Troy Station

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

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

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)

Log Chain Station

Sources identify Log Chain as a Pony Express relay station and a stop on the overland stage route. Noble H. Rising, the stationkeeper, maintained a twenty four by forty foot log house and seventy foot barn. Log Chain Station stood near Locknane Creek, also called Locklane and Muddy Creek on some maps. The origin of the name "Log Chain" is uncertain. Stories exist about pulling wagons across the creek's sandy bed with log chains, which may be one reason for its name. The station's name may also be a corruption of Locklane, the creek's name.

Kennekuk Station

Experts on the Pony Express trail in this area, designate Kennekuk as the first home station from St. Joseph. Most other sources agree on the name but not the exact location of this station. Its location has been placed at from 39 to 44 miles from the beginning of the trail. The stage route from Atchison and the Fort Leavenworth-Fort Kearney military road combined with the trail near Kennekuk and brought much traffic to the settlement in the early 1860s. Tom Perry and his wife ran the relay station and served meals to travelers passing through.

Cold Spring Station

Louis or Lewis was mapped as a station between Troy and Kennekuk was possibly the same as the Cold Spring Ranch Station. The Lewis Station and Cold Spring Station were located the same distance between Troy and Kennekuk. One local history resource placed the station on North Independence Creek. Several other sources give yet another location for this station. "Chain Pump" and "Valley Home/House"  (NPS)

Alkali Lake Station

Note: Point plotted approximately 2 miles SW of Paxton

Many historical resources link Alkali Lake Station with the Pony Express. The Alkali Lake Station site is possibly two miles southwest of Paxton, in Keith County, Nebraska. Sources generally agree on its name as Alkali Lake. In the 1861 Overland Mail Company contract, the station was unnamed. (NPS)

Jamaica Plain

Clemens had lectured on 19 November 1869 for “the benefit of a Benevolent Educational Enterprise” in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston which, after the coming of the railroad and industrial development to adjacent areas, was in the 1870s an “upper middle class residential settlement” (“Unique Entertainment by Mark Twain,” Boston Evening Transcript, 13 Nov 69, 1; Warner, 41–42).

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