Friday, November 11, 2022
First Train Robbery On The Pacific Coast
On the morning of November 5, 1870, news was flashed around the civilized world that the Overland Express train which left San Francisco, California the previous morning, carrying gold to the miners at Virginia City, Nevada had been “held up” and robbed near Verdi, a station about ten miles west of Reno, and that over $40,000 had been taken from the Wells-Fargo strongbox by masked heavily armed men. This being the first train robbery on the Pacific Coast, it almost took away the public breath, and for a while caused great excitement and much newspaper comment on two continents.
