Wells Fargo Museum in Old Town San Diego

Otter visits Wells Fargo museum in Old Town San Diego

Strap on your guns and grab your hat.  This week, Otter is off on an adventure to the wild west.     Otter is visiting the Wells Fargo Museum and an original Wells Fargo stage coach in Old Town San Diego.  You may be familiar with or even bank at a Wells Fargo Bank, and you have likely seen or at least heard about the stage coaches.   Did you know that Wells Fargo began many years ago as a banking, mail, and stage coach company? When the Gold Rush began in California, people saw it as an opportunity to make a lot of money.  While some went in search for gold, others began businesses to help the gold miners.  One business was banking.  Another was shipping.  In 1852 Henry Wells and William Fargo became business partners and opened up the first Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco.

Map of the Butterfield-Overland mail route. www.legendsofamerica.com

Later, the business partners saw  a chance to expand and took over the Overland Mail and Express.  The Overland Mail and Express ran on the Butterfield line, a trail that went from St. Louis to San Francisco.  The Wells Fargo coaches could make the trip in 25 days stopping only to pick up or drop off passengers, change drivers, or change horses. Today, this trip would only take 3-4 days by car or only a few hours by plane.  The Wells Fargo coaches continued to run until the railroad was completed.  The railroad could take more passengers and cargo in a shorter amount of time, so there was no longer a need for long stage coach rides.  The Wells Fargo stage coaches continued to be used but not as much and only for shorter routes and where the railroads didn’t go.

The wagon in Old Town Sand Diego at the Wells Fargo Museum is an original Wells Fargo stagecoach that was made in 1867.  Otter had a great time visiting with the people at the museum and getting to see the stage coach, guns, watches, and other things from the old west days of the Wells Fargo stage coach.  There are also some old Wells Fargo wagons in Old Town San Diego, used mostly to carry cargo.

Otter and his friends on a Wells Fargo stage coach in his home town.

Wells Fargo coaches can be seen from time to time at various branches of the Wells Fargo Bank all over the United States.  Otter got to visit one recently in his home town near Houston.

Next time Otter will spend more time talking about what it was like to ride on a stage coach.  See you in a few days as we find out “Where’s Otter”.