A Brief History of Wells Fargo and Company

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM
PORTLAND, OREGON
PRE-TOUR PACKET
Table of Contents
Dear Educator Letter…………………………………………………
A Brief History of Wells Fargo………………………………………
What’s in a Name?…………………………………………………...
Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources….………………………… .
Multidisciplinary Teaching Activities on Stagecoach Travel……….
Riding the Overland Stage by Mark Twain. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . .
Tips for Stagecoach Travelers………………………………….........
How Fast did the Stagecoach Travel?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .
Art and Stagecoach Travel…………………………………………...
Songs of Stagecoach Travel………………………………………….
Poetry in Motion – Stagecoach Haiku…………………………….. ..
Stagecoach Advertisement, 1867……………………………………
Build Your Own Telegraph Machine………………………………..
Using Morse Code…………………………………………………...
Vocabulary List……………………………………………………...
Post-Classroom Activities………. ……………………….................
Children’s Books of Interest………………………………………....
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This packet of information and activities is intended to be copied for use in the classroom. There is no need to
seek further permission.
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Dear Educator,
This is a brief outline of the material presented to students when they visit the
Wells Fargo History Museum. The focus is on information and activities that will
help to achieve Oregon State Social Science Standards while at the same time
providing a memorable, fun, and hands-on experience.
I.
Students will learn about the Gold Rush, a cause of settlement in the
American West. (Cause and effect)
a. Geography of U. S. and Oregon: territories and states
b. Gold mining in California and Oregon: mining techniques, supply
and demand, qualities and value of gold
c. The delivery of gold from the mines to the mint
d. The role Wells Fargo played in the settlement of Oregon and the
West.
II.
Students will learn about Wells Fargo agents and their jobs.
a. How assayers determined the value of gold
b. The services Wells Fargo agents provided to people from 1852-1918.
c. Communication difficulties in the 19th Century
III.
Students will compare and contrast major forms of 19th Century
transportation and learn how Wells Fargo used stagecoaches,
steamers, and trains to connect communities.
a. Introduce the stagecoach and compare to other modes of
transportation
b. Stagecoach provided a communication link, speedy transportation,
and carried money, mail, and people.
c. Travel conditions aboard the stagecoach contrasted with present-day
travel conditions
d. Operation and details of the stagecoach
IV.
Students will learn how population changes in the West required
innovation and invention.
a. The invention and use of the telegraph
b. The transcontinental railroad
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A Brief History of Wells Fargo
As the Oldest Bank in the WestTM, Wells Fargo has established standards of service,
honesty, and reliability. Spurred by the discovery of gold, Henry Wells and William Fargo
formed Wells, Fargo and Company in 1852. On July 13, 1852, the firm opened its first office in
San Francisco, California, providing banking, express, and mail delivery services to merchants
and miners. As miners moved north and east from California, Wells Fargo’s banking, express,
and mail service went with them. Wells Fargo’s success in California allowed the company to
expand quickly. By October, the first Oregon office opened on Front Street in Portland. William
Barnhart, Wells Fargo’s first agent in Oregon, received the following instructions: “You will
please select and appoint your own Agents at Oregon City, Salem, and elsewhere.”
Customers not only entrusted their gold, letters, parcels, and freight to Wells Fargo, some
even used the general express company to transport their wives and children. In the 1860’s,
Wells Fargo connected its far-flung offices thru a great overland stagecoach network extending
over 3,000 miles of the West. When Californians and Oregonians turned to farming and
manufacturing, Wells Fargo continued to offer express services. The firm’s express offices
blanketed both states and went “ocean to ocean” to New York in 1888. By 1918, Wells Fargo
had a network of 10,000 offices nationwide. During World War I, the federal government placed
all of the nation’s express companies under government control as a wartime measure to move
troops and cargo. Wells Fargo express signs came down across Oregon, and Wells Fargo was left
with one bank in San Francisco.
During the 20th Century, Wells Fargo became the bank it is known today. By merging
with other recognized banks such as American Trust Company, Crocker Bank, First Interstate,
and Norwest, Wells Fargo has become the nation’s fifth largest bank. After more than 150 years,
the name “Wells Fargo” stands as a symbol of integrity and stability worldwide.
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What’s in a Name?
Henry Wells (1805-1878)
Henry Wells, born in Thetford, Vermont, moved in his youth to central New
York where he worked for a farmer and then a shoemaker. Seeing opportunity in
the newly developed express business, he changed careers. In 1841, he became an
agent at Albany, New York for William Harnden, founder of the express business.
Shortly thereafter, Wells made his reputation for dependability when he delivered
fresh oysters to Buffalo, New York.
As the express business expanded into the Midwest, Wells formed a
partnership with other expressmen to deliver valuables, financial documents, and
mail. In 1850, these partners formed the American Express Company. Wells
became its first president and served until 1868.
In 1852, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo started a joint stock company
called Wells, Fargo and Company to conduct a banking and express business in
Gold Rush California. A year later, when he visited the new enterprise in San
Francisco, Henry Wells judged it a success and wrote, “This is a great country and
a greater people.” Wells was interested in educational opportunities for women
and founded Wells College in Aurora, New York, one of the nation’s first colleges
for women.
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William G. Fargo (1818-1881)
William George Fargo was born in Pompey, New York, the eldest of twelve
children. At thirteen, he had a forty-mile mail route. In 1842, he met Henry Wells
in Auburn, New York and became involved in the express business. In 1850,
Henry Wells and William Fargo founded the American Express Company, with
Fargo serving as its president from 1868-1881. Six of William Fargo’s brothers
also worked for American Express.
Fargo saw opportunity on the Pacific Coast. In 1852, Henry Wells and
William Fargo started the express company Wells, Fargo and Company. Fargo
came to California by Overland stagecoach in 1863 to promote a railroad over the
Sierra Nevada Mountains and to lay the foundation for Wells Fargo’s stagecoach
business. Fargo served as president of Wells Fargo from 1870 to 1872.
Fargo was active in New York politics for many years and served two terms
as mayor of Buffalo. He was also a director of the Northern Pacific Railroad,
which led to the use of his name for the town of Fargo, North Dakota.
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Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources
Many historians gather history from primary sources. A primary source is
something from the time in history you are studying. For example, an excellent
primary source is a journal or diary written by someone from the time and place
you are studying. Other primary sources that historians consider important are
called ephemera or items from daily life that give clues to what the world was like.
These can be tickets for travel, receipts for purchases, or anything that people from
that time used in daily life.
Some primary sources:
• Journal or diary
• Ticket for travel
• Letter written by someone during the time you are studying
• Envelopes
• Original documents like waybills, checks, etc.
• Advertisements from the time
• Objects that show what life was like: sewing baskets, toys, etc.
Secondary sources are considered anything written or told about the time in
history by someone who has already studied it. It is secondary because the person
telling the history did not live in that time. An example of a secondary source is a
book written about a time or place in the past.
Some secondary sources:
• History textbooks
• Magazine articles written about the time, such as a history of children in the
United States
• Text plates in museums containing information about history
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Multidisciplinary Teaching Activities on Stagecoach Travel
Overview
These lessons will explore different descriptions of stagecoach travel using history,
math, art, and music.
Objectives:
• Students will recognize the difference between how artists illustrated
stagecoach travel and the reality of stagecoach travel by reading an historical
account of stagecoach travel and studying art.
• Students will use a math formula to figure out how long it took the stagecoach
to travel from Missouri to California moving at five miles per hour.
• Students will write a story on stagecoach travel using the Six Trait Writing
Process.
• Students will listen to songs about the stagecoach and write their own songs.
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Historical Account of Stagecoach Travel
Directions: Have students read the historical account about the stagecoach and
answer the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What was it like to travel on a stagecoach?
In addition to people, what else did the stagecoach carry?
How many pounds of luggage was each passenger allowed to bring?
Why do you think receiving letters meant so much to people who settled the
West?
5. How often did the stagecoach stop?
6. What was a way station?
7. What did the way station provide for passengers when they stopped?
Riding the Overland Stage (1861)
Starting Out
Twain and his brother discover that passengers are limited to only 25 pounds of
baggage. After shedding much of their luggage, the intrepid travelers are on their
way across the plains of Kansas.
"Our coach was a swinging and swaying cage of the most sumptuous description an imposing cradle on wheels. It was drawn by six handsome horses, and by the
side of the driver sat the 'conductor,' the legitimate captain of the craft; for it was
his business to take charge and care of the mails, baggage, express matter, and
passengers. We three were the only passengers this trip. We sat on the back seat,
inside. About all the rest of the coach was full of mail bags - for we had three
days' delayed mail with us. Almost touching our knees, a perpendicular wall of
mail matter rose up to the roof. There was a great pile of it strapped on top of the
stage, and both the fore and hind boots were full. We had twenty-seven hundred
pounds of it aboard, the driver said. . .
We changed horses every ten miles, all day long, and fairly flew over the hard,
level road. We jumped out and stretched our legs every time the coach stopped,
and so the night found us still vivacious and unfatigued."
Traveling
The next day, the stage suffers a breakdown forcing its passengers to evacuate
while repairs are made. The conductor lays the blame for the mishap on the extra
weight of too many mailbags. After throwing half the mail onto the prairie, the
stage resumes its journey. Orion's large Unabridged Dictionary causes trouble
along the way.
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"Whenever the stage stopped to change horses, we would wake up, and try to
recollect where we were - and succeed - and in a minute or two the stage would be
off again, and we likewise. We began to get into country, now, threaded here and
there with little streams. These had high, steep banks on each side, and every time
we flew down one bank and scrambled up the other, our party inside got mixed
somewhat. First we would all lie down in a pile at the forward end of the stage,
nearly in a sitting posture, and in a second we would shoot to the other end and
stand on our heads. And we would sprawl and kick, too, and ward off ends and
corners of mail-bags that came lumbering over us and about us; and as the dust
rose from the tumult, we would all sneeze in chorus, and the majority of us would
grumble, and probably say some hasty thing, like: 'Take your elbow out of my ribs!
Can't you quit crowding?'
Every time we avalanched from one end of the stage to the other, the Unabridged
Dictionary would come too; and every time it came it damaged somebody. One
trip it 'barked' the Secretary's elbow; the next trip it hurt me in the stomach, and the
third it tilted Bemis's nose up till he could look down his nostrils - he said. The
pistols and coin soon settled to the bottom, but the pipes, pipe-stems, tobacco, and
canteens clattered and floundered after the Dictionary every time it made an assault
on us, and aided and abetted the book by spilling tobacco in our eyes, and water
down our backs."
The Way Station
Each evening, the stage announces its approach to a way station by the driver
blowing a bugle. The way station offers sparse comfort.
"The station buildings were long, low huts, made of sun-dried, mud-colored bricks,
laid up without mortar (adobes the Spaniards call these bricks, and Americans
shorten it to 'dobies). The roofs, which had no slant to them worth speaking of,
were thatched and then sodded or covered with a thick layer of earth, and from this
sprang a pretty rank growth of weeds and grass. It was the first time we had ever
seen a man's front yard on top of his house. The buildings consisted of barns,
stable-room for twelve or fifteen horses, and a hut for an eating room for
passengers. This latter had bunks in it for the station-keeper and a hostler or two.
You could rest your elbow on its eaves, and you had to bend in order to get in at
the door. In place of a window there was a square hole about large enough for a
man to crawl through, but this had no glass in it. There was no flooring, but the
ground was packed hard. There was no stove, but the fire-place served all needful
purposes. There were no shelves, no cupboards, no closets. In a corner stood an
open sack of flour, and nestling against its base were a couple of black and
venerable tin coffee-pots, a tin teapot, a little bag of salt, and a side of bacon.
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By the door of the station keeper's den, outside, was a tin wash-basin, on the
ground. Near it was a pail of water and a piece of yellow soap, and from the eves
hung a hoary blue woolen shirt, significantly - but this latter was the stationkeeper's private towel, and only two persons in all the party might venture to use it
- the stage-driver and the conductor."
"Riding The Overland Stage, 1861," Eyewitness to History,
www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998).
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Name:
Date:
Tips for Stagecoach Travelers’1 Activity Sheet
Imagine you are on board a stagecoach going from Portland to Sacramento and are
keeping a diary of each day’s events along the way. Your trip will take six days
and nights. In the space below, make five brief entries into your diary telling how
you and your fellow passengers are obeying, or not obeying, the rules outlined in
Tips for Stagecoach Travelers.
My diary of the stagecoach trip
Entry 1:
Entry 2:
Entry 3:
Entry 4:
Entry 5:
1
This is an abridged, edited version of Tips for Plains Travelers, which appeared in an 1877 column of the Omaha
Herald. Wells Fargo never published any such set of regulations. These tips were based on eyewitness accounts of
stagecoach travel and common rules of late nineteenth-century American etiquette.
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How Fast did the Stagecoach Travel?
Distance
Time = ----------Rate
Using the math formula above, have students figure out how long it took the
stagecoach to travel 2,800 miles from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA traveling
at 5 miles per hour.
Time (in hours) = 2,800 (distance from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA)
-----------------------------------------------------------------5 miles per hour (rate)
The answer should be 560 hours. How many days would this be?
Now, have students figure out how long it would take to travel 2,800 miles today
from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA traveling at 65 miles per hour.
Time (in hours) = 2,800 (distance from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA)
------------------------------------------------------------65 miles per hour (rate)
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Art and Stagecoach Travel
Have students answer the questions below. Then, have students choose one of the
two drawings, name it, and use the six trait writing process
(http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/pdfRubrics/6plus1traits.PDF) to write a story
about it.
1. What is your first impression of each sketch?
2. The point of entry into a painting or sketch is called the focal point. How does
the artist draw you into the picture? Where does your eye start to look first, and
where does it move throughout the painting?
3. How are these sketches similar? How are they different?
4. What does each sketch tell us about how fast the stagecoach traveled?
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Visit Activities
Before the students go on the fieldtrip, have the bus driver drive the bus at five
miles per hour in order to show the students how fast the stagecoach traveled.
While visiting the museum, students will choose one painting, illustration, or
artwork about the stagecoach that grabs their attention and answer the following
questions:
1. What do you like about this work of art?
2. Why did you choose this work of art?
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Songs of Stagecoach Travel
If possible, go to the local library and find some songs of travel for students to
listen to. Possible recordings are:
Music Man [sound recording]: recording, book, music and lyrics by Meredith
Wilson. Includes the “Wells Fargo Wagon.”
Songs of the Wild West. Commentary by Alan Axelrod; arrangements by Dan Fox.
Songs of the Trail compiled by Ron Middlebrook
Below is an example of a song about Wells Fargo. Now, that you have learned
about stagecoach travel, write a song or poem about the stagecoach. It can go to
the tune of any song you like from rap to hip-hop, rock, pop, folk, etc.
The Wells and Fargo Line
Come listen to my story, I’ll not detain you long,
A-singing and a-humming this simple silly song.
‘Tis of the old ex-convicts, the men who served their time
For robbing mountain stages on the Wells and Fargo line.
Oh, there was Major Thompson, turned up the other day,
He said that he would hold them up or the devil would be to pay.
For he could hold a rifle and draw a bead so fine
Upon those shotgun messengers of the Wells and Fargo line.
And there was Jimmy Miner who thought he was a thief,
But he did surely prove himself to be a dirty sneak;
And now behind San Quentin’s walls he’s serving out his time,
For giving tips to old Jim Hughes on the Wells and Fargo line.
And there was still another who well did play his part;
He’s known among the mountains as the highwayman, Black Bart.
He’d ride the trail both night and day
For the Wells and Fargo treasure.
And now my story’s ended, I’ve not detained you long,
A-singing and a-humming this simple silly song.
And though the nights are long, boys, and weary grows the time,
But when we are out we’ll ride again the Wells and Fargo line.
*Taken from Songs of the Wild West. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1991, pp. 104105.
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Poetry in Motion – Stagecoach Haiku
Haiku is form of Japanese poetry that uses a pattern to describe nature.
The pattern for Haiku is the following:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
Directions:
1. Brainstorm words that describe nature such as: trees, mountains, the wind,
dust, etc.
2. Make sure that you include some aspect of travel on the stagecoach.
3. Narrow down your choice of words.
4. Count the syllables to follow the 5-7-5 syllable pattern.
5. Illustrate your haiku with a drawing.
Example:
Dust swelling around
Sitting and Jostling inside
Finally, Portland
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Stagecoach Advertisement, 1867
Look at the advertisement on the next page to answer the following questions.
1. What symbol is used in this advertisement?
2. What is the date on the advertisement?
3. How many towns did the stagecoach stop in? Using a modern day map, locate
as many of these stops as you can.
4. Who might read this advertisement?
5. How long did it take to travel from Portland to Sacramento?
6. How much did it cost to travel from Portland to Sacramento?
7. How did the advertisement persuade you that riding the stagecoach was the best
way to travel?
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What’s
The
Buzz?
Send secret messages with a
TELEGRAPH you make yourself.
I
n 1837, Samuel Morse invented a
telegraph, a way to send electrical
signals through wire over long distances. He used a system of dots and
dashes, known as Morse code, to
represent letters.
Now you can also use Morse code
with a telegraph you build yourself.
Here’s how:
YOU’LL NEED:
(2) 8-inch-square pieces of wood,
about 1 inch thick
(4) 1-inch-square blocks of wood,
about 3⁄4 inch thick
sandpaper
paint (optional)
(2) metal fingernail files
(2) 9-volt batteries
bell wire (60- to 100-foot package)
(10) 2 1⁄4-inch alligator clips (6 black,
4 red)
(2) holders for miniature threaded
light bulbs
(2) 7.5- to 9-volt bulbs
(2) 12-volt buzzers
(2) 1-inch nails
white glue
electrical tape
wire strippers or paring knife
small hammer
small screwdriver
(Note: Items that aren’t lying around
your house can be found at hardware or
electronics stores.)
STEP 1: Sand rough wood.
Paint if desired.
STEP 2: Glue the fingernail
file between two of the small
USING YOUR TELEGRAPH
blocks of wood. The pointed
3
end should overhang about ⁄4
inch.
Repeat for second file. Set
aside.
STEP 3: Attach the 1-inch nails
to each 8-inch board about 1
inch from the outer side’s center. The
1 nail should stick out
about ⁄2 inch.
STEP 4: Tape the batteries to
the boards with electrical tape.
They should be diagonal from
each other on the boards’
inner sides.
STEP 5: Attach the buzzers.
They should be on the opposite sides of the batteries toward the center.
STEP 6: Attach alligator clips
to the red and black wires
coming out of the buzzer. The
red clip attaches to the red
wire (the positive charge),
while the black clip goes with
the black wire (negative).
To attach: Remove the insulated cover from the clip’s handle. Thread the bare wire (it
should already be stripped)
through the cover, through
the handle and around the
screw. Tighten the screw and
slide the cover back into place.
These will be your No. 1
wires.
STEP 7: Decide on the distance between the telegraph
sets and cut four pieces of wire
that length. Use wire
1 strippers
to remove about ⁄2 inch of insulation from the ends.
STEP 8: Attach lamp bases
next to the inside corners of
the boards, opposite the batteries.
STEP 9: Attach two wires to
STEP A: Connect Set 1 to Set 2.
Clip the red buzzer wire to the
outside screw on the lamp base.
Clip the No. 2 wire (with the red
alligator clip) to the positive (+)
battery terminal.
STEP B: Clip the black buzzer
wire to the inside screw on the
lamp base. Clip the No. 3 wire
(with the black clip) to the pointed end of the nail file.
STEP C: Repeat these steps to
connect Set 2 to Set 1.
the outside screws of the lamp
bases. Fasten the red alligator
clips to the ends of the wires.
These will be your No. 2
wires.
STEP 10: Attach two wires to
the inside screws of the lamp
bases, and fasten the black alligator clips to the ends. These
will be your No. 3 wires.
STEP 11: Cut two 8- to 10-inch
wires and strip the insulation
from the ends. Wrap one end
of one wire around each nail,
and secure with electrical
tape. Attach a black alligator
clip to the other end and clip
to the negative (-) battery terminal.
These will be your No. 4
wires.
STEP 12: Glue the block-andnail-files to the center of each
board so that the round end of
the file is above the nail.F
—Kathy Walsh Deady
Jim Frazier (2)
Courtesy of BOYS’ LIFE magazine
A
WWW.BOYSLIFE.ORG
Using Morse Code
On May 24, 1844, Samuel F .B. Morse sent the first telegraph
message through a wire between Baltimore and Washington, DC. This
marked the beginning of communication as we know it today. The telegraph
itself works using a very simple electronic circuit; the difficulty came in the
construction of the wires needed to transport the signal. After the discovery
of gold in California and the need for fast, long distance communication, a
transcontinental telegraph line was completed in 1861.
International Morse Code
A •—
N —•
B —•••
O ———
C —•—• P •——•
D —••
Q ——•—
E •
R •—•
F ••—•
S •••
G ——•
T —
H ••••
U ••—
I ••
V •••—
J •——— W •——
K —•—
X —••—
L •—••
Y —•——
M ——
Z ——••
Can you decode this message? The / divides the letters.
—•—•/•—••/••/——/—•••
____________________________________
•—/—•••/———/•—/•—•/—••/
—/• • • • / •
___________________________________________________________
• • • / — / • — / — — • / • / — • — • / — — — / • —/ — • — • / • • • •
_______________________________________________________________
Write your own message in Morse code below.
_____________________________________________________________
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Vocabulary List
Argonaut
gold seekers of 1848-49 were named after the Argo, the ship on
which Jason sailed in his search from the Golden Fleece,
according to Greek mythology
Boot
front and back leather containers, resembling the toe of a boot,
which are attached to the body of a stagecoach to hold treasure
boxes and luggage
Emigrant
a person who has departed from a country to settle elsewhere
Eureka
Greek for “I have found it!” The word later became
California’s official motto.
Express
Company
A company that provides the service of receiving and
delivering mail, parcels and money. Fed Ex and UPS are
examples of present day express companies.
Forty-Niners
nickname for miners who arrived in California in 1849.
Greenback
name for paper currency with a green back first issued during
the 1860’s by the United States government.
Hydraulic
water power used to mine gold by building pressure through the
force of gravity.
Morse Code
a code consisting of variously spaced dots and dashes or long
and short sounds used for transmitting messages by audible or
visual signals.
Nugget
a lump of precious metal such as gold. Gold dust is made of
fine particles, not lumps.
Panning
a method for finding gold by using a metal pan in the water to
separate god from sand and gravel
Poke
leather bag used to hold gold dust and gold nuggets
Pony Express
a rapid postal and express system that operated across the West
in 1860-1861 by relays of horses and riders.
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Pyrite
a common mineral that consists of iron and sulfur. It has a
brass-yellow color and metallic luster. Pyrite was frequently
mistaken for gold and gained the nickname Fool’s Gold.
Rocker
wooden box rocked back and forth to separate gold from rock
and dirt; sometimes it is called a cradle because of its
resemblance to a baby’s cradle.
Stagecoach
a coach or vehicle that travels long distances in segments or
“stages”
Staking a Claim
the way a gold miner claimed land and water areas that might
contain gold. The claim was marked with wooden or metal
stakes and sometimes even with piles of rocks on at least two
corners.
Telegraph
a system for communication at a distance by electric
transmission over a wire.
Thoroughbraces
suspension system on the stagecoach. Leather shock absorbers
located underneath a stagecoach to make the ride more
comfortable.
Treasure Box
wooden container with iron bands and padlock used to hold
bags of gold nuggets and gold dust.
Troy
name of the unit of measurement used to weigh the four
precious metals: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium; there are
12 Troy ounces in a Troy pound.
Whip
name given to a stagecoach driver who used the sound of a
cracking whip to encourage the horses to move. The driver did
not hit the horses with the whip.
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Name:_________________________________________Date:______________
Vocabulary Activity Worksheet
Find the word that would best fit the meaning of the following sentences.
1. What you might say when you find your missing sneaker____________________
2. Where you would put the luggage in the car_______________________________
3. A tool miners used during the Gold Rush to separate gold from dirt___________
4.The scientific name for fool’s gold________________________________________
5. Another name for a stagecoach driver_____________________________________
6. The first long distance communication____________________________________
7. What gold was usually transported in_____________________________________
8. A simple method of mining for gold______________________________________
9. Another method of mining for gold that uses water_________________________
10. A mode of transportation used by Wells Fargo____________________________
Now write your own sentences for these words
1. Morse Code_____________________________________________________
2. Nugget__________________________________________________________
3. Pony Express_____________________________________________________
4. Poke____________________________________________________________
5. Emigrant________________________________________________________
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Post Tour Classroom Activities
*
Describe the differences and similarities between a Concord stagecoach and
today’s automobile.
*
Illustrate a brochure to show gold miners what equipment they would need
and how to use it.
*
Create the name of a mining camp and describe how it got that name.
*
Write a letter to a friend back east describing your trip on the stagecoach.
*
Discuss the services that miners needed in the mining camps. Design a
mining camp and include stores and offices for necessary services.
*
Try your hand at Western art by creating an illustration of a scene you would
find in Oregon during the 1870’s.
*
List three ways Oregon changed as a result of the Gold Rush.
*
Write a convincing argument that explains why going to California to search
for gold is a good idea.
*
Write a story of Oregon, stagecoaches, mining for gold or being a
Wells Fargo Messenger, and draw an illustration to accompany it.
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Children’s Books of Interest
Picture books
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Charlie Drives the Stage by Eric Kimmel (Glen Rounds illustrated). This is
a fictional story of a female stagecoach driver, probably based on Charlie
Parkhurst.
Nine to California by Sonia Levitin. Amanda travels by stagecoach from
Missouri to California with her four siblings and mother to join her father.
Fiction
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•
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Jo and the Bandit by Willo Davis Roberts. En route to stay with her uncle in
Texas in the late 1860s, twelve-year-old Jo experiences a stagecoach robbery
and becomes involved with a reluctant young outlaw aiming to change his
ways.
By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleishman. Jack and his aunt's butler stow
away aboard a ship bound for California and the promise of gold.
Seeds of Hope by Kristiana Gregory. A fictional diary account of fourteenyear-old Susanna Fairchild's life in 1849, when her father succumbs to gold
fever on the way to establish his medical practice in Oregon after losing his
wife and money on their steamship journey from New York.
The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung by Laurence Yep. A young Chinese boy
nicknamed Runt records his experiences in a journal as he travels from
southern China to California in 1852 to join his uncle during the Gold Rush.
Nonfiction
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Outrageous Women of the American Frontier by Mary Rodd Furbee.
Includes Charlie Parkhurst (p. 62-67)
Stagecoach: the Ride of the Century by Richard Mansir. Includes diary
excerpts from children.
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