In Ten Days or Less...

In 1845, a message from the east coast of the United States to California took six months to arrive, leaving news outdated. By the late 1850s, westward migration had reached a half million people, increasing demand for faster mail and better communication across the expanding nation. On January 27, 1860, the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, a subsidiary of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, announced the Pony Express, planning to carry letter mail between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California in only ten days. To support riders whose horses could gallop only 10 to 12 miles before needing replacement, the company used existing stage stations in the eastern part of the route and built many new stations across the remote Great Basin. Alexander Majors said that 400 to 500 mustang horses were purchased, 200 men were hired to manage the stations, and 80 riders signed on to begin the service. Although the Pony Express won widespread admiration, it was a financial disaster for its founders, and its era ended not because of financial failure, weather, or problems with Indians, but with the completion of the Transcontinental Telegraph on October 26, 1861.

Salt Lake City, Utah · United States