Pony Express Ferry “Carquinez”

Captain Oliver C. Coffin and his brothers purchased the ferry “Carquinez” from an eastern shipyard. The double end dual paddle wheel ferry, modeled after the New York-Brooklyn ferry boats of that period, was shipped around Cape Horn as ballast in a sailing ship and put in use by the Coffins in 1854. An 1860 schedule shows that it operated every 30 minutes between Benicia and Martinez, with the first trip of each day leaving at 8:00 a.m. from Martinez to Benicia. On April 23, 1860, a telegraph from Sacramento alerted the ferry to be in Benicia early because it was needed to carry Pony Express mail across the strait. The ferry docked at the foot of First Street, and Pony Express rider Thomas Bedford was on board at 7:05 a.m.

Benicia, California · United States