25:
290:
to Salt Lake City. The mails were carried on horseback and the route was gone over once a month. It was a hard journey of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains, and sixteen days was considered good time. Chorpening had a partner, Captain Woodward, of Indiana county, Pa. The first trip the Captain made he was killed by Indians. From that time on Chorpening had the contract alone.
380:
Co., Chicago). The attacks began near the St. Mary's River, in what is now western Nevada. There were two attacks; the first was rebuffed but the second, occurring a good deal east of the first, killed the four men and wounded
Woodward. The wounded man escaped with two animals. His body was found in
293:
He subsequently had a coach contract from the
Missouri River to Placerville, California. This was the road over which Horace Greeley was driven by Hank Monch in one of Chorpening's coaches. Chorpening put the coaches on and laid out the road himself. He built post stations at every twenty miles for
289:
He was the son of Hon. George
Chorpening, an Associate Judge of this county, and spent the years of his boyhood around his father's farm. Afterwards he engaged in business in Stoystown. In the spring of 1850 he went to California. In the following year he established a mail business from Sacramento
297:
Chorpening organized the First and Second
Maryland Infantry in 1861, at the personal request of President Lincoln. He was made Major in the First Regiment and Colonel in the Second. For many years he had been prosecuting a claim against the government on mail contracts amounting to $ 430,000.
301:
During the years that
Chorpening was engaged in running coaches and carrying mails over the plains he was assisted by his brother-in-law, Mr. Irwin Pile, of this place. We believe that Mr. Pile has the distinction of driving the first coach ever driven across the plains to California.
262:
He later petitioned the U.S. Government (unsuccessfully) to fully meet their contractual obligations for his mail transport service. Chorpenning collected damages in June 1866 for property losses during his and
Absalom Woodward’s contract for Route 5066.
164:; after that Chorpenning had the contract alone, and initially rode the trips himself. Although he persisted in keeping to his agreement with the Post Office, he saw that the schedule was difficult to meet, and that their chosen route along the
309:
He leaves two sons and two daughters, Mrs. F. A. McGee, of
California, Frank G. Chorpening, of Berlin, and George W. Chorpening and Mrs. Johnson, both of New York city. The body was interred in the Cemetery of the Evergreens, Long
305:
For a number of years following the war Major
Chorpening made his summer home in this place , where he owned one of the handsomest properties in town ... He had not visited Somerset for a number of years prior to his death.
285:
Major George
Chorpening died in the New York Hospital, New York City, last Tuesday morning . He was born in Somerset, June 1, 1820. He was the first man to carry the United States mails across the continent.
84:(sometimes spelled 'Chorpening'; 1 June 1820–3 April 1894) was a pioneer in the transportation of mail, freight, and passengers through the arid and undeveloped western regions of nineteenth-century
487:
472:
160:, made his first run, from California to Salt Lake City, in the winter of 1851/1852. He (as well as four other men in the party) was killed in an Indian attack at
482:
467:
149:, the most difficult leg of the first overland mail service. The mails were run once per month in each direction. It was a hard journey over the
204:. In 1859 Chorpenning used the eastern half of this route, connecting with the original Humboldt River route at Gravelly Ford, near present-day
116:. At the time there was need for reliable mail service between California and the eastern states, most of which was then being transported by
441:
422:
216:
and improved by the U.S. Army. Chorpenning built a series of provisioned way stations along the route to allow rapid exchange of mule teams.
239:, also using Chorpenning's route and way stations, became operational. Transportation along Chorpenning's central route continued until the
46:
492:
348:
68:
236:
477:
240:
176:
Chorpenning renewed his mail contract in 1854, but switched the route to an all-season road from Salt Lake City southwest to
219:
Unfortunately Chorpenning also had his mail contract annulled in 1860, largely for political reasons. Companies headed by
105:
157:
138:
137:
He teamed with fellow Pennsylvania entrepreneur Absalom Woodward, and they received a contract in April 1851 from the
117:
39:
33:
181:
50:
220:
109:
193:
142:
177:
209:
184:. In 1858 he received a third government contract, this time for twice-monthly service and including
150:
146:
113:
197:
161:
247:
189:
327:
437:
418:
344:
121:
93:
275:
in 1894. His hometown newspaper, the Somerset Herald, printed his obituary on 11 April 1894:
213:
165:
205:
108:, the son of a county judge. Growing up in Somerset, he established a business in nearby
447:
223:
took over the route, and used Chorpenning's way stations to establish the short-lived
461:
272:
201:
85:
224:
88:. His efforts in the 1850s were vital to the integration of the then-new state of
392:
377:
185:
89:
246:
Chorpenning returned to the eastern states, where he was commissioned as a
192:
about a more direct route from Salt Lake City, around the south end of the
360:
Meschter, Daniel Y. (1996) "The First Transmountain Mail Route Contracts"
251:
282:-- Was the First Man to Carry the Mails Across the Continent --
196:, and through the mountains of central Nevada to the new towns of
381:
April 1852 near Deep Creek, some 300 miles from the attack site.
444:. A semi-fictional account of the life of George Chorpenning.
18:
188:(passenger) service. By then Chorpenning had learned from
92:
with the established government and economy east of the
362:
La Posta Magazine: A Journal of American Postal History
235:
The Pony Express became obsolete in late 1861 when the
391:
Bancroft, Hubert Howe; Victor, Frances Fuller (1890).
414:
Eda Patterson, Louise Ulph, and Victor Goodwin (1969)
394:
History of Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming, 1540-1888
339:Walske, Steven C. & Frajola, Richard C. (2015)
141:to provide monthly transport of the mail between
112:. In 1850 he traveled to California in search of
277:
168:was difficult to follow, especially in winter.
454:A detailed account of the various mail lines.
8:
488:History of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
341:Mails of the Westward Expansion 1803 to 1861
473:People from Somerset County, Pennsylvania
69:Learn how and when to remove this message
328:Overland Mail to California in the 1850s
153:, and 16 days was considered good time.
32:This article includes a list of general
320:
7:
279:-- Death of Major Chorpening --
38:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
428:Dictionary of American Biography
237:first transcontinental telegraph
23:
483:Pre-statehood history of Nevada
468:People of the American Old West
241:first transcontinental railroad
128:Utah-California mail contracts
1:
258:Claims for government payment
106:Somerset County, Pennsylvania
180:, and from there by ship to
158:Indiana County, Pennsylvania
416:Nevada's Northeast Frontier
271:George Chorpenning died in
509:
493:History of the Great Basin
452:The Overland Mail 1849-69
250:officer for the state of
182:San Francisco, California
82:George W. Chorpenning Jr.
104:Chorpenning was born in
243:was completed in 1869.
221:William Hepburn Russell
110:Stoystown, Pennsylvania
53:more precise citations.
478:Central Overland Route
433:Winslow, Frank (1993)
343:Western Cover Society
312:
194:Great Salt Lake Desert
143:Sacramento, California
435:The Man from Somerset
430:, vol. II, p. 91
212:had been surveyed by
178:San Diego, California
156:Captain Woodward, of
210:Central Nevada Route
208:. By 1860 the full
198:Carson City, Nevada
162:Stone House, Nevada
294:relays of horses.
442:978-0-533-10560-1
423:978-0-87417-171-6
372:Chapman, Arthur,
122:Isthmus of Panama
94:Mississippi River
79:
78:
71:
16:U.S. mail pioneer
500:
407:
406:
404:
402:
388:
382:
374:The Pony Express
370:
364:
358:
352:
337:
331:
325:
214:James H. Simpson
172:1854 Route 12801
166:California Trail
139:U.S. Post Office
74:
67:
63:
60:
54:
49:this article by
40:inline citations
27:
26:
19:
508:
507:
503:
502:
501:
499:
498:
497:
458:
457:
411:
410:
400:
398:
390:
389:
385:
371:
367:
359:
355:
338:
334:
326:
322:
317:
269:
260:
233:
227:mail service.
206:Beowawe, Nevada
174:
135:
133:1851 Route 5066
130:
102:
75:
64:
58:
55:
45:Please help to
44:
28:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
506:
504:
496:
495:
490:
485:
480:
475:
470:
460:
459:
456:
455:
448:Leroy R. Hafen
445:
431:
425:
409:
408:
383:
365:
353:
332:
319:
318:
316:
313:
268:
265:
259:
256:
232:
229:
173:
170:
147:Salt Lake City
134:
131:
129:
126:
101:
98:
77:
76:
31:
29:
22:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
505:
494:
491:
489:
486:
484:
481:
479:
476:
474:
471:
469:
466:
465:
463:
453:
449:
446:
443:
439:
436:
432:
429:
426:
424:
420:
417:
413:
412:
397:. p. 226
396:
395:
387:
384:
379:
375:
369:
366:
363:
357:
354:
350:
349:9780692324356
346:
342:
336:
333:
329:
324:
321:
314:
311:
307:
303:
299:
295:
291:
287:
283:
280:
276:
274:
273:New York City
266:
264:
257:
255:
253:
249:
244:
242:
238:
230:
228:
226:
222:
217:
215:
211:
207:
203:
202:Genoa, Nevada
199:
195:
191:
187:
183:
179:
171:
169:
167:
163:
159:
154:
152:
151:Sierra Nevada
148:
144:
140:
132:
127:
125:
123:
119:
115:
111:
107:
99:
97:
95:
91:
87:
86:United States
83:
73:
70:
62:
52:
48:
42:
41:
35:
30:
21:
20:
451:
434:
427:
415:
401:February 12,
399:. Retrieved
393:
386:
373:
368:
361:
356:
340:
335:
323:
308:
304:
300:
296:
292:
288:
284:
281:
278:
270:
261:
245:
234:
225:Pony Express
218:
175:
155:
136:
103:
81:
80:
65:
56:
37:
190:Howard Egan
51:introducing
462:Categories
378:A. L. Burt
315:References
231:Later life
186:stagecoach
100:Early life
90:California
34:references
351:pp134-143
248:Civil War
118:steamship
59:June 2023
267:Obituary
252:Maryland
120:via the
450:(1929)
376:(1932,
310:Island.
47:improve
440:
421:
347:
36:, but
438:ISBN
419:ISBN
403:2020
345:ISBN
330:USPS
200:and
145:and
114:gold
254:.
464::
124:.
96:.
405:.
72:)
66:(
61:)
57:(
43:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.