Pony Express and Mail Routes

CALIFORNIA: PONY EXPRESS AND MAIL ROUTES

San Francisco Clark’s San Mateo John Butterfield, the founder of the Redwood City Mt. View American Express Company, convinced San Jose San Luis the U.S. government to grant him 17 Mile House Ranch Gilroy Lone Willow The Butterfield Overland Pacheco Temple’s $595,000 annually for carrying mail California Pass semi-weekly from St. Louis to San Mail Route Firebaugh’s Fresno City Elk Horn Spring Kings River Station Francisco. Service began on September San Francisco Cross Cr. Visalia 15, 1858 and normal delivery took 25 Tipton Packwood Tule River days. In California the ‘Butterfield St. Louis Fountain Springs Overland Mail Route’ came under some Mountain House Missouri Poso Cr. controversy as Northern Californians Gordon’s Ferry felt the route heavily favored Southern Los Angeles Arizona Kern River Slough Oklahoma Sink of Tejon New Arkansas California. Mexico Colberts Ft. Smith Ft. Tejon Ferry Reed’s Ft. Yuma Tucson French John’s Franklin Widow Smith See route (El Paso) Hart’s detail to right Mission San Fernando Ft. Chadbourne Cahuenga El Monte Los Angeles San Jose Chino Ranch 100 mi Texas Temescal Laguna Grande Aguanga 100 km Temecula Oak Grove Warner’s Ranch San Felipe Vallecito Palm Springs Carrizo Cr. Pilot’s Ft. Yuma Knob Indian Wells Cook’s Well Alamo Mocho

Few images of the American West capture the imagination so vividly as the Pony Express. With the hope of earning a government subsidy, William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell Lake Bigler Wyoming (Tahoe) launched the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Ft. Laramie Company. The Pony Express was a subsidiary of that famous Ft. Bridger Nebraska freight and stage company. Delivery by Pony Express was indeed See detail to left Salt Lake Julesburg City Ft. Kearny fast for the time, averaging 10 days. But the Pony Express lasted Ft. Churchill only 16 months. It failed to make money, and was eclipsed by the Fridays Station Sacramento St. Joseph (Edgewood) San Francisco Nevada Utah Colorado transcontinental telegraph line completed on October 24, 1861. Kansas Johnson’s Yanks Pass (Echo) (Meyers) Moore’s Strawberry Station Woodfords Webster’s Luther California (Sugar Loaf) Pass r Sportsman’s e iv Hangtown R Pleasant (Placerville) Folsom Grove House n Mud Springs ca 15 Mile (El Dorado) ri The Pony Express e Station m A Morman 30 mi 5 Mile Tavern Sacramento Station 30 km