PONY EXPRESS
APRIL 3, 1860
On this day, April 3, 1860.
one hundred and fifty eight years ago, 3, April 2018, the first
Pony Express mail leaves
westbound from St. Joseph, Missouri and east bound from
Sacramento, California.
Ten days later the
westbound mail reaches Sacramento and the eastbound mail was two
days
later reaching St. Joseph
setting a speedy mail delivery.
The speedy delivery was
short lived and unprofitable but arose Americas interest in a
federal overland postal
system. Also it was an economic boost to the towns and villages
along the route.
California, which became a
state in 1850 was cut off from the east part of the new nation.
A letter from New York to
the west coast took more than a month traveling by ships at sea.
A recent Butterfield
Overland Express could take a letter three weeks to several
months
depending on delivery
methods and price which was $5 per a half an ounce at the least.
Three owners of an existing
freight business , William Russell. William Bradford Waddell
and Alex Majors set up the
Pony Express. It consist of 150 relay stations, 10 to 15 miles
apart , on a pioneer
trail from Missouri to California. Each rider changed every 100
miles.
The Pony Express was a
private enterprise, the owners hoped to get a contract from the
government but that did
not happen because a year later in 1861 the transcontinental
telegraph put into service
and Pony Express ceased operation.
Source:
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pony-espress-debuts/print
04/03/2018
Abastract to
www.iinni.blogspot.com
& facebook: by Harrison Howeth 04/03/18
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