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Pony Express

Road and Overland Carriers

A horseback mail relay service that operated from April 1860 to October 1861 between Missouri and California, using a chain of riders and remount stations to cut cross continental mail delivery time to about ten days. It operated at a financial loss and closed within days of the completion of the first transcontinental telegraph line, which made it obsolete. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Founded Year
1860 1
Significance
During its eighteen months of operation beginning in 1860, it cut the time for a message to travel between the east and west coasts of the United States to about ten days, before the transcontinental telegraph made it obsolete. 1
Headquarters
St. Joseph, Missouri 1
Dissolved Year
1861 1
In the Other Atlases

Located In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.

Source Wikipedia: Pony ExpressLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Pony Express
Wikipedia
  • Overview
  • Lead section
    During its 18 months of operation beginning in 1860, the Pony Express reduced the time for messages to travel between the east and west US coast to about 10 days.
  • Infobox, hq_location_city
    St. Joseph, Missouri
  • Infobox, defunct
    1861 10 26
  • Part Of: Road Transport
  • Part Of: Animal-Powered Transport, How it worked
    At each station, the express rider would change to a fresh horse, get a bite to eat, and would only take the mail pouch called a mochila (from the Spanish for pouch or backpack) with him.
  • In Group: Overland Mail and Coach Carriers, Lead sentence
    The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California.
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