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Exhibit inside the Pony Express National Museum, Missouri
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Tracking the Hooves of
America’s Fastest Legend
The Pony Express lasted only 18 months, but its riders, risks and larger-than-life legends still inspire travelers to head west.
by Amity Moore Joyce
In St. Joseph, Missouri, a slim, young rider swung a leather mochila over a saddle, mounted a horse and disappeared westward. Ahead stretched nearly 2,000 miles of prairie, river crossings, mountains and desert. Ten days later, the mail carried in the pockets of that specially made rectangular saddle cover would arrive in California.
The Pony Express trotted out in spring 1860. Roughly a year-and-a-half later, the telegraph made express mail delivery by horse and rider obsolete, and financially the privately run business collapsed. Nevertheless, few ventures have remained so firmly stitched into the American imagination.
A young visitor enjoys the outdoor display at the Gothenburg Pony Express Station.
BRIAN JOYCE
“What other failed business is remembered 170 years later?” asks Matt Weiss, curator at the Gothenburg Pony Express Station in Gothenburg, Nebraska.
His point is a valid one. People remain fascinated with the Pony Express because it encompasses much that Americans love about the making of the United States—danger, courage, perseverance, ingenuity. Add in the freedom and romance associated with the American West, and it’s no wonder interest in the short-lived business endures.
For road trippers, following the trail today is less about tracing exact hoofprints than moving through landscapes and appreciating what those brave riders did to create connection between east and west at a pivotal time in the country’s history.
Pony Express National Museum virtual tour
Where the Ride Began
The story—and the Pony Express National Historic Trail—start in St. Joseph, Missouri, at the Pony Express National Museum inside the Pikes Peak Stables.
On April 3, 1860, the first rider left the stables and began the inaugural westbound run. The mail he carried would travel to Sacramento, California, before continuing by ferry into San Francisco. On the same day in San Francisco, riders began the first eastbound run. Tensions were rising in the east and California’s Gold Rush had transformed the West Coast, and the nation’s leaders wanted quicker communication with communities thousands of miles away.
The Pony Express promised what seemed nearly impossible: coast-to-coast mail in about 10 days. To make it happen, stations were set up about every 10 to 20 miles, and posters recruited “young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen” who were also “expert riders, willing to risk death daily.” “Orphans were preferred,” says Weiss, “because [the company] didn’t want the liability of people with families.”
Visitors to the museum learn about the founding of the Pony Express, its horses, riders, the route, and more through exhibits and interactive displays. It provides an excellent primer for the entire operation.
Pony Express Barn in Marysville, Kansas
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (NPS)
Across the Plains
Crossing into Kansas, several communities still preserve chapters of the Pony Express story, so much so that the state designated the Pony Express Historic Byway earlier this year. The byway extends from Troy to Hanover, taking in places like Seneca, where the original Pony Express route passed roughly along Main Street. Here, the Pony Express Museum helps bring the early days of the route to life, while later in the route the Marysville Pony Express Barn preserves the only home station still remaining on its original site.
As the National Historic Trail enters Nebraska, prairie unfolds toward the horizon, giving travelers a sense of the epic journey both Pony Express riders and wagon-driving settlers undertook. Much of the path covered by the Pony Express intersected other major westward trails, including the Oregon and Mormon trails.
In South Central Nebraska, the small Gothenburg Pony Express Station offers one of the most personal experiences along the trail. The museum is open from April 3 to Oct. 24, dates that correspond to the first and last runs of the Pony Express. Highlights of the collection include a pair of gloves worn by one of the original riders, “Pony Bob” Halsam, who is credited with the longest Pony Express ride and also participated in the Pony Express portion of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
“People really appreciate the one-to-one interaction they get with our staff when they stop in here,” says Weiss. “They ask questions and we’re able to answer and talk to them. We have pictures of a bunch of the riders and people involved in the Pony Express, plus a few actual artifacts and a lot of replicas.”
When the museum is closed, travelers are welcome to stop at the log cabin, walk the grounds of the park where the station was relocated from a private ranch and tune into a radio station that plays a recorded history of the station.
Large iron loops represent wagon wheels at O’Fallon’s Bluff
Farther west near Sutherland, road trippers on I-80 can pull over at the O’Fallon’s Bluff rest area and walk behind the building to see sunken tracks where thousands of feet, wagon wheels and horse hooves rutted the earth. It’s sobering to stand atop the bluff and imagine how the pioneers might have felt facing day after day of little but rolling plains. A six- to seven-hour trot would bring riders to Julesburg, Colorado, now home to the Fort Sedgwick Museum and its Pony Express display.
South Pass, Wyoming
ADOBE STOCK
Into the Far West
The farther west the trail traveled, the more isolated the landscape became. In Casper, Wyoming, the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center offers a strong overview of the route and the larger story of westward migration. Nearby, South Pass reveals why geography mattered so much to the riders. They needed landmarks to guide them, and it’s easy to see how the broad mountain pass here was one of the most recognized. Today’s paved road crosses the Continental Divide just north of the original route.
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
Sublime in their beauty then as now, the mountains were tough to cross, and the landscape didn’t get easier. In Utah and Nevada, the route traversed some of its most difficult terrain. Near Salt Lake City, riders had to pass the Salt Flats. Today’s travelers can disembark at the rest area near Bonneville Salt Flats, which feels hard and dry, and crunches underfoot, during summer and early fall, and soft and mud-like when wet during spring and winter.
Fort Churchill State Historic Park, Nevada
Nevada brings more mountains, sagebrush and long distances that still feel remote today. Stops such as Fort Churchill State Historic Park preserve reminders of how dangerous and isolated the route was. Still, Pony Express riders pressed on, making it to Sacramento, California, in record time, changing horses in two minutes or less at each of the stations. Travelers can pause at the B. F. Hastings Building, which was the predominant Pony Express western terminus. Express mail continued to San Francisco via ferry.
The Ride Continues
Although the Pony Express died in October 1861—eighteen-and-a-half months after it began—its legends and lore continue. Its spot on the timeline of American history is now more than a mail route; it’s an icon of American ambition, pride and westward expansion.
Follow the Pony Express route with a road trip built for discovery. Choosing the right rental car can make it easier to explore small towns, scenic byways and historic stops without adding wear and tear to your own vehicle. Whether you want a fuel-efficient car for long stretches of highway or an SUV for extra comfort, AAA Members can save with Hertz benefits* including savings on the base rate, free additional drivers, free use of a child safety seat and other helpful perks that can help stretch your travel budget. Learn more at AAA.com/CarRental.
*Taxes, fees and options excluded. Restrictions apply.
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