Pony Express Fifteen Mile House - Rancho Cordova, California

DATE VISITED: 02/22/2015

HISTORICAL SITE:  Pony Express Fifteen Mile House

LOCATION: White Rock Rd. & Gold Valley Dr., Rancho Cordova, Sacramento Co., CA

MARKER #: 698

 

DEDICATED: April 2, 1960

"Owned and operated from 1857 as a stage station by Henry F. W. Deterding, this was the site of the second remount station of the Central Overland Pony Express during March-July 1860. Here on April 4, 1860, Sam (Bill) Hamilton with the first eastward mail of the Pony Express changed ponies with Mormon Tavern as his next stop."

**closer look below

Marker Placed By: California Parks Commission in cooperation with the Sacramento County Historical Society, Fern Parlor No. 123, Native Daughters of the Golden West and the Central Overland Pony Express Trail Association

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: I have to say this is the first time that I have been uncomfortably conscious of my surroundings as not being in the best area and knowing I was a little exposed and alone.  Several homeless guys wandered by and although they seemed friendly enough, I didn't hang around long.  This is chiefly an industrial area and so on the weekends is quite secluded with not a lot of traffic going by.

 

Surprisingly, the Pony Express only existed from April 1860 to November 1861 after the transcontinental telegraph's western and eastern expansion met in Salt Lake City.  The endeavor cost approximately $100,000 to set up and lost much more for individuals invested in the venture.  While short-lived, its identity will always be a part of Wild West folklore.