Last updated: May 23, 2025
Place
Guittard Pony Express Station
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Historical marker 39° 54.694′ N, 96° 25.588′ W, near Beattie, Kansas, in Marshall County, 21st Road, 0.8 miles north of Granite Road, on the right when traveling north. Marker is about 3.5 miles north of Beattie.The location of Guittard Station is on private property (just to the southeast of here). No remnants of the station exist.
Significance:
This location became a relay station for the famous Pony Express in 1860 as part of its mail dispatch between Missouri and California.
Designation:
Pony Express Relay Station
MANAGED BY:
The location of Guittard Station is on private property (just to the southeast of here). No remnants of the station exist.
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Pony Express Kansas No. 11 Relay Station
(Gautard’s / Guittard / Gutard / Vermillion Creek)
"We spanned the prairie to Guittard’s Station, on the far Saddle Up side of a shady, well-wooded creek, the Vermillion… at Guittard For dinner… the ham and eggs, and hot rolls and coffee were fresh and good, and although drought had killed the salad, we had abundance of peaches and cream, an offering of French to American taste."
- Richard F. Burton 1860
In 1859 George Guittard built a 12-room, two story lodge to accommodate the needs of more and more people passing through by wagon, coach, and horseback. Guittard Station served as an inn to refresh travelers, sell supplies and water, graze and shelter animals, and aid in repairing wagons and coaches.
This location became a relay station for the famous Pony Express in 1860 as part of its mail dispatch between Missouri and California. The station had two stables with over 20 horses. Mounts were prepared for riders, saddled and ready. A fresh horse, water, and food made Guittard Station a welcome stop after a fast ride across the rolling green prairie.
Guittard Station became a thoroughfare for Russell, Majors, and Waddell’s Pony Express and their Overland stage line; and the Ft. Leavenworth to Fort Kearny Military Road.
About George Guittard
George Guittard, a former French magistrate, came to America in 1833. He journeyed west in 1857 with his family of five, traveling by rail to St. Louis, by river steamer to St. Joseph, and by ox team to Kansas. Their ranch on Vermillion Creek (Robidoux) became the first permanent settlement in northeast Marshall County. Son Xavier served as postmaster for 42 years. He distributed mail through pigeon holes inside the west entrance of Guittard Station.
Site Information
Location (Historical marker 39° 54.694′ N, 96° 25.588′ W, near Beattie, Kansas, in Marshall County, 21st Road, 0.8 miles north of Granite Road, on the right when traveling north. Marker is about 3.5 miles north of Beattie.)
The location of Guittard Station is on private property (just to the southeast of here). No remnants of the station exist.