In April 1860 the cost to mail a letter was $5.00 from St. Joseph, Missouri to
Sacramento, California.
Delivery was assured, even without U.S. Postal Service, which was non-existent at that
time in the country.
The very young men who raced across the country day and night were praised for their
effort and stamina, not to mention bravery through hostile areas.
There were off-shoots of the main trail so that service could be offered to other
communities in the states that were being serviced.
The Pony Express has become an historical part of early America, and in particular, the
west.
The stations which is where the riders would change to fresh horses, drop and pick up
mail to be forwarded, and take a drink, have all but disappeared. Almost all have
disappeared, but not entirely.
The stations were built from whatever local materials were available, some wood, some
stone, some combinations. Unless you know what to look for the stations can be by-passed
daily, and never reveal their history. But Desert Life Magazine will guide you to a Pony
Express station that is still standing and visible from the highway. It can be reached for
close inspection over a dirt road 1/4 mile distance. Unfortunately, some others are on now
private land and we cannot direct you to those, but we will show them to you.
There are Pony Express stations in Victorville, Helendale and Newberry Springs,
California.
In Victorville on Airbase Road, the road to George Air Force Base, just 1/2 mile off
National Trails Highway on the north side of the road, the station is visible where
several dirt roads intermix. The station is built of shale stone and a rough applied
mortar cover on the outside. Years of neglect and vandalism have taken toll on the
structure, but all in all the story sits there in the sunlight.
Vintage of the period of 1860 to 1863 is displayed in the methods of construction and
the levels of rock upon levels. and the openings for door, and built-in storage.
The Pony Express Delivery Service was started in April 1860 and only lived less than
three years, and even less time in some areas.
Many of the stations were later used for cowboy rest stops when the Express phased out
and the U.S. Postal Service was originated.
The two stations we show here made of stone were both built by apparently the same
people, construction is almost duplicates.
Both built along the Mojave River, but at the same time they were built a large part of
this area was swamp land and quick sand until 1870 when a flood hit and carved the river
bed as we see it today.
This area in Helendale had the Spanish trail, the Mormon Trail running through it along
with the traffic from the Mojave Road which came through the East Mojave Desert from
Needles, Newberry Springs, Yermo and Barstow.
And these routes from the 1700's and the 1800's eventually became Route 66 when more
modern transportation became needed.
Early Indian artifacts have been found and collected for safe keeping.
Several Indian tribes lived in the Victorville-Helendale area, namely the Mojaves, a
band of vicious people, and the Serranos and Vanyuves who were somewhat friendlier and got
along with the settlers.
As the Mojave through the decades went into the underground river, it is how the
stations became high and dry and are now hundreds of yards away, sitting on higher ground.
Cottonwood was the name of the area that ran along the river many decades ago which
took in the now called Helendale, just up the road from Oro Grande and Victorville.
As one travels National Trails Highway (66), the greenery of the cottonwood trees and
ranches tells the story of good water, but unseen by the human eye, due to its underground
flow, the Mojave River has a distinction of its own. It is the only river in the United
States that flows north; to the Soda Springs area, south of Baker, California.
There's the saying that again applies to visiting any old structure or a part of
American history, "Take only pictures and leave only footprints."
Desert Life Magazine would like to take this opportunity to thank Craig (Newton?)
