Pony Express historian to speak at the museum

For only 19 months, riders of the Pony Express rode from St. Joseph, Mo., to San Francisco, Calif., delivering news and mail from the east to the west and back.

Within that short period of time, the route and its riders embedded themselves in the nation’s cultural psyche, said Dr. Joseph Hatch, vice president and trail captain of the Utah Division of the National Pony Express Association (NPEA).

“The reason for that was because the Pony Express was a nonviolent daring adventure,” said Hatch, who joined the NPEA in 1997. “It served an important role in the development of the country.”

Getting news, including Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration speech, from the east to California in seven days helped change the course of history, Hatch said.

“It resulted in California not wanting to be affiliated with the south during the Civil War,” he explained. “It can very well be that we would have a very different United States if it weren’t for the Pony Express.”

Hatch will discuss these pieces of Pony Express history and others when he gives a presentation at the Park City Museum on Thursday, April 7.

The presentation will address Utah’s connection with the Pony Express and feature a slide show of the various home and way stations that were along the trail throughout Utah.

“The way stations were 12 to 15 miles apart,” Hatch said. “The riders would would get to a station, jump off the horse and take off the mail packs, which were called mochila, and jump on the horse that was already saddled.”

The home stations, which were between 75 and 100 miles apart, were more like pitstops, Hatch said.

“They had beds and dinner and relief riders,” he said. “The downside was if there was no other rider at the home station, the one rider who just rode 100 miles would have to ride all the way to the next home station. In fact, some of the riders rode for 300 miles at a time.”

Hatch has always been interested in the Pony Express.

Through research with Utah NPEA president Pat Hearty, Hatch has visited and photographed all the stations in Utah.

“There is one that is absolutely gorgeous, and I consider it to be the crown jewel of the stations,” Hatch said. “It’s at East Canyon Creek on private land. But you can sure see it from the dirt road between Jeremy Ranch heading northward toward East Canyon Reservoir.”

Another of Hatch’s favorites is located in the West Desert.

“It’s made of adobe, but has a building built over it to preserve it,” he said. “In fact, most of the stations have buildings built over them. There are some stations that are just rock remains or something like that, but it’s wonderful to stand in those places.”

Dr. Joseph Hatch will present “Where Did the Pony Express Go Through Utah,” in the Park City Museum, 528 Main Street, on Thursday, April 7, at 6 p.m. The presentation is free with museum membership or daily admission. Visit www.parkcityhistory.org for more information.