GRANGER—Mark Twain in Wyoming? Did such an event actually happen? Although Missouri, Nevada and California are more closely associated with the famous 19th century humorist, Mark Twain, better known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in the early 1860s, did pass through Wyoming on a stagecoach, and he came through Sweetwater County, to boot. Read More…
Postal history will rule the day on Sept. 25, when Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries offers Pony Express covers and more from the George Kramer collection, plus the Clovis collection of Confederate States illustrated covers. Both auctions will take place at the Collectors Club, 22 E. 35th St., in New York City. “The Pony covers…
In 1860, the freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell established a system of carrying mail from Missouri and points east to California in the fastest possible time. Known as the Pony Express, this system utilized riders on horseback to carry a pouch of mail successively from one station to another where they could change…
Postmark Pursuit by Molly Goad A pictorial postmark for the Pony Express Commemorative Re-Ride held annually in June has been extended for 30 days. The postmark shows a horse and rider heading west and traveling through eight states: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. The original Pony Express was in operation for…
In her long-sleeved red shirt, brown hat and vest, Julie Sprague followed in the footsteps — or more appropriately hoof steps — of her great-great-grandfather, Elijah Nicholas Wilson, participating in the 2019 Pony Express Re-ride. Sprague and her friend Krissy Bishop, members of the Boulder City Mounted Posse, rode a 7-mile leg June 19 between…
Although the Pony Express only lasted for about a year and half, the mail service has become synonymous with the Old West. The story of riders delivering mail from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California in ten to eleven days at the time was the fastest a letter was ever delivered before electronic communication. Read…
The month of June kept us busy at the Pony Express Barn & Museum in downtown Marysville. We had 416 visitors last month, including 353 individuals from states outside of Kansas. Read More…
This will be the last in my series of articles about the Pony Express stations in western Nevada. When Pony Bob Haslam made the longest ride in Pony Express history, he rode the route from Friday’s Station at Lake Tahoe to Smith Creek Station almost halfway across the state of Nevada. My articles have described…
The site location for Middlegate Station is unknown. There are several possible locations along U.S. Highway 50 near the modern Middlegate bar and restaurant that could have been the site of the original Pony Express station. I could find no trace of any Pony Express Station at Middlegate when I visited there several times when…
CHEYENNE – From April 1860 to October 1861, horse-mounted riders with the Pony Express traveled between Missouri and California delivering letters, newspapers and other messages to better connect the country’s still-developing western states. Read More …
