By Michael Bushnell
Northeast News
April 13, 2011

Every spring between the years 1841 to 1857 emigrants gathered in towns along the Missouri River and began their long trek westward toward Oregon Territory.

The road was long, arduous, and many did not survive the journey that often lasted into October. Marysville, Kan., was just north of the old Alcove Spring, a major stop along the trail that was near the banks of the Blue River.

In 1852, Frank Marshall, a hotel owner and pro slavery advocate from Weston, Mo., came to the Alcove Spring area and opened a trading post and ferry operation on the future site of Marysville, Kan. It was dubbed Marshall’s Ferry until 1854 when Marshall received a commission to open a post office. It needed a name, however, and the town of Marysville was born, named after Marshall’s wife, Mary.

Marshall was noted as more of a profiteer, often charging $5 for emigrant wagons to cross the Blue River on their way to Oregon. He prospered from the trail trade and ran for governor of the Kansas Territory in 1857 on the pro-slavery ticket.

Marshall left Kansas, however, prior to the beginning of the Civil War for Colorado.

Hardly ready to lapse into the shadows, Marysville would become the first stop on the new overland mail route called the Pony Express. Though it only operated for 18 months, the Pony Express still holds a huge appeal today.

A stone barn built in 1859 by Joseph Cottrell was leased to the Pony Express in 1860 and still stands today. It houses a museum dedicated to the westward expansion and the Pony Express.

This black and white postcard was published in 1908 by F.A. Arand of Marysville and shows an “every-day street scene” in downtown Marysville.