The idea of having a fast mail route to the Pacific Coast was prompted largely by California's newfound prominence and its rapidly growing population.

At the peak of the operations, they employed 6,000 men, owned 75,000 oxen, thousands of wagons, and warehouses, plus a sawmill, a meatpacking plant, a bank, and an insurance company.

[7] By using a short route and mounted riders rather than traditional stagecoaches, they proposed to establish a fast mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, with letters delivered in 10 days, which many said was impossible.

[12] I, ... , do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I am an employee of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God.In 1860, the roughly 186 Pony Express stations were about 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 km) apart along the Pony Express route.

From Salt Lake City, it generally followed the Central Nevada Route blazed in 1859 by Captain James H. Simpson of the Corps of Topographical Engineers.

The stations were often fashioned out of existing structures, several of them located in military forts, while others were built anew in remote areas where living conditions were basic.

[31] The messenger delivering the mochila from New York and Washington, DC, missed a connection in Detroit and arrived in Hannibal, Missouri, two hours late.

Contributing to the scarcity of Pony Express mail is that the cost to send a 1⁄2-ounce (14 g) letter was $5.00[37] at the beginning (equivalent to $170 in 2023[38], or 21⁄2 days of semi-skilled labor).

On November 7, 1860, a Pony Express rider departed Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory (the end of the eastern telegraph line) with the election results.

Riders briskly traversed the route, over snow-covered trails to Fort Churchill, Nevada Territory (the end of the western telegraph line).

California's newspapers received word of Lincoln's election only 7 days and 17 hours after the East Coast papers, an "unrivaled feat at the time".

After completing eight weekly trips from both Sacramento and Saint Joseph, the Pony Express was forced to suspend mail services because of the outbreak of the Paiute Indian War in May 1860.

Orphans preferred," but one historian, Joseph Nardone, claims that it is a hoax (dating no earlier than 1902), as no one has found the ad in contemporary newspaper archives.

Many young men applied; Waddell and Majors could have easily hired riders at low rates, but instead offered $100 a month – a handsome sum for that time.

With it was a letter of congratulations from President Buchanan to California Governor Downey along with other official government communications, newspapers from New York, Chicago, and St. Louis, and other important mail to banks and commercial houses in San Francisco.

Here, at 7:40 am, April 4, 1860, Pony rider William (Sam) Hamilton, riding in from Placerville, handed the Express mail to Warren Upson who, two minutes later, sped on his way eastward.

Cody was present for many significant chapters in early western history, including the gold rush, the building of the railroads, and cattle herding on the Great Plains.

[citation needed] His greatest ride, 120 miles (190 km) in 8 hours and 20 minutes while wounded, was an important contribution to the fastest trip ever made by the Pony Express.

After a rest of 9 hours, he retraced his route with the westbound mail, where at Cold Springs, he found that Indians had raided the place, killing the station keeper and running off all of the stock.

Buffalo Bill paid for his friend's headstone at Mount Greenwood Cemetery (111 Street and Sacramento) on Chicago's far south side.

At the start of the Pony Express, he was appointed Superintendent of the Division from Salt Lake City to Robert's Creek which is in present day Nevada.

[citation needed] The various types of horses ridden by riders of the Pony Express included Morgans and thoroughbreds, which were often used on the eastern end of the trail.

Standard mail pouches for horses were never used because of their size and shape, as detaching and attaching it from one saddle to the other was time-consuming, causing undue delay in changing mounts.

The contract was instead awarded to Jeremy Dehut in March 1861, who had taken over the southern, congressionally favored Butterfield Overland Mail Stage Line.

[citation needed] Shortly after the contract was awarded, the start of the American Civil War caused the stage line to cease operation.

The Pony Express announced its closure on October 26, 1861, two days after the transcontinental telegraph reached Salt Lake City and connected Omaha, Nebraska, and Sacramento.

[citation needed] In 1869, the United States Post Office issued the first U.S. postage stamp to depict an actual historic event, and the subject chosen was the Pony Express.

The foundation of accountable Pony Express history rests in the few tangible areas where records, papers, letters, and mailings have yielded the most historical evidence.

Settle's account is unique, as he was the first writer and historical researcher to make use of Pony Express founder William B. Waddell's papers, now in a collection at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.

[92] The continued remembrance and popularity of the Pony Express can be linked to Buffalo Bill Cody, his autobiographies, and his Wild West Show.