On April 3, 1860, the Overland Pony Express Company began operation when riders simultaneously left St. Joseph, Missouri and San Francisco. The first eastward bound mail, 85 letters at $5 each for postage, traveled by steamboat to Sacramento. The rider left Sacramento at 2:45am on April 4th. Ten days later, the westbound mail completed the approximately 1,800-mile journey when it arrived in Sacramento at the B.F. Hastings building on April 13th, beating the eastbound mail to St. Joseph by two da