Benjamin Franklin Ficklin

Benjamin Franklin Ficklin (1827–1871) was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Class of 1849. He is famous for his help in starting the Pony Express and for establishing other stage coach and mail routes in the United States during the nineteenth century. Ficklin was also one of the people responsible for the creation of the Pacific Telegraph Company in 1861.

Born in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1827, Ficklin had a reputation for misbehaving. So in 1845, his father sent young Ficklin to attend the Virginia Military Institute. As a cadet, Ficklin was known for his pranks, and he often got in trouble for them. One night, he filled a howitzer with gunpowder, turned it toward the cadet barracks, and discharged it (Virginia Military Institute Archives, 2005). This action resulted in his suspension in 1846.

With his suspension, Ficklin entered the Army. He ultimately served as a corporal in the Mexican-American War, where he was injured but recovered. Ficklin requested to be readmitted into the corps of cadets at the Virginia Military Institute, and his request was approved. Upon graduation, Ficklin attempted to work as a teacher. Dissatisfied, he sought employment with an express company in Alabama. Later, he worked as a surveyor for varied freight lines.

Ficklin was ubiquitous at a number of important moments during the Utah War, including the raid on Fort Limhi which signaled Deseret's demise.

In 1859, Ficklin returned to the express and stage business which now boomed with the western expansion precipitated in the wave of Gold Rush fever. In 1860, some credit him with the idea of the Pony Express. Yet, William Hepburn Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell are more often credited as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express. Ficklin did serve as general manager for the venture, until a disagreement with Russell. Russell allegedly became jealous of Ficklin’s popularity and suspicious of Ficklin’s loyalties. Learning of this, Ficklin immediately resigned.

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