April 3: First Pony Express Journeys Begin (1860)
Prayer Idea
Pray for people who deliver letters and packages.
History Note
As the United States moved toward Civil War, people wanted a reliable way to communicate quickly between the eastern and western parts of the United States. Telegraph lines and railroads did not yet cross the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains.
The Butterfield Overland Mail, which began service in 1858, was a stagecoach company that carried passengers and mail from Missouri to California, traveling through Arkansas, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in about 25 days.
Senator William Gwin of California talked to William Russell, who owned a stagecoach company. Russell and his partners, Alexander Majors and William Waddell, agreed to set up a faster mail delivery service along a route that was more direct and farther north. They would operate it for one year until the transcontinental telegraph could be completed.
In the winter of 1860, Russell, Majors, and Waddell formed the Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company to deliver mail by a system of pony and rider relays. The system came to be called the Pony Express.
During the winter of 1860, Alexander Majors purchased ponies, built and stocked stations, hired stationmasters, and hired riders. When Majors hired a rider or other employee, he gave him a Bible and required him to take this oath:
I, [name], do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I am 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 employer. So help me God.
The company set up stations about 10 to 15 miles apart. They planned for a rider and his horse to leave a station, carrying a leather mail bag with four pockets. At the next station, the rider would switch horses. He would continue to switch horses at each station until he had ridden 75-100 miles. Then a new rider would continue the journey.
On April 3, 1860, riders set out from both St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, to carry the first mail on the Pony Express. The route covered 1,966 miles and went through parts of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. The average length of a run was ten days in summer and 12 to 16 days in winter.
The Pony Express operated a year and a half. When it ended late in 1861, it had carried 34,753 letters. According to legend, it only lost one bag of mail. On October 24, 1861, workers finished putting up telegraph lines from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. Now people on the East Coast could communicate with people on the West Coast in minutes rather than days.
The Pony Express played an important role during its short history. Every year members of the National Pony Express Association retrace the original route to honor the original riders.
This letter left San Francisco on April 3, 1860, and arrived in St. Joseph on April 13. Image courtesy Richard Frajola.
Learn More
Richard Clarke (1845-1930) was born in Yorkshire, England. He immigrated to the United States and became a frontiersman, Pony Express rider, soldier, and performer. This video shows him talking about his experience on the Pony Express.
Please Note: There is reference to conflict between the Paiute people and Pony Express workers and to the deaths of Pony Express workers. There is also a demonstration of firing a pistol.
Find other resources about the Pony Express at Homeschool History.
