In the year 1858, a great need for a mail system arose in America. The creation of the Leavenworth & Pike’s Peak Express Company by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors and William B. Waddel satisfied this need. Later the company was renamed the Pony Express.
The Pony Express was a mail service that delivered mail between Missouri and California by relay teams of horseback riders. The system delivered mail and packages across the continent faster than existing stagecoach methods. It operated 18 months, from April, 1860, to October of 1861.
The route was more than 2,000 miles long and completed in just ten days. It traveled through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. Express riders covered 75 to 100 miles every day. Riders would change horses at relay stations every 10 to 15 miles, then changing riders every 75 to 100 miles along the route. Letters were carried in a special handbag called a mochila.
The job of being a rider or stock handler was dangerous. They were generally men. In the year and a half the Pony Express ran, thieves and robbers killed 16 stock handlers and six riders.
The Pony Express is remembered for its daring riders and its role in connecting the East and West before the telegraph was invented. The completion of the Transcontinental telegraph line in October, 1861, rendered the Pony Express obsolete.
Every June, members of the National Pony Express Association recreate the Pony Express in a commemorative re-ride that takes more than ten days to complete. The 2,000 mile, eight state event is conducted 24 hours a day until the mail is delivered to its final destination. More than 750 men and woman riders participate with roughly around 1,000 letters being held in the mochila while being transported.
Those individuals from Nuckoll’s County participating as riders were: Carrie Anderson, LaVon Bohling, Luella Cox, Timothy Cox, Alice Heinrichs, Amber Heinrichs, Keirsten Heinrichs, Richard Heinrichs, Sonia Heinrichs, Todd Heinrichs, Wade Heinrichs, John Hatfield, Samantha Hatfield, Vaughn Heinrichs, Tryan Luttrell, Linda Jenny, J.J. McLaughlin, Matt McLaughlin, Tessa Mayben, Tina Naughtin, Wesley Siebenneicher, Gwyneth Talley, Rachel Schizas, Linda White, Raymond Wurtz, Laura Wurtz, Ellie Wurtz, Don Reinwald and Joslyn Pfeiffer.
To become involved in this event, the National Pony Express Association has several websites where information is provided. There you can find information on the organization, directories, re-ride schedules, joining and dues. The organization also has a tracker, where the Pony Express rider may be located at any time, while on the route.