FIVE-MILE STATION, Pony Express historic marker, Guy West Plaza

Pony Express Five-Mile Station
The Five-Mile Station marker shows a notable stop on the Pony Express route. (Sacramento State/Andrea Price)

At 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, April 4, 1860, Central Overland Pony Express employee Sam “Bill” Hamilton raced out of what’s now Old Sacramento, the first relay rider carrying the nation’s first eastbound U.S. mail packet. Five miles later, on this spot near the American River, Hamilton switched to a fresh horse.

Meanwhile, another relay team was carrying mail westward from St. Joseph, Mo.,…..  Continue Reading………..