Early settlers relied on travelers to share news of events that had often occurred months earlier. From 1860 to 1861, the Pony Express sped the news between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California. Then came the Transcontinental Telegraph, tapping instant messages across the country. As the railroad moved west, so did more settlers. They streamed into the South Platte Valley and spread onto the prairie in an agricultural boom. Today, the Union Pacific Railroad continues to move freight along the same routes and plays an important role in the economic stability of this region.