Smith, Waddell F.

Waddell F. Smith was the proprietor of the Pony Express Museum in San Rafael, California.

From the description of Waddell F. Smith Correspondence, 1958. (University of the Pacific). WorldCat record id: 231696264

Historian, collector. Great grandson of William B. Waddell, member of freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell, founders of Pony Express (1860). This company also organized Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company mail and passenger services. Smith retired from military service (1949) to devote time to study and promotion of Pony Express history. He settled in San Rafael, Calif. and organized a Pony Express History and Art Gallery. Gallery became headquarters for National Pony Express Centennial Association, of which Waddell Smith was President. In this capacity Smith organized and staged a reenactment of a Pony Express run (1960). He published "Stage Lines and Express Companies in California" (1965) and a number of pamphlets, such as "Pony Express versus Wells Fargo Express" (1966).

From the description of Waddell Smith papers, 1925-1950. (University of the Pacific). WorldCat record id: 35133687

Biography

Biographical Narrative

Waddell F. Smith (1899-1970) was a great grandson of William B. Waddell, member of the freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell, founders, owners and operators of the Pony Express. Smith retired from military service in 1949 and fulfilled his lifelong wish to study the history of the Pony Express and correct "misinterpretations of history" crediting Wells Fargo as taking over the Pony Express. He settled in San Rafael, Calif. where he created the Pony Express History and Art Gallery. The Gallery was a part-time headquarters for the Pony Express Centennial Association, of which Smith was founder and President. Waddell Smith wrote Stage Lines and Express Companies in California (1965) and a number of smaller works.

From the guide to the Waddell F. Smith Papers, 1939-1976, (University of California, Davis. General Library. Dept. of Special Collections.)