The canyon was named for Howard Egan who had been in the area since the 1850s. He later became a Pony Express agent. Egan Canyon was the site of many Indian ambushes. In July 1860, U.S. troops travelling from Fort Ruby to Schell Creek came upon an Indian attack at the station barely saving the lives of the 2 station masters. Indian survivors of that skirmish took revenge on the next Pony Express stop, Schell Creek Station, killing the stationmaster and 2 assistance and running off all of the livestock.

Sources generally agree on the identity of a Pony Express station at Fort Laramie. However, the exact location of the station at or near Fort Laramie remains unknown. Nevertheless, the well-known fort's distance from stations at Sand Point and Verling's Ranch makes the area just west of the post a logical station site. Fort Laramie's adobe-stone sutler's store, which still exists, housed a post office in the 1850s, 1870s, and 1880s. Its status during the Pony Express era remains unknown.

The Horse Creek Station site is most likely located on the west bank of Horse Creek, about two miles northeast of Lyman, in Scotts Bluff County. The station served as a stop for the Pony Express. Several sources identify Horse Creek as a station, which, according to Mattes, possibly also served at one time as the site of Joseph Robidoux's second trading post. (NPS)

From Mud Springs, Pony Express riders followed a route that passed through Pumpkin Seed Crossing and southwest of the Court House Rock formation, where the Pony Express station was located. This site is five miles south and one and one-fourth miles west of Bridgeport, Nebraska. Most sources generally agree on its identity as a C.O.C. & P.P. Express Co. station. (NPS)

Note: Burton writes about "The Court-House" but does not mention a station, or even a stop.

The exact location of Pole Creek No. 2 Station site remains unknown. The name occurs in the 1861 Overland Mail Company contract, and Mattes and Henderson place the station along Lodgepole Creek near the town of Lodgepole, about halfway between Nine Mile Creek and Pole Creek No. 3. Trail historians Mattes and Henderson also suggest a possible connection between this site and another, that was later occupied in 1865 by E. Farrell. Several other sources also list Pole Creek No. 2 as a station. (NPS)

Note: Point plotted about 2 miles south and 4 miles west of Sutherland. Google Maps does not show bluffs.

The Cottonwood Springs Pony Express station site, may have been on the east side of Cottonwood Creek. The station, also known as McDonald's Ranch, served previously as a stop for the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak Express Company stage line as well. Most sources do not dispute the identity of Cottonwood Springs as a station. (NPS)

Sources generally agree about the identity of this site as a relay station, but they do not concur about its exact location. In 1859, David McCandles or McCanles erected a toll bridge and log structure, which later served as the relay station, on the east side of the creek. The hewn-log building had an outside-accessible attic and stone fireplace and measured 36 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 8 feet high at the eaves.The Rock Creek Station has an interesting history.

We were approaching the end of our long journey. It was the morning of the twentieth day. At noon we would reach Carson City, the capital of Nevada Territory. We were not glad, but sorry. It had been a fine pleasure trip; we had fed fat on wonders every day; we were now well accustomed to stage life, and very fond of it; so the idea of coming to a stand-still and settling down to a humdrum existence in a village was not agreeable, but on the contrary depressing."

This station, similar in construction to Brigham Young’s Beehive House, stood where the Salt Lake Tribune Building now stands, at 143 South Main. Because of recent street beautification, the monument has been moved to the south. According to Sir Richard Burton, the station was one of the better facilities along the Overland Trail for food and lodging. Horace Greeley and Mark Twain were among the guests. This was a home station for Pony Express riders. It was a long, two-story structure with a veranda in front and a large livestock yard in the rear.