Founded: March 18, 1852, in New York City
Founders: Henry Wells, William G. Fargo, and associates
Opened for Business: July 13, 1852 in San Francisco and Sacramento, California

Full Biography Available: Click Below.

Henry Wells

William Fargo

Wells, Fargo & Co. directly ran stagelines only from 1866 to 1869, from Nebraska to California, and north from Utah into Montana and Idaho. Wells Fargo’s files of stage drivers is far from complete, and mostly list drivers in California and Oregon. There is also some information on drivers of the Cal-Oregon stageline that carried Wells Fargo's express.

For most of Wells Fargo’s staging history, independent locally run stage lines carried the express. These stagelines advertised in their town’s business directories and newspapers, which are usually available at state and county historical societies and special libraries.

There were many Wells Fargo wagon drivers who delivered for the Company in small towns and big cities until 1918. However, there is no comprehensive list of them. Again, state and county historical societies will have the best resources.

First check for information in state and county historical societies and special libraries. Contemporary newspaper accounts of robberies were often very detailed, in contrast to Wells Fargo’s brief and business-like notes.

The Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, USA sells a very nice set of plans for building a model stagecoach. You may write to them directly at:

Oregon Historical Society Press
1200 Southwest Park Ave.
Portland, OR 97205-2483
www.ohs.org ... for plans, Contact Ivan Collins (503) 222-1741

Important: The name “Wells Fargo” and any representation of a stagecoach with “Wells Fargo” or variations on it is our corporate symbol and a registered trademark. Please do not use the Wells Fargo Stagecoach commercially or publicly without permission.

Although we do not offer value appraisals (see your area antiques dealers) we will provide what information we can if you send us a picture and say whatever you know about the item. (see contact us).

For further information, you may check the book by James Bartz, Company Property, (the Westbound Stage, 1993) http://www.westboundstage.com

From about the 1960s to today there have been many items produced as souvenirs. Among them are:

Wells Fargo-marked belt buckles (often marked on the back as "Made by Tiffany"), chest badges, bowie knives, brass body tags, and stagecoach plates. There are also many items with a brass shield saying “Property of Wells Fargo San Francisco Division,” often attached to an actual antique.

None of these were made by or for Wells Fargo.

In the 1970s, Wells Fargo issued a commemorative belt buckle and a commemorative star-shaped badge. They are marked on the back as copyrighted by Wells Fargo and Company.

... and Wells Fargo shotguns?

This is only a copy. It is on brown, parchment-like paper, with only black ink, and in the lower corner in small type are the “non-negotiable.” It was part of a pack of reproductions made by a museum store supply company some years ago.

1849 ~ Gold Rush
1852 ~ Wells Fargo & Co. founded
1858 ~ (Butterfield) Overland Mail Co. begins transcontinental stagecoach service
1860 ~ Pony Express
1866 ~ Wells Fargo's owned and operated stagelines
1869 ~ Transcontinental Railroad completed
1888 ~ Nationwide "Ocean-to-Ocean" service
1905 ~ Wells Fargo & Co.’s bank merges with Nevada National Bank of San Francisco
1906 ~ San Francisco earthquake and fire
1918 ~ Wells Fargo out of express business
1923 ~ Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank merges with Union Trust Company of San Francisco
1960 ~ Wells Fargo Union Trust Company merges with American Trust Company of San Francisco
1986 ~ Wells Fargo Bank merges with Crocker Bank
1996 ~ Wells Fargo Bank merges with First Interstate Bank
1998 ~ Wells Fargo Bank merges with Norwest Corp. of Minnesota

These bars were not produced by Wells Fargo and most are actually not silver.

There is a very popular myth about currency and large amounts of gold or silver in the Philippines left by Wells Fargo. Dates Vary, documentation varies, but beware of this scam, people try to sell the rights to this “treasure” that never existed, and is completely fabricated.