There are other interesting historical sites in the Guernsey area that are not connected with the Oregon and California Trail. One of them is the site of a Pony Express station from the early 1860s.

This particular one is sited right on the banks of the North Platte. These stations were sited all along the route on average every 12 or so miles apart, the distance a horse could run at full gallop. At each station, the rider would leap from the saddle clutching his saddlebag, throw it over the saddle of a waiting horse, leap aboard and race off on the next leg. After 7 or 8 legs, a new rider would take over.

The riders were paid $100 per month, a fantastic sum when you consider that the average wage was a dollar a day. But, they were out all day in the wild, totally alone and unarmed, at the mercy of the weather and bandits and Indians AND unarmed! Why? Because the weight of the gun would tire the horse quicker and slow it down. There was even a weight limit on the riders of about 125 pounds.

Wartime conditions coupled with the completion of the transcontinental telegraph lines at the end of 1861 saw the end of the Pony Express.