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The Pony Express

The 1860⁠–⁠1861 horse-relay mail service from Missouri whose western end was Sacramento.

The Pony Express used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California, cutting mail times to about 10 days. It operated for 18 months beginning in 1860, until the transcontinental telegraph opened on October 24, 1861 and replaced it.

Sacramento was the western terminus. The B. F. Hastings Bank Building at 1000 2nd Street, built in 1852, was the western endpoint and is now a National Historic Landmark in Old Sacramento, housing a Wells Fargo museum.

Sources

Questions people ask

How long did the Pony Express run?

About 18 months, beginning in 1860.

Where was the Pony Express western terminus?

Sacramento. The B. F. Hastings Bank Building at 1000 2nd Street in Old Sacramento was the western endpoint.

Related terms

  • The Pony Express TerminalThe 1852 B. F. Hastings Bank Building on 2nd Street, the western endpoint of the Pony Express in 1860-61 and a National Historic Landmark since 1966.
  • Old SacramentoThe restored Gold Rush waterfront between I Street, Capitol Mall and the river, a National Historic Landmark District with a state historic park at its heart.
  • California State Railroad MuseumA California State Parks museum at 111 I Street in Old Sacramento with 21 restored locomotives and cars.
  • SacramentoCalifornia’s state capital, a city of about 525,000 people at the meeting of the Sacramento and American Rivers, and the oldest incorporated city in the state.

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