The Pony Express was in operation for only 18 months between April 1860 and October 1861. In the era before easy mass communication, the Pony Express was the thread that tied East to West. The Pony Express began in 1860 and only existed for eleven months, however, almost every American has heard about this early way of delivering the mail. The 20-year-old was scheduled to make his usual 75-mile run from Friday’s Station east to Buckland Station in Nevada. During one ride during the spring of 1860, express riders were escorted through Nevada to protect them from attacks. Pony Express Articles. During its short and fiery career, it delivered mail at what for those days was breathtaking speed. A Pony Express letter carried from San Francisco to New York in 12 days in June 1861, Instant Pot Duo Nova 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker. Even first-person accounts tend to be full of inaccuracies—in one first-person recollection, for instance, a man who says he was born in 1864 claims he rode for the Pony Express for three years, ending in 1881, 20 years after the last mail was delivered [PDF]. One man named “Bronco” Charlie Miller claimed he was only 11 years old when he first joined the Pony Express. January and February 2021 Family Day. February 15, 2021. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Nevertheless, the Pony Express is well remembered in stories about the American West. The Pony Express ceased service just two days later. Prices were later reduced to just $1, but they still remained too high for everyday mail. Map of the route followed by the Pony Express. In its early days the service cost $5 for every half-ounce of mail—the equivalent of some $130 today. The eastern part of the route may have also used breeds like Morgans and Thoroughbreds (now best known for their use in horse racing). 11 Facts About the Pony Express. Their outposts were usually crude, dirt floor hovels equipped with little more than sleeping quarters and corrals for the horses. Contrary to his wishes, his riders likely ignored him. 14 Facts About Pony Express. The Pony Express was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, and mail using relays of horse-mounted riders that operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California in the United States of America. This article contains affiliate links to products selected by our editors. Their average age was around 20, but it wasn’t unusual for teenagers as young as 14 to be hired. Login. See alsoMail, Overland, and Stagecoaches; Mail, Southern Overland. & P.P. (When the Pony Express began, only Missouri and California were officially states.) Riders were required to sign the oath on the inside of the specially made Bibles Majors gave each of them. The Pony Express was a way to deliver mail quickly across the mountains and deserts between Missouri and California. The Pony Express was by far the most effective way to communicate cross-country at the time—at least until the telegraph came along. One of its key achievements was the quick delivery of US presidential election results from Fort Kearny, Nebraskaon November 7, 1860. But while Cody almost certainly worked as a messenger for the owners of the Pony Express, there is no record of him ever carrying the mail, and evidence suggests he was probably in school in Kansas during the company’s brief history. The system officially shuttered on October 26, 1861, and the last remaining mail was delivered soon after. From Missouri, the route snaked through Kansas to Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and then on to California, where it ended in Sacramento (the mail would then usually travel by boat to San Francisco). Pony Express riders. The Paiute War between Native Americans and white settlers in modern-day Nevada and Utah did affect service during the spring and summer of 1860 though. BY Shaunacy Ferro. The speed of the Pony Express didn’t come cheap. There's no doubt that the route definitely ran through territory beset by conflicts between white settlers and Native Americans, but that may not have been the biggest danger. Route. Year Built — Year Renovated — County. Don’t worry, it’s not all about zoonotic diseases and the efficacy of face masks. The stations were usually located in remote areas decided by route efficiency rather than construction or supply convenience. Martin E. Ismert Collection - Kansas City, Missouri, A lobby card for a silent Western made in 1925. Twain wrote that each of these locked pouches would "hold about the bulk of a child's primer," but they could still fit a surprising amount of mail for their size, because to keep loads light (Major recalls a maximum of 10 pounds, while a former rider recalled 20), the mail was printed on thin tissue paper. The Pony Express plays a bit of an oversized role in the popular imagination, considering how long it actually existed. I will be adding to these as I read through more sources. Launched in April 1860, it operated for less than 19 months before the first trans-continental telegraph line was completed, connecting California to East Coast cities, no ponies necessary. The Pony Express at its height included 183 riders, 165 way stations, and between 400 and 500 horses. Life, this page specializes in deals on pre-owned and open-box products and includes a range of categories like unlocked cellphones, video games, and kitchen gadgets. Western Union completed the transcontinental telegraph line. By the time he finally returned to his home station, “Pony Bob” had traveled 380 miles in less than 40 hours—a Pony Express record. Fry is thought to be the first eastbound rider on the Pony Express. The Pony Express National Historic Trail was authorized by Congress in 1992 and is administered by the National Park Service and managed by the Bureau of Land Management, USDA … The Pony Express. (Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images), In exchange for their $100-150 monthly salaries—a substantial sum for the time—Pony Express riders were expected to take a loyalty oath that read: “I do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while an employee of Russell, Majors and Waddell, I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God.” Those who broke the rules risked being dismissed without pay, but it appears that few Pony Express employees followed the pledge to the letter. Knowing the service wouldn't be financially stable without it, the founders hoped to secure a government contract for their mail route, but just a few months after the launch, Congress passed a bill to subsidize the construction of a transcontinental telegraph line. Facts. San Rafael, Calif.: Pony Express History and Art Gallery, 1959. To achieve this remarkable speed, company owners William H. Russell, William B. Waddell and Alexander Majors set up a string of nearly 200 relief stations across what is now Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. The Hollenberg Pony Express station near Hanover, Kansas is the most intact Pony Express station left. First of all, the leather-bound Bibles he wanted them to carry would have weighed riders down, when the whole point was to travel as lightly as possible to maximize speed. Initially, the going rate for Pony Express transport was $5 ($138 in today's money) for every half ounce of mail. Search. Although operational for only 18 months, the Pony Express was extremely efficient and could deliver messages between the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts of the US in about ten days. They had mochilas designed specially for the Pony Express—ones that look nothing like some of the products now sold as "Pony Express saddlebags." (Credit: Public Domain). Pony Express Fact 2: Riders were kitted out with a pistol, a bugle, a rifle, gloves, boots and a Bible. For more videos like this one, subscribe to the Mental Floss YouTube channel here. "He carried nothing that was not absolutely necessary, for even the postage on his literary freight was worth five dollars a letter," he wrote. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Pony Express Museum Day Camp. At each relief station, riders would simply grab the mochilla off one mount and then throw it over the next, allowing them to switch horses in the span of just two minutes. Before the Pony Express, if you sent a letter from somewhere on the east coast to California, it would take upwards of 25 days. From there, you'll see whether or not the item is available from Amazon Warehouse. Postmark, Pony Express, 1860. Almost 2000 miles away, his California counterpart, Harry Roff, took off on his horse from Sacramento, heading east. But as Mark Twain, he got a whole chapter of "Roughing It" out of the meeting. Mental Floss may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Alexander Majors, alongside co-founders William Russell and William Waddell, had just two months to get the Pony Express up and running—a more complicated task than it might sound. To uncover all the amazing deals you never knew about, head over to Amazon’s Warehouse section. Despite the braggadocio, these young horsemen faced numerous dangers, such as thieves, deserts, or blizzards. To make sure you're going through Amazon Warehouse for these items, go to the individual product page and click "Buy Used." Clockwise from top left: Billy Richardson, Johnny Fry, Gus Cliff, Charles Cliff. Messages were carried on horseback relay across the prairies, plains, deserts, and mountains of the Western United States. "He simply liked to insert himself into history," as Buffalo Bill researcher Sandra Sagala wrote on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum's website in 2011, and there's evidence [PDF] that he was elsewhere during the times he claimed to be riding for the Pony Express. Stations with fresh horses were set up every 10 miles and riders typically rode 200 miles in each shift. Their Central Overland California & Pike's Peak Express Company, parent company to the Pony Express, would take such hard losses from operating the extra-fast route that it would be nicknamed "Clean Out of Cash and Poor Pay.". This slider cycles through all of the Quick Facts in random order. Tuesday Night Talks. To find Quick Facts on a particular topic, click on the appropriate tag in the sidebar. Poster from the Pony Express, advertising fast mail delivery to San Francisco. After a brief rest, he mounted a fresh horse and retraced his steps all the way back to Friday’s Station, at one point passing a relay outpost that had been burned by the Paiutes. Accounts differ, but Indians reportedly attacked or burned several relay stations during the Pyramid Lake War in the summer of 1860, killing as many as 16 stock hands. Weld County. If it had to go by ship, it would take months. Winter Business … However, here are some facts you probably don’t know: The official name of the Pony Express was The Central Overland, California and Pikes Peak Express Company. Please join us in 2021! Pony Express co-founder Alexander Majors asked each of his employees to take an oath saying that they wouldn't curse, drink, or fight. The last rider completed his route on October 24, 1861, just 19 months after the Pony Express began. Rather than burly cowboys, most of the riders were small, wiry men who weighed between 100 and 125 pounds—roughly the same size as a modern horseracing jockey. And, like so many legendary events of the "Old West," there have been wild exaggerations of the facts. From St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California the Pony Express could deliver a letter faster than ever before. 11 Facts About The Pony Express Mental Floss Author: media.ctsnet.org-Stefan Fruehauf-2020-09-15-09-41-04 Subject: 11 Facts About The Pony Express Mental Floss Keywords: 11 Facts About The Pony Express Mental Floss,Download 11 Facts About The Pony Express Mental Floss,Free download 11 Facts About The Pony Express Mental Floss,11 Facts About The Pony Express Mental Floss PDF Ebooks, … The first riders left from Sacramento and St. Joseph on April 3, 1860. "It is highly unlikely that the Pony Express would be so well remembered had not Buffalo Bill so glamorized it," Russell wrote. April 3, 2018. Explore articles from the History Net archives about Pony Express » See all Pony Express Articles. In less than eight days, riders reached California with the re… For all its financial troubles, the Pony Express didn’t truly collapse until a better alternative appeared on the scene. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! It's not all about big-ticket electronics, either. With riders traveling at an average pace of 10 miles per hour around the clock, the 1966-mile route passed through eight modern-day states in 10 days. Frequently Asked Questions. • The Pony Express company had only 60 days to get the system underway, from hiring riders to buying up to 500 horses to building 138 relay stations. There are also essential items every house needs like Ziploc bags and Glad trash bags. New York: Cooper Square, 1971. In his 1979 biography of the showman, Don Russell argues that he was, in fact, probably a rider, but that Cody undoubtedly made the Pony Express into a legend whether he was there or not. The Pony Express only existed for a brief period of eighteen months before electronic communications took over. This consisted of a leather cover that was draped over the saddle and held in place by the rider’s weight. Despite its enduring place in Old West legend, the Pony Express never turned a profit during its year and a half history. Pony Express Station, Gothenburg Picture: Pony Express quick facts - Check out Tripadvisor members' 448 candid photos and videos. Regular Business Hours Monday - Saturday: 9am to 5pm Sunday: 11am to 4pm . The Pony Express changed delivery forever. When the other man refused to take the mail, Haslam jumped back in the saddle and rode on, eventually completing a 190-mile run before delivering his mochilla at Smith’s Creek. Hours of Operation. The introduction of the telegraph made the Pony Express unnecessary. April 3, 1860 – October 24, 1861. Pony Express Facts Dates. The company that started the Pony Express also lost lots of money. (Credit: Public Domain). In 1861, riders traversed the westward route in seven days, 17 hours to get a copy of Lincoln's inaugural address to California. Amazon deals aren't exclusive just to the holiday season, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday—if you go to the site's little-known Warehouse section, you'll find discounts on high-end items all year long. Operating from the end of existing telegraph lines at St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, it carried messages in about ten days. In his autobiography, the famed frontier showman William “Buffalo Bill” Cody claimed that he served as a Pony Express rider at the age of 14. The government did fund the Pony Express during its later months—just not through Russell, Majors, and Waddell. Now virtual. A collection of historical tidbits about the Pony Express taken mostly from books, except as otherwise noted. It’s the only one still standing on its original site with its original dimensions. Pony Express rider crossing hostile country between St Joseph, Missouri, and San Francisco. Here are 5 facts you probably didn’t know about the Pony Express: It actually was pretty fast. The Pony Express was a subsidiary for the freight and stage company. Pumpkinfest. Telegraph: It was completed on October 24, 1861. The Pony Express, meanwhile, had an average delivery time of just 10 days. Instead, Congress effectively made the three founders (one of whom, Russell, had recently been indicted for fraud) hand over the western part of the route to the Overland Mail Company, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo [PDF] that already ran a different stagecoach route. Get exclusive deals, product news, reviews, and more with the Mental Floss Smart Shopping newsletter. The Pony Express, meanwhile, had an average delivery time of just 10 days. Upcoming Events. They not only had to buy hundreds of horses, but build enough stations that riders could change horses every 10 miles or so—meaning more than 150 stations across the West. Redfin Estimate. Pony Express Facts for kids. Interesting Facts about the Pony Express . It was a short-lived enterprise, however. The relay system allowed mail to criss-cross the frontier in record time. During its peak, it provided employed approximately 6,000 staff and owned thousands of oxen, wagons, warehouses, and other assets. The Pony Express was forced to close after the opening of the transcontinental telegraph. The Pony Express operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861; the last run was completed Nov. 21, 1861. While that sounds a little steep compared to today's stamp, the company still lost $30—a whopping $830 today—for every letter transported, according to the Postal Museum. (Credit: Buyenlarge/Getty Images). The Pony Express was a system that delivered mail on horseback between Missouri and California . Each June, the National Pony Express Association stages a commemorative ride for its members over the same path that the Pony Express traveled, with volunteer riders traveling 24/7 to get mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California (or vice versa—they switch the route based on if it's an even or odd year) in 10 days. Pony Express riders typically rode for 75 to 100 miles at a stretch, but they changed horses many times over the course of their journey to ensure that their steeds could go as fast as possible. (Credit: Public Domain). William H. Russell, William B. Waddell, Alexander Majors. Historians disagree on whether or not there's enough reliable evidence to prove whether or not he worked for the operation, which only employed about 80 men (plus substitutes), according to the National Park Service. The nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer)… students. You can pause a slide by hovering your mouse over the Fact. Pony Express riders didn't just throw a standard mail bag over the back of their saddle. Here are 11 things you might not have known about the amazing delivery service. Accounts of the types of horses used by the Pony Express vary; in his 1893 autobiography, Pony Express co-founder Alexander Majors wrote that "The horses were mostly half-breed California mustangs, as alert and energetic as their riders, and their part in the service sure-footed and fleet was invaluable." His mail pouch was found two years later. Designed to be easy to transfer from horse to horse during the minutes-long station stops, these leather covers fit over the saddle so that the rider was sitting on top of the leather, with mail pouches on either side of their legs. Whatever Cody’s involvement with Pony Express was, there’s no doubt that he later kept its memory alive with his famous “Wild West” vaudeville shows, which featured Pony Express riders and horse swaps as a recurring stunt from 1883 until 1916. In the end, the business venture that was the Pony Express lost a lot of money and became outdated fairly quickly. Pony Express began operation on April 3, 1860, and lasted just 18 months. (Credit: Public Domain). Pony Express Fact 1: Riders were given a uniform of red shirts and blue pants but these were often discarded and replaced with buckskins. And the service's most famous rider, Buffalo Bill Cody, may not have even been a rider at all. Kids; Students; Scholars; Fundamentals NEW; 7-day free trial. Beds — Baths — Finished Sq. Nevertheless, the Pony Express has become synonymous with the Old West. On April 3, 1860, in St. Joseph, Missouri, a young rider (probably) named Johnny Fry stuffed a mail pouch containing 49 letters, five telegrams, and other various papers into a tailor-made saddle pack and dashed off on his horse, Sylph, heading west. All Rights Reserved. Settle, Raymond W. The Pony Express: Heroic Effort, Tragic End. Pony Express riders had to deal with extreme weather conditions, harsh terrain and the threat of attacks by bandits and Indians, but life may have been even more dangerous for the stock keepers who manned the relief stations. And one rider disappeared along his route never to be seen again. The first Pony Express rider left California, headed towards Missouri, in April, 1860. (Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images). Samuel Clemens had an encounter of less than two minutes with a Pony Express rider on a trip out West. William Hepburn Russell (1812–1872) was a United States businessman. Cancelled. In 2010, Corbett told NPR that in the few first-person accounts available in the historical record, original riders remembered the dangers of freezing during winter rides, especially if you strayed off the trail. In the era before electronic communication, the Pony Express was the thread that tied East to West. Upon arriving at Buckland, however, he found that his relief rider was petrified of the Paiute Indians, who had been attacking stations along the route. Their rides marked the launch of the famous Pony Express, the remarkable mail system that carried correspondence and news across the western United States at breakneck speed in the days before the transcontinental telegraph and the transcontinental railroad. The Hollenberg Pony Express station at Hanover, Kansas. Redfin Estimate for 414 Pony Express Trl. He even alleged that he once rode a record 384 miles in a single run. Stay tuned for more information! The Pony Express was founded by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell, who ran a transportation company taking freight, mail, and passengers by stagecoach across the American West before they launched the Pony Express. 2000 miles, between St. Joseph Missouri and Sacramento, California. As pointed out by Yahoo! An ad placed in San Francisco on behalf of Wells, Fargo & Company in 1861, after the company took control of the Pony Express and lowered rates. The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the North American continent from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California from April 1860 to October 1861. More than 750 riders take part, carrying up to 1000 letters in total. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. But the Pony Express performances during his Wild West Show did significantly shape how history remembers the service. The service lasted for only about a year and a half in the early 1860s. Public Facts for 414 Pony Express Trl. The company had spent its brief history bridging the gap between the Eastern and Western telegraph lines, but it was finally rendered obsolete on October 24, 1861, when Western Union completed the transcontinental telegraph line at Salt Lake City. Ft. — Total Sq. The stations were about 10 miles apart, and at every station, they changed horses, swapping out their steeds up to 10 times a ride; the whole enterprise involved about 400 horses. Ft. — Unfinished Sq. Many were located in remote sections of the frontier, making them extremely vulnerable to ambush. If you want even more deals, head on over to the Amazon Coupon page. The lesson titled Pony Express Facts: Lesson for Kids delivers more details if you are interested in learning more. Contrary to myth, Pony Express riders weren't speeding across the landscape in cowboy hats wearing fringe-covered buckskins and toting guns. About 200 relay stations were located along the route. Vocabulary. There are plenty of myths surrounding the historic mail delivery service, and much of what we're taught about the Pony Express in school isn't quite right. As a result, the mail took 31 days to reach Missouri, the longest of any of the eastbound Pony Express rides [PDF]. (Credit: Farbman/Getty Images). The company began making deliveries in April 1860, but service ground to a halt just a few weeks later when the Pyramid Lake War erupted between the United States and the Paiute Indians. They definitely learned something new in 2020. 2020 also gave us dazzling, high-resolution photos of the sun, the truth about a massive fossil egg previously known as “The Thing,” and intriguing details about Britain’s most infamous 19th-century shipwreck. Pony Express: Facts & Fiction. In May 1860, Robert “Pony Bob” Haslam took off on the most legendary ride in Pony Express history. Liquor flowed freely at relief stations, and an eyewitness named Richard Burton reported that he “scarcely ever saw a sober rider.”, Mochilla saddle used by Pony Express riders. (Items like these are simply open-box products and have never been used.) However, those steeds may not have been ponies in the proper sense—by definition, ponies are small breeds of horse under 4.8 feet tall. In operation for only 18 months between April 1860 and October 1861, the Pony Express nevertheless has become synonymous with the Old West. In the mid-19th century, California-bound mail had to either be taken overland by a 25-day stagecoach or spend months inside a ship during a long sea voyage. Pony Express riders were expected to be stand-up citizens, despite their later reputation as rough-and-tumble frontiersmen. Since speed was its main goal, the Pony Express went to great lengths to keep its horses’ loads as light as possible. (Credit: Public Domain). The National Pony Express Association (NPEA) is an all-volunteer, historical organization with the purpose of identifying, re-establishing and marking the original pony express trail from St. Joseph, Missouri, via Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and into California. There are even deals on sought-after video games like The Last of Us Part IIfor PlayStation 4 for half the original price. The National Park Service reports that four riders were killed on their way to deliver mail (some say that most of the employees killed by those ambushes were station masters, not riders, but at least one rider was killed during this period of conflict). Route by artist william Henry Jackson trash bags their horse had to carry in every way, in. You never knew about, head on over to the Amazon Coupon.. The Quick delivery of US part IIfor PlayStation 4 for half the original price to make usual! Stage company a … Pony Express began operation on April 3, 1860 Express also lots! 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