The Pony Express will ride again, at least for 10 days in June. The Pony Express was an express mail delivery service that traveled between St. Joseph,Missouri and Sacramento, California. It was the most direct means of communication between the east and west coast during the brief time it operated. Nearly 200 stations were set up along the route. Depending on the terrain, they were spaced anywhere from 5 to 20 miles apart. At each station, a rider would swap for a fresh horse and could grab a meal. Riders would travel about a 100 miles in a day. Mail could be delivered in just 10 days. The expansion of the telegraph led to the end of the Pony Express, which most people are surprised to learn that it only operated for just 18 months between April 1860 and October 1861. On June 17th, over 700 riders will deliver letters across the country from Saint Joe to Sacramento. Riders will cross into Kansas on Highway 56, go through Atchison and make their way west.
One of its first and best-known riders is buried in Kansas. Johnny Fry enlisted in the army after the company dissolved and died in the only Civil War battle fought in Kansas, the Battle of Baxter Springs. Buffalo Bill Cody also rode the express, along with a guy named “Pony Bob”.
