Alexander Majors
Encyclopedia
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 the Santa 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's commercial destiny through the development of his freight firm Russell, Majors, and Waddell.
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 his Washington DC contacts to acquire new contracts. Waddell chose be a silent partner, so the firm was initially called "Majors and Russell".
Alexander Majors (1814–1900) was a U.S. businessman, who along with William Hepburn Russell
and William B. Waddell
founded the Pony Express
.
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 by Butterfield 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 through Salt Lake City, Utah
and proposed doing it in 10 days via a horse relay called the Pony 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 Transcontinental Railroad
.
After the railroad was completed, he continued to haul freight to towns not yet serviced by the railroad.
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
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
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
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
posts along the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
in 1853.
Majors is responsible for the establishment of the Kansas City stockyards. Majors is responsible for the growth and prosperity of Kansas City's commercial destiny through the development of his freight firm Russell, Majors, and Waddell.
In 1854 he teamed up with William B. Waddell
William B. Waddell (Pony Express founder)
William Bradford Waddell is often credited along with Alexander Majors and William Hepburn Russell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express...
and William Hepburn Russell
William Hepburn Russell
William Hepburn Russell is often credited along with Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express. His public life is one of numerous business ventures, some successful and some failed...
. Majors was responsible for the freighting part of the business, Waddell was to manage the office, and Russell was to use his Washington DC contacts to acquire new contracts. Waddell chose be a silent partner, so the firm was initially called "Majors and Russell".
William Hepburn Russell
William Hepburn Russell is often credited along with Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express. His public life is one of numerous business ventures, some successful and some failed...
and William B. Waddell
William B. Waddell (Pony Express founder)
William Bradford Waddell is often credited along with Alexander Majors and William Hepburn Russell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express...
founded the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
.
In about 1860, the firm now known as "Russell, Majors and Waddell
Russell, Majors and Waddell
Russell, Majors and Waddell was a business partnership, based in Lexington, Missouri, between William Hepburn Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell. It operated various transportation and communications services in the American West in the 1850s and early 1860s, including stagecoach...
" formed the "Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company
Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company
The Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was the parent company of the Pony Express.It was formed by William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell, as a freighting company supplying goods to the western United States...
" to get the contract to deliver mail between Missouri and California, which had previously been held by Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
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 through Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
and proposed doing it in 10 days via a horse relay called the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
.
Even though they succeeded in making the deliveries they did not get the contract and went bankrupt when the Transcontinental Telegraph
First Transcontinental Telegraph
The First Transcontinental Telegraph was a milestone in electrical engineering and in the formation of the United States of America. It served as the only method of near-instantaneous communication between the east and west coasts during the 1860s....
opened in October 1861.
He provided rail ties for the crews of the Union Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
.
After the railroad was completed, he continued to haul freight to towns not yet serviced by the railroad.
External links
- Alexander Majors SAR - Life of Alexander Majors in Kansas City (Archived 2009-10-25)
- 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