The Pony Express

The Pony Express. America's early express mail delivery rides through the Glacial Hills. , The Pony Express, the nation's first coast-to-coast express mail route, began as a publicity stunt for a million-dollar government contract by carrying mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to California in under 10 days. At the time, there were no railroads or telegraph lines west of St. Joseph, and stagecoaches could take months and were often unreliable. The company creating the Pony Express already had army contracts to deliver supplies, and the Pony Express was to be a similar contract for express mail. , The first successful Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California started on April 3, 1860, when the route was inaugurated to much fanfare. Mail was carried the nearly 2,000 miles on the Oregon Trail to near the Great Salt Lake, where the path diverted west over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Though dangerous, the trip over plains, deserts, and mountains, and through hostile territory and volatile weather could be made on horseback in as little as eight days. In the end, another company won the contract, despite the Pony Express carrying mail almost two weeks faster., While the Pony Express was the quickest overland route prior to the transcontinental railroad, only finished some nine years later, it was incredibly expensive to sustain due to the number of horses, stations, and men required. The company lost large sums of money, closing in November 1861 when the telegraph reached San Francisco. Over its 18 months of operation, riders carried 35,000 pieces of mail more than 650,000 miles; only one rider died and one mail pouch was lost. The Pony Express drastically improved correspondence between east and west and provided faster communication to California, helping to keep them in the Union. It also proved the feasibility of a transcontinental route that could operate year-round. , Troy Station , Troy Station was the first relay stop after St. Joseph. The stop was located at the Smith Hotel, where a barn was built specifically for the enterprise. Today, the building still stands on the northeast corner of E. Myrtle and N. 1st Streets. Legend has it that the first donuts were also handed to passing riders near this stop. The route through Troy is commemorated by a marker near the courthouse., How did they do it? , Everything the Pony Express did ensured speed. Horses carried only about 165 pounds with most riders averaging 120 pounds and carrying only 20 pounds of mail and about 20 pounds of equipment, including weapons. Riding was done in a relay, with fresh horses initially provided every 25 miles, but stations were added to reduce it to about every 15 miles. Two minutes were given to switch horses and transfer the mail pouch, aided by special saddle bags. Meanwhile, riders changed every 75 to 100 miles. The fastest Pony Express run carried Lincoln's Inaugural Address in seven days and seventeen hours.