After gold was discovered there in 1848, thousands of prospectors, investors and businessmen made their way to California. In 1860, the population in California had grown to 380,000. The demand for a faster way to get mail and other communications to and from this westernmost state became even greater as the American Civil War approached.

  • In the late 1850s, William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell founded the Pony Express.

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