Pony Express Home
Station #1
Pony Express Home
Station #1
Location: Downtown Marysville
Contact: 785.562.3101
Special Note: Closes during the winter months.
Fee: Yes
Photos Copyright Harland J. Schuster. Please do not use without permission.
Perhaps
no period of American History is as nostalgic as that time we
call "The Old Wild West". Unfortunately, to a certain extent, many folks
have come to believe the stories of those times were largely a myth created by
the Westerns made in Hollywood. Not true. There really was a Wild
West; there really were cowboys and Indians a' shootin' at one another out here.
One of the most colorful chapters of this time was the Pony Express, which ran
from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California.
The Fed Ex of its day, the Pony Express, using a system of relay horse riders, promised to deliver mail to distant California in 14 days. In the days before the transcontinental railroad, and before the completion of telegraph service to California, it could take up to two months for a message from the East to make it to California. By 1860, the year the Pony Express began service, the storm clouds of the Civil War had begun to gather. It was pretty evident to folks in the North that keeping the rich and large state of California on the side of the Union would be crucial. Thus the need for reliable and swift communication between the east and, what was at the time, the westernmost state in the Union. This was one reason for the establishment of the Pony Express service. The primary reason, at least in the minds of the three principal men who started the service, was to make money. Unfortunately, though it delivered on it's promise of a speedy and reliable mail service, it was a financial failure. It operated for only 18 months, ceasing operations when a telegraph connection was made to California in 1861.
Though
a financial failure, the Pony Express was successful in capturing
the public imagination. It still does to this day. When it
advertised for riders, the ad stated they wanted "young, wiry men--orphans
preferred". This was no exaggeration. A lone rider following a
predictable path on a predictable time table would be an easy target from
ambush, both by sometimes hostile Indians, and by desperadoes. With only a
six-gun and a swift horse for protection, the riders had to relay on guts and
quick wits for their survival. Though only one rider was lost to
hostile action, many had exciting tales to tell, most likely true.
The Pony Express relied on a system of stations about 15 miles apart along the route, all the way to California. At these stations, the rider would switch to a fresh horse and continue the ride. About every 60 miles was a "home station". These were more extensive than the regular stations. Riders would be switched at these stations, as well as horses. They generally had more horses, as well as a blacksmith shop, and served as supply depots for the smaller stations in the area. The Home Station #1 at Marysville is the only remaining home station of the Pony Express still standing in its original location, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After the demise of the Pony Express, the building served a number of different purposes before being turned into a museum.
Today, the old home station, and a larger annex built on to the east, houses items of historical interest not only from the Pony Express, but from the local area as well. Marysville and Marshal County are rich in pioneer history, and this makes for an interesting museum.
