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District II
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The first rider out of San Francisco and his mount left the Alta Telegraph office just before 4:00 p.m., April 3, 1860. Heading west out of St. Joseph, Missouri on April 3, 1860 was the first pony rider, John Fry.
To perform these services required over 170 relay and home stations, and over 200 employees including station keepers, stock or horse tenders, blacksmiths and cooks.
The Pony Express ceased to operate on October 24, 1861 when the telegraph lines to California were completed bringing to a close the brave and shining saga of the Pony Express as the public knew it.
From its beginning, when it was established and supported by Russell, Majors and Waddell to its end when it was owned by Wells Fargo and Co., the Pony Express was a financial failure. The deficit was over $200,000. But what a glorious failure. What a legacy of storied and shining courage it left for the West. Information from Pony Express Station website.
To perform these services required over 170 relay and home stations, and over 200 employees including station keepers, stock or horse tenders, blacksmiths and cooks.
The Pony Express ceased to operate on October 24, 1861 when the telegraph lines to California were completed bringing to a close the brave and shining saga of the Pony Express as the public knew it.
From its beginning, when it was established and supported by Russell, Majors and Waddell to its end when it was owned by Wells Fargo and Co., the Pony Express was a financial failure. The deficit was over $200,000. But what a glorious failure. What a legacy of storied and shining courage it left for the West. Information from Pony Express Station website.
Information from Pony Express Station website
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.
Operated by Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, the Pony Express was of great financial importance to the U.S. During its 18 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days. Many people used the Pony Express as a communication link. It also encouraged catalogs to be created, allowing people to buy goods and have them brought by horse to the customers. It became the West's most direct means of east-west communication before the transcontinental telegraph was established (October 24, 1861), and was vital for tying the new U.S. state of California with the rest of the United States.
Despite a heavy subsidy, the Pony Express was not a financial success and went bankrupt in 18 months, when faster telegraph service was established. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that a unified transcontinental system of communications could be established and operated year-round. When replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became romanticized and became part of the lore of the American West. Its reliance on the ability and endurance of individual young, hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the frontier times.
Operated by Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, the Pony Express was of great financial importance to the U.S. During its 18 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days. Many people used the Pony Express as a communication link. It also encouraged catalogs to be created, allowing people to buy goods and have them brought by horse to the customers. It became the West's most direct means of east-west communication before the transcontinental telegraph was established (October 24, 1861), and was vital for tying the new U.S. state of California with the rest of the United States.
Despite a heavy subsidy, the Pony Express was not a financial success and went bankrupt in 18 months, when faster telegraph service was established. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that a unified transcontinental system of communications could be established and operated year-round. When replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became romanticized and became part of the lore of the American West. Its reliance on the ability and endurance of individual young, hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the frontier times.
Information from Wikipedia