- Alexander Majors
Alexander Majors (1814 - 1900) was a U.S. businessman, who along with
William Hepburn Russell and William B. Waddell founded thePony Express .Alexander Majors got his start in overland freight on the
Santa Fe Trail in 1848. On his first trip, he set a new time record of 92 days for the 1564 mile (2500 km) round trip.Majors was awarded contracts to haul supplies to
United States Army posts along theSanta Fe Trail in 1853.Majors is responsible for the establishment of the Kansas City stockyards. Majors is responsible for the growth and prosperity of Kansas City’ commercial destiny through the development of his freight firm Russell, Majors, and Waddell. (Alexander Majors Homestead)
In 1854 he teamed up with William B. Waddell and
William Hepburn Russell . Majors was responsible for the freighting part of the business, Waddell was to manage the office, and Russell was to use is Washington DC contacts to acquire new contracts. Waddell chose be a silent partner, so the firm was initially called "Majors and Russell".In about 1860, the firm now known as "
Russell, Majors and Waddell " formed the "Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company " to get the contract to deliver mail between Missouri and California, which had previously been held byButterfield Overland Mail which was delivering the mail in 25 days or more over a route that went through the South. With Civil War clouds brewing, the group proposed delivering the mail over a central route throughSalt Lake City, Utah and proposed doing it in 10 days via a horse relay called thePony Express .Even though they succeeded in making the deliveries they did not get the contract and went bankrupt when the Transcontinental Telegraph opened in October 1861.
He provided rail ties for the crews of the Union Pacific Railroad working on the first trans-continental
railroad .After the railroad was completed, he continued to haul freight to towns not yet serviced by the railroad.External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/sary2k/AlexanderMajors.html]
* [http://www.over-land.com/otmajors.html]In the 1850s Alexander Majors' freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell and his short-lived Pony Express were "major." As was his vast network, the Overland Stage Company. Fifteen years later, it was all over.
Majors, "the great bullwhacker", was born October 4, 1814 in Franklin, Kentucky. Thirty-four years later he ran his first train to Santa Fe - 92 days, round trip. Eventually he employed 4,000 men, including a pimply 15-year-old lad named "Billy Cody." Cody became one of his most famous Pony Express riders.
On the Missouri side of State Line at 81st Street, Majors built his two-story frame farmhouse in 1855. (His house still stands, now a museum.) There, wagon trains loaded with goods from his warehouse down on the river headed west. In Westport, Majors operated a meat-packing plant. It supplied the trains with cured pork, soap and candles. For 15 years Majors and his far-flung interests were wildly successful.
In 1860 his Pony Express began. But by then, technology was already threatening. Telegraphs and railroads were a reality. The telegraph spelled doom for Pony Express, and the "great iron horse" killed Majors' freighting and stage coach operations in time.
By 1865 Majors sold out what little remained and moved to Colorado. There, 30 years later, his former young wagonmaster and Pony Express rider, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, found him. He was old, ill and penniless. Cody helped him, taking Majors on as part of the Cody Wild West show. Majors even lived at Cody's Scouts' Rest Ranch in North Platte, Nebraska for a time.
Majors returned here to die at 86 on January 13, 1900.
Written by Wilda Sandy
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
