Stage Coach Lines & Pony Express Riders
The coveted prize of the government mail contract instigated development of the Pony Express and Stage Coach Lines in the American West. Hauling passengers, mail and freight, the stagecoaches traveled through treacherous terrain and braved the weather. The Pony Express used relay teams of young Pony Express Riders braving the dangers of the American West alone.
Wells Fargo was a brain child of two directors, Henry Wells and William Fargo. Wells Fargo started in California on March 18, 1852. Wells Fargo was known for red brick buildings with green shutters. Wells Fargo offices were established in Oregon, Hawaii, Australia, and throughout the Mother Lode country by 1855. At this time Wells Fargo only rented space from other stage coach lines, having no stagecoaches of its own. This changed in 1866 when Wells Fargo bought the Pioneer Stage Coach Line and later took control of the Butterfield Overland Stage Coach Line. Butterfield Overland Stage Company employed over 800 men, had 139 Relay Stations, 1800 Head of Stock and 250 Concord Stagecoaches in Service at one time along the stagecoach route.
In 1869, at Promontory, Utah, dignitaries hammered in a Golden Spike, which joined the rails of the Transcontinental Railroad — and ended Wells Fargo’s overland stage line. However, stagecoaches continued rolling wherever the railroads did not. Wells Fargo contracted with independent stage line operators to carry treasure boxes and express, even into the early 20th Century. Whether in Sierra mountain towns, northern Minnesota villages, Pacific Northwest coastal farms, or west Texas ranches, stagecoaches carried Wells Fargo customers’ business wherever they lived and worked.