Stagecoach (Book 1: Wells Fargo and the American West; Book 2: Wells Fargo and the Rise of the American Financial Services Industry)

Great history on not only Wells Fargo but the early growing west. Very well written.

Wells, Fargo and Co., the freighting and banking company, got its start in 1852 at the height of the Gold Rush period in California. It bought out a number of smaller stagecoach lines running between towns and mining camps in the gold fields and eventually established a monopoly in the business in the area. To finance its business ends, the company also started a banking business, with profits being obtained from the gold dust being shipped from the gold fields on its stagecoaches. Packages, gold, mail, and finally passengers were soon being hauled throughout central California and points east by Wells Fargo stages. The company was also very involved with the Overland Mail Company, operating all its express services west of Salt Lake, and even administered to the fabled Pony Express along its route across the central plains for a few years before its demise. With the coming of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, Wells Fargo was able to expand its express business while the stagecoach operations disappeared. Philip Fradkin tells the story of the Wells Fargo company superbly and with careful attention to historical accuracy. He relates many stories of stagecoach holdups, of what it was like traveling by stage in the West, and what the stage stations were like - all told with flair and excitement. And the business operations of the company, especially after the merger with the American Express Company and into the twentieth century, are explained fully without becoming deadly dull. Fradkin's scholarship is praiseworthy in his use of original source material, especially company records and the files of the Wells Fargo Historical Services department. It's an enjoyable book and is the definitive book on the company today.