B. F. Hastings Building

Five ways of moving things west were working out of this one building at once. B. F. Hastings ran a bank in it, Wells Fargo an express office, the Sacramento Valley Railroad its business, the Alta Telegraph its wires, and from April 1860 the Pony Express its western end. The first ride east left from this door on the fourth of April that year. The building is still standing, which distinguishes it from most of the landmarks on this block.

What the plaque says

B. F. Hastings Bank Building (Western Terminus of the Pony Express) This structure, erected in 1852-53, was occupied during the 1850s by the B. F. Hastings Bank, Wells Fargo and Co., various state officials, Sacramento Valley Railroad, and the Alta Telegraph Co. During April 1860-May 1861, the Alta Telegraph Co. and its successor, the California State Telegraph Co., were the agents here for the Central Overland Pony Express owned and operated by the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell. From this historic site the first overland journey eastward of the Pony Express was begun on April 4, 1860. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 606 Plaque dedicated by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Sacramento Historic Landmarks Commission, the Sacramento County Historical Society, the California Historical Society, and the Grand Parlors, Native Sons and Native Daughters of the Golden West, Centennial Year 1960

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sacramento — steps away
  The Gold Rush river port that became the state capital, and jacked itself ten feet into the air to stop drowning.

More markers nearby

• Old Sacramento — steps away
• Overton Building — steps away
• Site of Sacramento Union — steps away
• Vernon-Brannan House — steps away