Pony Express Goes to the Olympics

In anticipation of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the National Pony Express Association proposed and staffed a replica Pony Express station at the Western Experience Olympic Village in Soldier Hollow near Heber, Utah. Heber Valley resident George Holmes donated logs and rough-sawn lumber from his 1888 barn, which was dismantled so selected wood could be hauled to the site, and the design drew on old photographs of Pony Express stations across Utah. Built by the Utah Division to be moved after the games and to serve as an educational tool, the cabin was later given a permanent home at This Is The Place Heritage Park beside the Avard Fairbanks Pony Express Monument, near where the Pony Express route passes as it exits Emigration Canyon. The structure was intended as a visual aid to capture a moment of America's frontier history, recalling the Pony Express's brief nineteen-month life, during which it set a new standard for transportation and communication, linked East and West, carried urgent news across the continent, and captured imaginations around the world. During the Olympics, modern-day riders and volunteers shared Pony Express history with thousands of international visitors.

Salt Lake City, Utah · United States