2005, David Alexander.

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