On January 31, 1812, William Hepburn Russell was born in Burlington. He became successful by transporting freight, winning many govenrment contracts. But Russell became famous because of the Pony Express.

The Pony Express consolidated the Pacific Mail to a central route. The concept worked, but was extraordinarily expensive. Although he appears to be innocent of wrong-doing, Russell got caught up in financial scandal trying to secure funding.

The result was a short-lived Pony Express that folded after a mere year a half of operation, due largely to the advent of the telegreaph. Russell’s best-known accomplishment was a financial disaster.

Image courtesy Wikipedia, photograph taken by author of the Pony Express article.