Remembering the Pony Express, 150 Years Later
2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the Pony Express. The famous overland mail service by horseback began in St. Joseph, Mo., on April 3, 1860. St. Joseph is located about 45 minutes north of Kansas City. Watch this short video on St. Jo and its rich history with the Wild West.
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Feature: The Pony Express & St. Joseph, Mo.
By Laura Polucha
St. Joseph, the birthplace of the famed route in 1860, embraces the city’s rich history with several attractions and landmarks that educate visitors about the riders on horseback that delivered mail for the Pony Express.
The Pony Express National Museum has state-of-the-art exhibits that illustrate the need, creation, operation and termination of the service. The museum also houses the actual stables that were used by the Pony Express.
The Patee House Museum, built in 1858, was the headquarters of the Pony Express in 1860. It is now recognized by True West magazine as “One of America’s Top 10 Western Museums” for its impressive collection, which includes period rooms, an 1860 locomotive, an 1861 replica stagecoach, antique toys and much more.
The Mount Mora Cemetery dates to 1851 and is the final resting place of two Pony Express riders, three Missouri governors and several Civil War veterans.
