How long did it take the Pony Express to get across the country?
I’ve never been to the Pony Express Museum linked but have always wanted to go. I was a horse crazy kid growing up, so anything horses drew me. Toss in the romance and adventure of the Pony Express and it was a real winner. The museum is in what used to be Pikes Peak Stables in St. Joseph, Missouri, the eastern end of the route, and there are some neat, neat descriptions of the various stops on the website. Supposedly Charlie Miller was only 11 when he rode for them. Hard to imagine any 11 year old having that much courage and ability today, huh? 7 days and 17 hours was the quickest run, btw. Sources: www.ponyexpress.
Background The headquarters of the operation was in the Patee House in St. Joseph The headquarters of the operation was in the Patee House in St. Joseph The Pony Express, established a year before the beginning of the American Civil War, reflected the need of providing fast and reliable communication with the West. In 1845, it took President James K. Polk six months to deliver a message to the Far West. Messages in those days had to travel around the tip of South America (Tierra del Fuego) or across the isthmus of Panama. By 1860, the fastest route was the Butterfield Stage line from St. Louis, Missouri, through El Paso, Texas, which took 25 days. It was almost 600 miles (950 km) shorter to deliver the mail over a central or northern route. There were concerns, however, whether these alternatives were viable during the winter snows. In 1854, Benjamin Franklin Ficklin, an employee of the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell, is said to have first proposed a faster northern route to Calif
