Pony Express Trail Monument is newest state marker
By the Bureau of Land Management
A dedication of Nevada's newest state historical marker, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Pony Express Trail, will be on Thursday, March 31 on public land east of Fallon. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. The public is invited.
The dedication is hosted by the Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District-Stillwater Field Office, the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office, the National Pony Express Association and Enel Green Power North America, Inc.
The brief ceremony will be adjacent to EGP-NA’s Salt Wells Geothermal Power Plant, approximately 10 miles east of Fallon and six miles southwest of U.S. Highway 50 on Salt Wells Road.
State Historical Marker No. 271 will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Pony Express Trail, which ran adjacent to the current Salt Wells Plant (started operations in September 2009).
The Pony Express was founded by the operators of the Overland State Line to facilitate faster mail service between California and the eastern states.
"We appreciate Enel Green Power North America’s interest in the Pony Express Trail adjacent to their Salt Wells Power Plant," said Chris McAlear, BLM Carson City District Manager. "While they are producing enough clean and green electricity on the site to supply over 8,000 homes, they have also been a generous community partner with their assistance to produce and install Nevada’s newest historical monument dedicated to the brave riders of the Pony Express. We hope citizens who visit the site will enjoy this important slice of Nevada history for generations to come."
Eighty "young, skinny, wiry, expert riders not over 18, willing to risk death daily" were hired at $25 per week (orphans were preferred), and 400 horses were obtained and 184 stations built in just two months. Thirty of the stations were located in Nevada, from Utah (Deep Creek) to the California border (Genoa).
The first ride began on April 3, 1860, with swift riders carrying the mail 2,000 miles in 10 days from St. Joseph, Miss. to Sacramento, Calif.
The "Pony" ran for only 18 months, but it improved nationwide communication, western expansion and was credited with California’s continued participation in the Union at the beginning of the Civil War.
Visitors are welcome to attend the brief dedication ceremony on March 31, and should contact BLM Public Affairs Officer Mark Struble, email at mstruble@blm.gov, phone 775-885-6107, by March 29.
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