NPEA NEWS ARCHIVE
2018
This day in history [April 3rd]
In 1860, the legendary Pony Express began carrying mail between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento. (The delivery system lasted only 18 months before giving way to the transcontinental telegraph.) Read More …
Today [April 3rd] in History
Today in History Today is Tuesday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2018. There are 272 days left in the year. Read more…
Der Spiegel Article ‘Amerikas mutigste Briefträger’
How is your German? Check out this article in the German “Der Spiegel” about the Pony Express. Read More …
Travel Channel Show traces Pony Express
With stops in North America, Europe and Hawaii, Travel Channel’s culinary explorer, Andrew Zimmern, will continue his epicurean road trip through history with seven new episodes of the popular series, “Bizarre Foods.” Production begins this month with a shoot on Hawaii’s Big Island. Throughout the new season, which will hit the air later this year, … Continued
2017
Pony Express National Historic Trail
The Pony Express relay system was the most direct and practical means of east-west communications before the telegraphRead More…
History turns until it no longer does. And even then, don’t be too sure.
The Pony Express Statue in St. Joseph had its dedication in 1940, a bronze work atop Vermont granite meant to immortalize a signature activity in the city’s past. Read More …
The Pony Express rides again
The annual re-ride of the Pony Express begins with a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Monday, June 5, at the Patee House Museum, 1202 Penn St. The riders will travel across the Missouri River to Elwood, Kansas, and then on through seven states to reach their destination in Sacramento, California. Penny Orrick of St. Joseph will … Continued
Hidden History: Pony Express
Just before the Civil War broke out, only two states west of Texas had joined the Union. Communications before 1860 between newly admitted California and Oregon and the main United States had to travel 25 days by stagecoach across nearly 2,000 miles of frontier — or even farther by steamer ship around South America. The … Continued
Czech Pony Express enthusiasts to hold historic celebration on three Continents
An unusual international event is set to kick off in the Czech countryside next weekend (May 20, 2017). The project will bring together the “tramping” outdoors movement, next year’s centenary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia and the historic Pony Express in the US. It will wrap up in Canberra, Australia next April – and its … Continued
A Bible and a Gun: The History of the Pony Express
Who knew that the Pony Express was founded with a presumption that its riders would be Christian? On the evening of April 3, 1860, a lone rider set out on horseback from St. Joseph, Missouri, carrying a mochila (backpack) crammed full of 49 letters, five private telegrams, and some newspapers. Ten days later, at 1:00 … Continued