Jun 16, 2009, 12:26 GMT
Miami, US - It became a legend in the space of just 19 months. Between April 1860 and October 1861 the Pony Express mail route between the state of Missouri and the US Pacific coast was the fastest and most direct means of east-west communication until the arrival of the telegraph.
The horseback riders were overtaken by technology but their reputation for swiftness and reliability lives on. During 2010 a host of events along the historic trail will remind visitors of the famous inauguration 150 years ago, Donna Cordle-Gray from the Missouri Tourist Board revealed at the Pow Wow travel fair in Miami.
The original Pony-Express westbound route started in St Joseph, Missouri on the Missouri River. The riders took around ten days to reach Sacramento in far-off California. The US National Parks Agency points out that some 50 of the staging posts where the Pony Express riders changed their steeds survive to this day.
The celebrations will focus on the Pony Express Musuem in St Joseph - reachable by car in around 40 minutes from Kansas City, said Cordle-Gray. Further details of the celebratory programme are still to be announced.
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