1850's
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1850
California was admitted into statehood. The population of immigrants in California at this time was 100,000.
1850
John Butterfield, Henry Wells, William Fargo and several others joined together to form the American Express Company. William Fargo, of Pompey Hill, New York, was the eldest of twelve children and was formerly a freight agent with the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad. He and Henry Wells met while working in the express companies on the East Coast.
1851
Wells, Fargo & Company took over the Reynolds, Todd & Company express. There is very little information available concerning most of the express companies, which appeared in California, and they can only be identified by the hand-stamped franks that bared their names.
1851
Since 1848, the non-native population of San Francisco grew from 800 to more than 30,000. By this time the number of new comers into California was 300,000. They came by clipper ship, steamer, wagon train and on foot to seek their fortune.
1852
Henry Wells and William G. Fargo met in the back room of a bookstore in Syracuse and made their plans for an express office in California. Both were shareholders in the American Express Company, but they were unable to convince their partners about expanding to the west. The two men had some experience in organizing and carrying of parcels on the growing network of eastern railroads. They had read of the excitement of the Gold Rush and conceivably watched as their closest friends departed for the gold fields of California.
March 18, 1852
Wells, Fargo & Company go into business, specifically for the pioneers out west. It was at the historic Astor House in New York that the firm was officially formed. Their proposal was to compete in California with other expresses. Wells, Fargo & Company was formed as a joint-stock association express company with a capitalization of $300,000, divided into 3000 shares with a par value of one hundred dollars per share.
May 20, 1852
Wells, Fargo & Company first public announcement in the New York Times. The directors were as follows: Henry Wells, Johnston Livingston, Elijah P. Williams, Edwin B. Morgan (President), William G. Fargo, James McKay (Secretary), Alphaes Reynolds, Alex M.C. Smith, Henry D. Rice.		click on image for larger version
In recognizing the need for miners and no to mention the enormous profits to be made, Wells Fargo established several express offices in the mining areas of the Mother Lode. Their services were much desired by these miners because of the added convenience that the express office provided. Through the early years, Wells Fargo gained a reputation of reliability, bravery, and excellent customer service. These are the same ideals that the Wells Fargo of today instills in their businesses across the nation. It is often misconceived that Wells Fargo's business began in California. The truth of the matter is that it should rather be regarded as an eastern firm organized to do business in California. Wells Fargo was created to provide banking, express and mail services between the isolated mining camps in California. It would go on to play a pivotal role in helping Americans realize their dreams.
	Wells Fargo was soon recognized as one of the trust worthiest express and banking office. Miners looked to Wells Fargo to deliver their mail and convert gold dust into dollars so they did not have to leave their claim. Claim jumping was a very popular past time, so Wells Fargo, gave these miners a sense of security, otherwise they would have had to collect their mail from the post office in San Francisco. The Stagecoach Empire had begun and Wells Fargo was the front runner. Their only worthy competition in the stagecoach business was the Adams Express Company, but as history tells, they posed no real threat.
Within the Mother Lode Country were mining camps with ingenious names like, Pinch 'Em Tight, Git up & Git, Squabbletown and Jackass Flat. These names are indications of a time that was full of hope and dreams for the future. I'm not sure if any of these names evolved into actual names of towns, one can be sure to include them in their town's history. Beginning in 1852, Wells Fargo opened offices in the Mother Lode, where miners took their nuggets and dust, had them weighed in on precise scales and were provided with receipts. They entrusted the firm with their gold, letters, parcels and various freight, and even sometimes their wives and children. Women were a rarity in the mining towns, so photos containing women are of high value.		Mining Camp in Auburn, CA 1852
June 27, 1852
Samuel P. Carter, head of the express business for Wells, Fargo & Company, arrives in San Francisco on the S.S. Oregon. The reputation of Carter and his banking counterpart Reuben W. Washburn was so trusted by the company that Henry Wells only made one trip to California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama.
July 11, 1852
Reuben Washburn, head of the banking business for Wells, Fargo & Company, arrives in San Francisco on the steamer "Tennessee." And from July 30th on, his offices sent out gold dust and other parcels out of San Francisco with regularity. A problem later arose determining the exact relationship between the express and the banking department of Wells, Fargo & Company. Carter and Washburn shared the same building and advertised together. But within the next two years the two departments were separated. During the summer of 1852, Carter and Washburn partnered up in an attempt to establish statewide organization.		First San Francisco Office
August 1852
Three branches of Wells, Fargo & Company were opened for business in Placer County, others in Sacramento, Benicia, Monterey and San Diego. Before the end of the year there were twelve offices in operation.
Gold Dust 1852
In 1852, the gold dust sold for sixteen dollars an ounce and at the U.S. Mint it sold for eighteen dollars an ounce, and as the middleman between the miners and the federal treasury, Wells, Fargo & Company often made out with a tidy profit. From the purchase and the sale of gold dust the Wells, Fargo firm drifted into general banking such as receiving money for safekeeping and for checking, making collections, attending to execution, recording, and the delivery of valuable papers and documents. This phase of their business grew and continues to exist today, one hundred and fifty years later. Once the exact value of the gold was established, it was placed to the credit of the miner at the branch bank nearest his claim. Soon the banks grew so large that they received their own management apart from the transport functions of the company and separate quarters were established in some areas.
1854
Hunter & Company's Express sold out to Wells, Fargo & Company and Wells acquired an additional twenty-eight stations.
Panic of 1855
The stock market crash that Wells, Fargo & Company survived, where other express and banking offices were not so lucky. Gold production in California was temporarily curtailed because; the demand was higher than the supply. Due to the over extension of credit, many banks were forced to close their doors forever. Wells Fargo's story had a better ending. On Friday, February 23, the San Francisco bank was forced to close its doors and a message posted outside read: "To our depositors -- We have deemed it prudent for the protection of your interests as well as ours, to close our doors today. We shall make such a statement of our affairs and abundant ability to pay, as we trust will satisfy all." Signed Wells Fargo & Company.(2) On Saturday, February 24, Wells Fargo & Company stated "(We) have completed a balance of their accounts this day and find to the credit of their house above every liability of $389,106.23 and only ask of their friends a few days to convert some of their assets to resume payment."(3) On Monday, February 26, the San Francisco doors were re-opened and thus won an enviable fame. In the next few months the Wells Fargo & Company Board of Directors increased the capital of stock of the company from $500,000 to $600,000. Only after three years as a fully functioning bank and express business, the capital doubled. (Starting capital was $300,000). And at the end of 1855, the company published its first financial report, which covered September 1st through December 31st.
November 17, 1856
Credit Discontinued - As a measure of precaution and to elude any more "panic" the central Board in New York City ordered that the lending of the company's funds, the discounting of bills, and the indiscriminate extension of credit be discontinued of their California branches. It would appear that at this time, there was less gold then the demand for it.
1858
Wells Fargo and other express companies formed the Overland Mail Company whose line was also known as the "Butterfield Line" named for the president, John Butterfield. The OMC completed its maiden westbound stagecoach run in twenty-three days and twenty-three hours. Before the opening of the stagecoach route, it took six months to reach California from the eastern states.
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