Wells Fargo and Stage Lines of the Old West

Wells Fargo named after Henry Wells and William Fargo, became one of the first to start a form of transportation in California in 1851. They were a part of the American Express Company. Besides banking, they provided transportation and mail service for the mining camps in California. Their actual start date was March 18th, 1852. Within two months after they started, they had a bank and office in San Fransisco. By 1855, they were located throughout the United States. Wells Fargo rented their space from the Overland Stage lines.

In 1857, the Butterfield Overland Stage Company won a contract from the government to operate a mail courier service. They began rolling on September 15, 1858. Twice weekly mail service began. They ran from San Fransisco to Tipton, Missouri. Each run lasted about 25 days and covered a distance of 2,812 miles.
The contract from the government was for $600,000. The cost of a trip one way was $200. There was 139 relay stations employed by about 800 men. There was 1800 head of stock and 250 coaches. In 1860, because they had so much indebtedness to Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo took over. In its day the Overland Stage was the largest mode of transportation.

In 1866, Ben Holiday, the last of the major stock holders and named the "King of the Stage Coaches", sold out his final shares to Wells Fargo. The cost was that of $1,800,000. In 1868, Wells Fargo placed an order for thirty 9 passenger coaches from the Concord Coach Company. They were used to help serve express needs for the two railroads under construction at that time. Because the stages couldn't keep up with the railroad transportation, their stock values fell from $100 to $13.00 a share. Lloyd Trevis, bought up all the shares at that price and took over Wells Fargo. By the turn of the century, Wells Fargo had over 2,800 branches and covered about 38,000 miles in express routes. In 1923 they merged with the Union Trust Company. Their day in the transportation industry had come to a close.