Pony Express arrives in Northern Nevada this week for annual, historic re-ride celebrating Old West mail carriers
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Sun, 06/13/2021 - 12:40pm
The Pony Express will make its way through Northern Nevada this as part of its annual historic re-ride when enthusiasts trace the route in which carriers rode around the clock by horseback to provide mail service to the western United States.
The Pony Express ran from 1860 to 1861, with a journey spanning 1,966 in only 10 days between Missouri to California using a relay system across 8 states. It ran for 18 months until telegraph wires were constructed all the way to San Fransisco, making the Pony Express obsolete.
In honor of the historic ride that is now synonymous with the Old West, an annual re-ride occurs each year, retracing the route and carrying letters from California to Missouri, or vice versa.
In Northern Nevada, Nevadans can watch the exchanges in Genoa, Carson City, Fort Churchill, Sand Springs, Cold Springs, Grubb’s Well, and the Overland Pass as it makes its way to the Utah border.
The riders will make their way into Woodfords on Thursday, June 17 at approximately 1 p.m.
An exchange will take place in Genoa at around 3:30 p.m. before arriving in Carson City for another hand off around 6 p.m. at the intersection of 2nd and Curry.
The rider will then continue on surface streets until they reach Mills Park before taking Highway 50 E. toward Arrowhead for the next exchange. The rider will continue to Fort Churchill for the last exchange of the night at around 10:45 p.m.
On Friday, the rider will continue at 3 a.m. on Shurz Highway to Sand Springs, then to Cold Springs, until eventually reaching the Utah border on Sunday, June 20.
This years re-ride will depart from Old Sacramento, Calif. on Wednesday, June 16 at 2 p.m.
On Thursday, June 17 the carries will continue through the California/Nevada state line in Woodford, Calif. at approximately 1 p.m.
The carriers should make the Nevada/Utah state line in Ibapah, Utah on Sunday, June 20 at approximately 2 a.m.
Then on Monday, June 21 at approximately 6:30 a.m., riders will cross the Utah/Wyoming state line.
The Wyoming/Nebraska state line should be crossed Wednesday, June 23 at approximately 2:30 p.m. in Lyman, Nebraska.
Then, riders will continue through the Nebraska/Colorado state line in Chappell, Nebraska at around 2:30 a.m. on June 24, and soon after cross the Colorado/Nebraska line again in Big Springs, Nebraska at 6 a.m.
On Friday, June 25 the riders should cross the tri-county marker at the Nebraska/Kansas state line at around 10 p.m.
The historic ride will complete its journey on Saturday, June 26 after passing the Kansas/Missouri state line at 7 p.m. before reaching its final destination in St. Joseph, Missouri at around 7:30 p.m.
Visit http://nationalponyexpress.org for more information on the Pony Express 2021 ride.
