calsfoundation@cals.org
April 3, 1860
The Pony Express was started, spelling the end of the Butterfield Overland Express, which carried the first overland transcontinental mail by stagecoach through Arkansas as it went from the Mississippi River to California. Although the Butterfield Stage was unmatched in passenger service, the mail service—which the Pony Express excelled in—was uneconomical.