Folsom-Overland Pony Express Route in California

The horse route kept getting shorter. When the Pony Express began in April 1860 the riders came all the way to Sacramento, but from the first of July that year the Sacramento Valley Railroad carried the mail as far as Folsom and the horses only started here. A year later the terminus moved again, up to Placerville. The Pony Express is remembered for the distance a horse covered. Rails were eating that distance from the western end the whole time.

What the plaque says

Folsom Pony Express Terminus Gold rush and railroad town, Folsom became the western terminus of the Central Overland Pony Express on July 1, 1860. During its first few months, after April 4, 1860, the express mail had been run by pony to and from Sacramento. Beginning on July 1, 1860, the Sacramento Valley Railroad carried it between Sacramento and Folsom until Placerville was made the terminus during July 1 - October 26, 1861. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 702 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Sacramento County Historical Society; Folsom Historical Association; Fern Parlor No. 123, Native Daughters of the Golden West; the Folsom Chamber of Commerce; and the Central Overland Pony Express Trail Association, April 2, 1960

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park — 19 mi
  The tailrace at Coloma where a carpenter found gold in January 1848 and the world came running.
• Sacramento — 19 mi
  The Gold Rush river port that became the state capital, and jacked itself ten feet into the air to stop drowning.

More markers nearby

• Terminal of California's First Passenger Railroad — steps away
• Old Folsom Powerhouse — 0.3 mi
• Prairie City — 2.5 mi
• Coloma Road-Nimbus Dam — 3.6 mi