The Pony Express began in April 1860, with riders heading west from St. Joseph, Missouri, and east from San Francisco, California. Though this overland mail service lasted only 18 months, it quickly became a sensation and earned a lasting place in the history of the American West. Known affectionately as “The Pony,” it helped spread important news and bind a nation being torn apart by civil war. Riders passed near this location in 1860 and 1861 as they carried mail west to Sacramento, California, and east to St. Joseph, Missouri. The route left St. Joseph and followed the Platte and Sweetwater rivers to South Pass, Wyoming, crossed the continental divide to Salt Lake City, Utah, then continued across the Utah and Nevada deserts and over the Sierra Nevada into California, traveling day and night in 10 days or less. From Emigration Canyon, the rider continued to the Salt Lake House on Main Street.