1861: The Wire That Joined a Continent and Ended the Pony Express FAMOUS LINES | MORSE CODE WORKS For eighteen months, Pony Express riders galloped ten-day relays between Missouri and California, carrying the mail at heroic cost. Meanwhile two telegraph crews built toward each other across plains and mountains, one from Omaha, one from Sacramento, racing the coming Civil War winter. On 24 October 1861 the lines were joined at Salt Lake City. A message that had needed a rider, a stagecoach or a ship could now cross the continent in minutes. The first telegram went from California's chief justice to Abraham Lincoln. Two days later the Pony Express was history. Key points - Western Union's Hiram Sibley drove the project through in a single season - Buffalo and weather were bigger enemies than distance - The wire held California's news, prices and orders inside the Union war effort - The Pony Express survives in legend; the wire quietly replaced it Try it yourself Translate any text to Morse code and hear it with sound, free: what is a in morse code