On 3 April 1860, The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, was founded.
The Pony Express was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, and mail using relays of horse-mounted riders that operated between Missouri and California in the United States of America.
Operated by Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, the Pony Express was of great financial importance to the U.S. During its 18 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days. Many people used the Pony Express as a communication link. It also encouraged catalogs to be created, allowing people to buy goods and have them brought by horse to the customers. It became the West's most direct means of east-west communication before the transcontinental telegraph was established, and was vital for tying the new U.S. state of California with the rest of the United States.
Despite a heavy subsidy, the Pony Express was not a financial success and went bankrupt in 18 months, when faster telegraph service was established.
As the Pony Express mail service existed only briefly in 1860 and 1861, few examples of Pony Express mail survive. Contributing to the scarcity of Pony Express mail is that the cost to send a 1⁄2-ounce (14 g) letter was $5.00 at the beginning (equivalent to $140 in 2019). By the end of the Pony Express, the price had dropped to $1.00 per 1⁄2 ounce but even that was considered expensive to mail one letter. Only 250 known examples of Pony Express mail remain.
No comments:
Post a Comment