Wells Fargo is founded, March 18th, 1852
The company begins in San Francisco, offering both banking and express services to miners. It uses every possible means of transportation—stagecoach, railroad, Pony Express, and steamship—to carry property, mail, and money in its many forms across the West. By 1866, Wells Fargo stagecoaches will cover more than 3,000 miles from California to Nebraska. Their famous green strongboxes, usually carried under the driver’s seat, weigh as much as 150 pounds, and often hold thousands of dollars’ worth of gold dust, gold bars, gold coins, checks, drafts, and currency.