Freighter's Memorial, Nebraska City
Posted by: NevaP
N 40° 40.775 W 095° 51.763
15T E 258063 N 4507130
This marker commemorates the great freighting company, Russell, Majors and Waddell.
Waymark Code: WM1PM7
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 06/17/2007
Views: 51
The overland freighting company of Russell, Majors and Waddell, headquartered in Levenworth, Kansas, was a major force in the commerce of the 1850s and 1860s, before the transcontinental railroads. In 1860 they established the Pony Express, a venture which almost ruined the company financially.
In 1858 the company received a government contract to transport all provisions for all western forts from a base in Nebraska City. The supplies were brought up the Missouri River by steamboat and then taken out by wagon train. This monument stands by the 1858 house at 407 N.14th Street which was the Nebraska City office for Russell, Majors and Waddell. It is now The Old Freighter's Museum.
The marker is a worn bronze plate set in a rough granite slab.
The text reads:
To Commemorate Russell, Majors and Waddell
1856-1865
Freighters to the west
Employing over 1000 men, 6000 oxen and 700 wagons
Founders of the Pony Express 1860
The museum is by appointment. Check the website link below for information.