Schellbourne Pony Express Wayside, Nevada

At Schellbourne, Highway 93 crosses the route of the former Pony Express trail, marked by a wayside interpretive station, and an abandoned motel. The Pony Express looms large in the myths of manifest destiny, despite being in existence for just a year and a half, between 1859 and 1861. At the time it was the state of the art for getting information across the country – a note could be passed from east coast to west in as little as ten days. In a few years it would be outperformed by telegraphs and railways. The Pony Express was a 1,900 mile-long route across the western half of the continent, with hundreds of horses, and 184 stations, spaced from 5-25 miles apart. Most served as relay stations, where tired horses and riders could be swapped out for fresh ones, on their collective sprint across the plains and mountains. In this way, the Pony Express carried a total of 35,000 letters between its termini at St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California, over the course of its short existence.