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 Pony Express National Historic Trail-MO,KS,NE,CO,WY,UT,NV,CA - Gering, NE Posted by:  Don.Morfe
N 41° 49.716 W 103° 42.454
13T E 607324 N 4631553
It is hard to believe that young men once rode horses to carry mail from Missouri to California in the unprecedented time of only 10 days. This relay system along the Pony Express National Historic Trail in eight states was the most direct and practical means of east-west communications before the telegraph.
Waymark Code: WM123QB
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 02/19/2020
Views: 2
This NPS Passport Cancellation Stamp was obtained at Scotts Bluff National Monument Visitor Center, Gering, NE.
A Brief History
More than 1,800 miles in 10 days! From St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California the Pony Express could deliver a letter faster than ever before.
In operation for only 18 months between April 1860 and October 1861, the Pony Express nevertheless has become synonymous with the Old West. In the era before electronic communication, the Pony Express was the thread that tied East to West.
As a result of the 1849 Gold Rush, the 1847 Mormon exodus to Utah and the thousands who moved west on the Oregon Trail starting in the 1840s, the need for a fast mail service beyond the Rocky Mountains became obvious. This need was partially filled by outfits such as the Butterfield Overland Mail Service starting in 1857 and private carriers in following years.
But when postmaster general Joseph Holt scaled back overland mail service to California and the central region of the country in 1858, an even greater need for mail arose. The creation of the Leavenworth & Pike's Peak Express Company by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell became the answer. It was later known as the Pony Express.
Address:
Gering, NE USA
69341
NPS Web Page for this Station: [Web Link]
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