Stillwater Station

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Several sources identify Stillwater or Still Water as a potential Pony Express station. This station also began about July 1861 as part of the Overland Mail Company stage line and the telegraph route. The Pony Express may also have stopped at the station during the last several months of its existence. Ranchers kept the station and the neighboring mining areas well-supplied with beef, grain, and hay. In 1868, before the mail and telegraph operations transferred to the Central Pacific Railroad, Stillwater served as the county seat and had 100 residents.

Mountain Well Station

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A few sources list Mountain Well as the second west-bound station on the Overland Mail Company's "Stillwater Dogleg" route. Pony Express riders may have stopped at Mountain Springs from July to October 1861, where they could find an abundant source of fresh water and plenty of hay and fresh vegetables from area farmers. After the Pony Express ended, the Overland Mail Company stage and telegraph continued to use the station for several years. Remnants of the station still exist, and in 1986 were included as part of a cattle camp.

Dry Sandy Station

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Sources generally agree on the identity of Dry Sandy as a relay station, although it is not mentioned as a station on the 1861 Overland Mail Company contract. [61] A young Mormon couple managed station operations at Dry Sandy Station, which Franzwa specifically identifies as a Pony Express site. (NPS)

Burton does not mention any stop here but his description of the landscape pertains to this area. There is no mention by Twain of this site.

Cottonwood Station (Kansas)

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Sources generally agree on its location and identity as a relay station and a stage station. The station, constructed as a ranch house in 1857, was known as both Hollenberg and Cottonwood because Gerat Hollenberg managed the station operations near Cottonwood Creek. The station served as the last Pony Express stop in Kansas. Hollenberg's station also supplied emigrants with food, clothing, livestock, and a place to rest themselves and their horses. It also served as a stagecoach stop on the C.O.C. & P.P. Express Co. stage line.

Marysville Station

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Sources generally concur on its identity as a station, but disagree on its status as a home or relay station. In 1859, Joseph H. Cottrell and Hank Williams contracted with Russell, Majors, and Waddell to build and lease a livery stable as a home station. Riders stayed at the nearby American Hotel, which was north of the livery stable. The north end of the stone stable served as a blacksmith shop, and stalls were located on the other side. Also was known as Palmetto City (NPS)

Guittard Station

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Sources generally agree on the identification of Guittard's Station as a Pony Express and stage stop. In late 1860, Burton saw the Pony Express rider arrive at Guittard's Station. Burton described the station as a "clump of board houses on the far side of a shady, well-wooded creek—the Vermillion, a tributary of the Big Blue River, so called from its red sandstone bottom, dotted with granitic [sic] and porphyritic boulders."

Troy Station

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Various sources indicate that this site is located within the town of Troy. A monument in the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn notes the existence of the relay station. Some authors list the monument's location as the possible site of the station, but later research links the station with the Smith Hotel. Leonard Smith arrived in Troy in 1858 and purchased the Troy Hotel. Two years later, at the request of the C.O.C. & P.P. Express Co., he constructed a barn large enough for five horses.

Ash Point Station

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This site is supposedly located on the banks of Vermillion Creek. Ash Point, Laramie Creek, Frogtown, and Hickory Point were names associated with this Pony Express station and stage stop. The tiny settlement of Ash Point began at the junction of the Pony Express route and a branch of the California Road prior to 1860. John O'Laughlin, a storekeeper, managed the station operations. Richard F.

Seneca Station

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Sources generally agree about Seneca Station's location and identity as an early Pony Express home station, also known as the the Smith Hotel. John Smith managed station operations at the hotel, located on the corner of present-day Fourth and Main Streets. Smith entered the hotel business in 1858, and his two- story white hotel also served as a restaurant, school, and residence. Additional sources also identify Seneca as an overland stage station. (NPS)