Pony Express Monument at This is the
Place Heritage Park
Pony Express Statue by Avard Fairbanks
The Pony Express Sculpture by Avard T. Fairbanks,
PhD, 1947
Replicated by Robert Shure and the Sons of Avard T.
Fairbanks, 1998
Presented by the National
Pony Express Association
Dedicated by Gordon
B. Hinckley, President of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, July 25,
1998
About the Monument
In 1947, Avard Fairbanks returned to his native state
of Utah as Dean of the newly founded College
of Fine Arts at the University
of Utah. This same year marked the centennial
of the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers into the Salt
Lake Valley. To comemmorate this event, he created
a life-sized monument to the Pony Express as a Pioneer
Day Parade float. Fabricated in white plaster
over a wood and wire framework, it exhibited Fairbanks'
mastery of anatomy, action, balance and rhythm. It
contrasted the vigor of the fresh horse to the fatigue
of the spent horse. And it contrasted youth to age,
symbolic of how each older generation must bid Godspeed
to a younger generation. It honored the courage not
only of the young Express riders, but also of the
unsung heroes - the station keepers, many of whom
lost their lives in this daring American enterprise.
About the Pony Express
When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, and when
rebellion broke out in the South, and when shots were
fired at Fort Sumter, it was the Pony Express that
sped the news and spirited the mail to the Utah Territory
and California. No one could do it faster. Gallant
young Express riders, armed with a Bible and a small
Colt pistol, covered the 1900 miles from St. Joseph,
Missouri to Sacramento at a gallop in 8 to 10 days.
Over prairies, deserts, and mountains they achieved
speeds greater than ever before (compared to 3 weeks
by stage or 6 weeks by ship). The cost was enormous,
requiring 80 riders, 420 horses, 100 stations spaced
12 miles apart, supplies, feed, and several hundred
station keepers. By design, riders would travel 75
to 100 miles a day, exchanging spent horses for fresh
ones 6-10 times. But when stations were burned or
plundered, they rode on without relief. Many station
keepers lost their lives. Although the Pony Express
operated for only eighteen months (replaced by the
telegraph), it seized the imagination of the country
it served so well. And it exemplified the courageous
spirit of the westward movement.
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