This 1985 Richard Bergen bronze sculpture is the largest sculpture of its kind in the Midwest. It portrays the first Pony Express rider, Jack Kectley, carrying the mail west from Marysville, which he did on April 3, 1860, on the initial run to Sacramento, California. The plaque recounts that the Pony Express lasted just 18 months and in the 650,000 miles that riders traveled during that time, only one rider was killed, one rider lost, and only one schedule not completed. The sculpture was made possible by the R.L. and Elsa Helvering Trust and dedicated by Gov. John Carlin on July 4, 1985, the 125th anniversary celebration of the Pony Express.

The home station in Marysville, a stone barn built by Joseph Cottrell in 1859, was leased to the Pony Express in 1860. Cottrell kept his blacksmith shop in the barn.

Tags:   Silhouette Sculpture pioneers Frontier Settlers skyline wild west silhouettte pony expree silhouette pony express statue pony express folk art sculpture pony express sculpture santa fe trail wagon trains california trail wild west western trail old west oregon trail western frontier Museum Kansas pony express home station & museum marysville kansas marshall county kansas marshall county kansas joseph cottrell pony express home station no. one marysville kansas pony express riders first pony express rider johnny fry richard bergen 1985 pony express sculpture pony express rider jack kectley bronze sculpture bronze pony express rider sculpture

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Pony Express Barn
Marysville’s proud heritage features the Home Station No. 1 on the Pony Express route. Running only 19 months in 1860-61, the Pony Express has become a part of American lore.
Between April 1860 and October 1861, riders travelled day and night through all conditions to carry letters from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, and back. This usually took ten days with riders changing horses every 12 to 15 miles. Each rider would ride 75 to 100 miles before turning the mail in a mochila over to a new rider at one of the 40 “home stations.”
Our museum is housed in the stone barn built in 1859 by Joseph H. Cottrell and Hank Williams. In 1860 Russell, Majors & Waddell approached them to lease the barn as a livery stable for the Pony Express. Cottrell kept his blacksmith shop in the barn.
The first westbound rider left St. Joseph, Missouri on April 3, 1860, arriving in Marysville the next morning. Local sources say this was Johnny Frye.
The mail was carried in a mochila which fit over the saddle and could not be removed unless the rider dismounted. It had four mail pockets called cantinas that were locked. The rider would transfer the mochila from one horse to another. Two minutes were allowed for changing horses.

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The Pony Express ~1860-1861
Sacramento Friday's/Fr. Laramie/Salt Lake City/Julesburg/Ft. Kearney/Marysville/St. Joseph

This barn a Pony Express Station of 1860-61, stands on the original site, here courageous Pony Express Riders changed mounts as they carried the Overland Mail through 1966 miles of territory, now eight states.

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Auto Tour Road Sign or the Oregon, California & Pony Express Trails.
This road to the West was known by many names. It was called the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Platte Trail, and the Mormon Trail by people who traveled it. It was primarily an emigrant trail. However, the Oregon Trail was also used by the Army, and stagecoaches and the Pony Express Route followed part of the trail.

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Begun in 1858, the Hollenberg Ranch, four miles north and one mile east of here, served as a stop on the Oregon-California Trail until the late 1860s. Gerat and Sophia Hollenberg, German emigrants, sold food and other supplies, lodging, and draft animals to passing travelers. Settlers, freighters, soldiers, stagecoach passengers, and Pony Express riders all stopped there.

For a year and a half in 1860 and 1861, the Pony express operated like a relay race delivering mail between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. Wiry riders, often mere boys, hurried their horses between stations that were about ten miles apart. At each station they changed to a fresh mount, and at every third station a rested rider took over. Through such teamwork the mail could cross half a continent in about a third of the time required by stagecoach. By mid-1861, however, the transcontinental telegraph was carrying messages at the speed of electricity, and the Pony Express could not compete.

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