Readers of the Purple Sage Bookstore
Wells Fargo and Co.
Wells Fargo & Company Express [1852-1918]
American Railway Express Agency [1918-1975]
Wells Fargo Bank [split off 1905]
| short history |  |
“May we all remember [that] our lives are not measured by the number of years and days [that] we exist, but by what we
accomplish while we do live, and the good [that] we may render to our fellow man.” — Henry Wells, speech at Yale
s h o r t
h i s t o r y
t e x t
h e r e
Wells Fargo entry at Wikipedia
History of Wells Fargo entry at Wikipedia
Wells Fargo Official History Pages
search for books on keyword 'wells+fargo' {returns 430+ titles} at Amazon
search on keywords 'wells fargo' {returns 50+ movies} at IMDb
Movies & Television About Wells Fargo
"Gun Gospel" [1927] /tt0017956/
Director: Harry Joe Brown | Stars: Ken Maynard, Tarzan the Horse, Virginia Brown Faire, Romaine Fielding
"The Pride of Pawnee" [FBOA 1929] /tt0020288/
Directed by Robert De Lacey starring Tom Tyler + keywords wells fargo & undercover agent
"Courage of The West [1937] /tt0028746/
Rangers go after bandits holding up Wells Fargo offices.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis | Stars: Bob Baker, J. Farrell MacDonald, Lois January, Fuzzy Knight
"The Man From Tascosa" [1939] /tt7180384/ 30-minute short
Director: Mack V. Wright | Stars: Dennis Moore, Louise Stanley, Karl Hackett, Ed Cassidy
"Wyoming Wildcat" [1941] /tt0034404/
Director: George Sherman | Stars: Don 'Red' Barry, Julie Duncan, Frank M. Thomas, Syd Saylor
"Two Fisted Justice" [1943] /tt0036468/ Wells Fargo hires three cowboys to clean up a lawless town.
Director: Robert Emmett Tansey | Stars: John 'Dusty' King, David Sharpe, Max Terhune, Elmer
"Black Hills Express" [1943] /tt0035677/
manager of the Black Hills Division of Wells Fargo is sure that outlaw Lon Walker is the only man tough enough to stop the holdups that are ruining
the company's business • Director: John English | Stars: Don 'Red' Barry, Wally Vernon, Ariel Heath, George J. Lewis
"Gunman's Code" [1946] /tt0038580/
Wells Fargo agents Jack Douglas (Kirby Grant) and Bosco O'Toole (Fuzzy Knight) are sent after a gang of stage robbers.
"The Gentleman From Texas" [1946] /tt0038555/
Wells Fargo sends Johnny Macklin (Johnny Mack Brown) to Rimrock to investigate stage hold-ups and general lawlessness
"Swing, Cowboy, Swing" [1946] /tt0313673/
Western musical written & directed by Elmer Clifton
"Cheyenne" [1947] /tt0039260/
Wells Fargo stagecoaches are being robbed by 'The Poet' and no one can find out who he is
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, Janis Paige, Bruce Bennett
"Crashing Thru" [1949] /tt0041265/
When Ranger Raymond is killed during a stage holdup, Wells Fargo Agent Whip Wilson assumes his identity.
"Cave of Outlaws" [1951] /tt0043392/
The only outlaw survivor of 'The Great Wells Fargo Robbery' is released after 15 years in prison and goes looking for the loot in the caves where it was hidden . . .
"Wells Fargo Gunmaster" [1951] /tt0044203/
Director: Philip Ford | Stars: Allan Lane, Black Jack, Chubby Johnson, Mary Ellen Kay
"Canyon Ambush" [1952] /tt0044471/
A mysterious masked rider and his gang are murdering ranchers and robbing stages; government agent Johnny Mack Brown is called in
to help the Sheriff; he eventually suspects the Wells Fargo Agent ...
"Gun Belt" [1953] /tt0045845/
Outlaw Matt Ringo escapes prison and wants to co-opt his former outlaw brother Billy into robbing a Wells Fargo money shipment,
but Billy has gone straight, the town marshal is Wyatt Earp, and the Clinton gang wants in on the deal.
"Marshals In Disguise" [1954] /tt0047218/
Director: Frank McDonald Stars: Guy Madison, Andy Devine, Anthony Sydes
"7 Men from Now" [1956] /tt0049743/
"A Tale of Wells Fargo" [1956] 30-minute episode /tt0695700/ of Schlitz Playhouse (1951–1959)
Director: Bernard Girard | Stars: Dale Robertson, Helen Westcott, Paul Fix, Stuart Randall
"Tales of Wells Fargo" 6-season TV series [Revue/NBC-TV 1957-62]
 | Six seasons that ran from 1957 to 1962 on NBC-TV; the first five seasons produced 166 30-minute episodes in b&w; the 6th season (1961-62) expanded to a full hour of 34 color episodes; storylines had Wells Fargo Special Agent Jim Hardie chasing down bad guys and solving problems connected with Wells Fargo offices and routes around the Western U.S. • Filmed at Republic Studios and Universal Studios in Hollywood; Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, California; New-hall Ranch in Valencia, California; Old Tucson Movie Ranch and Apacheland Movie Ranch in Arizona; on location at Lone Pine, California; and on the Sierra Railway [est. 1897] in California • Series created by Western author Frank Gruber, James Brooks, Gene Reynolds; produced by Nat Holt (122 episodes 1957-1960), Earle Lyon (70 episodes 1960-1962), and Al C. Ward (10 episodes 1962); starring Dale Robertson; guest actors included Leonard P. Geer, William Demarest, Lory Patrick, actor-stuntman Boyd Stockman, Virginia Christine, Edgar Buchanan, Claude Akins, Lane Bradford, Frank Ferguson, James Seay, |
| Kermit Maynard, John Doucette, John Dehner, John Mitchum, Olan Soule, Hal Needham, Paul Fix, Michael Landon, Lyle Bettger {as John Wesley Hardin}, Penny Edwards, Ray Teal, Frank DeKova, Rusty Lane, Will Wright, Bobby Jordan, Stafford Repp, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., House Peters Jr., Hank Worden, Joyce Meadows, Vito Scotti, X Brands, Glenn Strange, Jim Davis, Chuck Connors, Boyd 'Red' Morgan, Jeanette Nolan {as Ma Dalton}, Robert Vaughn, Jeanne Cooper {as Belle Starr}, Denver Pyle, Whitney Blake, Joe De Santis, Gloria Talbott, George Chandler, King Calder, J. Pat O'Malley, Trevor Bardette, I. Stanford Jolley, James Burke, Whit Bissell, Nestor Paiva, L.Q. Jones, Ed Nelson, Morgan Woodward, Monte Blue, Julian Rivero, Roscoe Ates, Johnny Western, Rico Alaniz, Bob Steele, George Kennedy, Royal Dano {as Cole Younger}, Buddy Ebsen, James Coburn, Richard Devon {as The El Paso Kid}, Harry Lauter, Hugh Beaumont {as Jesse James}, King Donovan, Jack Elam, Kelo Henderson {as Ike Clanton}, Lee Van Cleef, Charles Bronson {as Butch Cassidy}, Allan Lane, Steve McQueen, Tom Neal {as Johnny Reno}, Paul Richards {as Johnny Ringo}, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Nick Adams, Troy Donahue, James Franciscus, Darryl Hickman, Les Johnson {as Tom Horn}, Martin Landau {as 'Doc' Holliday}, Tom Laughlin, Rita Moreno, Luana Patten, Phillip Pine {as Kid Curry}, Ann Rutherford, Warren Stevens {as Clay Allison}, Walter Stocker, Marie Windsor, Cesare Danova, Beverly Garland, Dabbs Greer, Richard Jaeckel, Harry Carey Jr., Yvonne Craig, DeForest Kelley, Sue Ane Langdon, Ziva Rodann, Patrice Wymore, Dan Duryea, Ted de Corsia, Pamela Duncan, Jean Howell, Johnny Mack Brown, Walter Burke, Miriam Colon, Charmienne Harker, Don Kelly {as Bob Dalton}, Linda Leighton, Adele Mara, Don Haggerty, Barbara Luna, John Lupton, Gerald Mohr, egis Toomey, Steve Brodie, Dean Jones, Leonard Nimoy, Albert Salmi, Tom Tully, Lurene Tuttle, Rod Cameron, Lionel Ames, Johnny Crawford, Monte Hale, Norman Willis, Madlyn Rhue, Ellen Corby, Dodie Heath, Sydney Pollack, Jack Nicholson, Warren Oates, Debra Paget, Casey Tibbs, Adam West, Lyle Talbot, Carlos Vera, Ana Maria Majalca, Murvyn Vye, Andy Clyde, Bert Remsen, Guy Stockwell, R.G. Armstrong, Dan Blocker, Stacy Keach Sr., Sheb Wooley, Malcolm Atterbury, Tommy Ivo, Richard Rust, Michael Ansara, Alan Hale Jr., Simon Oakland, Paul Brinegar, Lane Chandler, Mara Corday, Rodolfo Hoyos, Rodolfo Acosta, Eddie Albert, Virginia Field, Howard Keel, Arthur Franz, Robert Roark, Clarence Lung, Jack Mulhall, C. Lindsay Workman, Harold Fong, Monte Montana Jr., John War Eagle, Arturo Feliz, Eddie Little Sky, Wallace Ford, Barton MacLane {as Old Man Clanton}, Lester Dorr, Rex Lease, Jason Robards Sr., Laya Raki, Iron Eyes Cody, Skip Torgerson, Valentin de Vargas, Tina Louise, Carmen Phillips, Burt Brinckerhoff, Gabrielle des Enfants, William Schallert, Fay Spain, Jack Warden, Jack Tornek, Chalky Williams, Cactus Mack, Augie Gomez, Earl Spainard, Albert Cavens, Nancy Crawford, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Carl Pitti, Thalmus Rasulala, Frank Ellis, with gun coach Arvo Ojala • series credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia |
"Tales of Wells Fargo: Best of The First 5 Seasons" DVD Set [2009]
Shout! Factory/Timeless Media b&w DVD [7/2009] 6 disks for $25.23
"Tales of Wells Fargo: Best of The Sixth Season" color DVD Set [2009]
Timeless Media color DVD [10/] 6 disks for $42.99
Timeless Media color DVD set [10/2009] 22 episodes on 6 disks - out of prodn/used
"Tales of Wells Fargo: First & Second Seasons" DVD Set [2011]
Timeless Media b&w DVD set [10/2011] 21+ hours on 6 disks for $13.98
Shout! Factory b&w DVD set in collectible tin box [10/2011] 21+ hours on 6 disks - out of prodn/used
 | "Tales of Wells Fargo" TV series O-scale Electric Train Set [1958] from Louis Marx & Company includes wood-burning 4-4-0 locomotive, tender, passenger coach, and baggage car; small oval of O-guage track; power source not included not found on Amazon (2018) |
 | "Tales of Wells Fargo" TV series O-scale Playset [1958] from Louis Marx & Company tinplate town buildings (music hall, Wells Fargo Bank, general store, Wells Fargo office & stables); corral fencing; plastic figurines in O-scale, including stagecoach, horses, cowboys, Indians, cattle, luggage, cacti not found on Amazon (2018) |
 | "Tales of Wells Fargo" TV series tie-in board game [1959] from Milton Bradley Company for 2-4 players 7 years & up; game is essentially repackaged version of the "Hopalong Cassidy" board game, with the same rules and tokens not found on Amazon (2018) |
Marx 'Tales of Wells Fargo' Playset & Train Set color video (with annoying TV show theme song)
watch video [9/2013 upload; 1:58] online at YouTube
 | "Tales of Wells Fargo" [1958] by Frank Gruber "Here are stories of the men who made the legends, the tough, daring, unbeatable men who drove the bullion-laden coaches on the outlaw-ridden trails" • Eight stories in teleplay format Bantam Books #1726 mass pb [2/1958] out of print/used Corgi Books/Bantam Books mass pb [2/1958] out of print/used |
 | "The Complete Tales of Wells Fargo: The 8-Issue Dell Four-Color Series - Based On The Hit TV Western" [2016] from Dell Publng Co. facsimile reproductions of seven (or eight?) Dell comics issues in 287 pages; NOTE: the Western Clippings fansite lists NINE issues, February 1958 to May 1962 CreateSpace 11x8½ pb [6/2016] for $41.99 |
"Where The Hell's That Gold?!!?" TV movie [1988] /tt0096434/
In 1895, outlaws Cross and Boone are forced to take Mexican authorities to their loot; they travel there on a train full of dynamite with a group of prostitutes, while Indians,
Mexican rebels, and Wells Fargo agents are all after them • Director: Burt Kennedy | Stars: Willie Nelson, Delta Burke, Jack Elam, Alfonso Arau
Books About Wells Fargo
search for books on keyword 'wells+fargo' {returns 430+ titles} at Amazon
 | "Wells Fargo and Danger Station" YA novel [1958] by Sam Allison, Illustrated by Robert L. Jenney Wildside Press 8½x5½ pb [9/2013] for $12.99 Whitman 9x6½ hardcover [1958] out of print/used |
 | "Tales of Wells Fargo: Danger At Dry Creek" YA novel [1959] by Irving Werstein, Illustrated by Al Schmidt A megalomaniacal ex-Army major runs his band of renegades like a military unit and has teamed up with the local Cheyenne; after they raid a Wells Fargo stage station and steal the horses, badly wounding the station master, Wells Fargo investigator Jim Hardie goes undercover to get close to them. Kessinger Publng 9x6 pb [9/2010] for $18.36 Kessinger Publng 9x6 hardcover [9/2010] for $30.36 Golden Press hardcover [1959] out of print/used |
 | "Wells Fargo' Western novel [grades 3-6; 1961] by Ralph Moody, Illustrated by Victor Mays Acclaimed Western writer Ralph Moody tells the exciting story of Henry Wells and his drivers, messengers, riders, accountants, managers, and detectives, and how they built a lasting empire – an action-packed account that readers young and old will enjoy Bison Books 8x5¼ pb [3/2005] for $12.81 Houghton Mifflin 8¾x6 hardcover [1961] out of print/used Houghton Mifflin 8¼x5¼ library hardcover [1961] out of print/used |
 | "Wells Fargo: An Illustrated History" [1968] by Noel M. Loomis - with over 300 illustrations Bramhall House 10x8 hardcover [1968] for $34.95 Clarkson Potter hardcover [1968] out of print/used |
 | "Company Property of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express, 1852-1918" [1993] by James Lynn Bartz Graphics Publng pb [11/93] out of print/used Graphics Publng hardcover [11/93] out of print/used |
 | "Under Cover For Wells Fargo: The Unvarnished Recollections of Fred Dodge" [1998] by Fred Dodge, Edited by Carolyn Lake, Foreword by Neil Morgan Fred Dodge [1854-1938] was a Wells Fargo secret agent for fifty years; editor Lake found these notes among the papers of her father, Western author Stuart N. Lake [1889-1964] Univ Oklahoma Press mass pb [9/99] for $19.95 Univ Oklahoma Press 7¾x5½ hardcover [10/98] out of print/used |
 | "Messenger Twelve" [2000] by James Lynn Bartz
Slave ships and Wells Fargo Express intrigue in Gold Rush-era San Francisco. Westbound Stage hardcover [4/2000] out of print/used |
 | "Stagecoach - Book One: Wells Fargo and The American West by Philip L. Fradkin; Book Two: Wells Fargo and The Rise of The American Financial Services Industry by Andy Anderson" [2002] Foreword by J.S. Holliday
461-page Simon & Schuster 9¼x6½ hardcover [4/2002] for $16.75 Book 1: Kindle Edition from Free Press/Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [4/2002] for $15.99 Book 1: Free Press 8½x5½ pb [3/2003] for $13.95 Book 2 not available separately |
 | "Wells Fargo (Images of America Series)" [2006] by Dr. Robert J. Chandler, PhD Arcadia Publng 9¼x6½ pb [12/2006] for $15.39 Arcadia Publng 9½x6¾ hardcover [12/2006] for $28.99 |
 | "Shotguns and Stagecoaches: The Brave Men Who Rode For Wells Fargo In The Wild West" [2018] by John Boessenecker True stories of the Wild West heroes who guarded the iconic Wells Fargo stagecoaches and trains, battling colorful thieves, vicious highwaymen, and robbers armed with explosives . . . Kindle Edition from Thomas Dunne/Macmillan [10/2018] for $9.99 Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Griffin 9x6¼ pb [5/2020] for $15.99 Thomas Dunne Books 9¼x6½ hardcover [10/2018] for $17.69 |
Works About W.F.X. / R.E.A.
 | "Railway Express Agency: Century of Service" [1939] 20-page brochure published in May 1939 for the New York World's Fair that celebrates the Railway Express Agency's 100 years of service in the United States • excellent photographs of all 20 pages online at RGUS Rail website |
 | "Model Railroading's Guide To The Railway Express Agency: An Overview" [1992] by V.S. Roseman Rocky Mountain Publng 10½x8 pb [5/92] out of print/many used |
 | "Ten Turtles To Tucumcari: A Personal History of The Railway Express Agency" [2003] by Klink Garrett as told to Toby Smith Univ New Mexico Press 9x6 pb [2009] for $28.08 Univ New Mexico Press 8½x6 hardcover [10/2003] out of print/used |
Railway Express Agency Railroad Sign reproduction metal signs
Victory Vintage Signs 12x12" shiny aluminum sign [undated] for $26.00 + $10 s/h via Amazon third party
Victory Vintage Signs 12x12" distressed aluminum sign [undated] for $26.00 + $10 s/h via Amazon third party
Corporate Information
Wells Fargo Bank official website
Wells Fargo Official History Pages
Wells Fargo entry at Wikipedia
History of Wells Fargo entry at Wikipedia
William G. Fargo [1818-81] lived in Buffalo, New York 
co-founder of Wells Fargo & Company in 1852; president of the American Express Company, 1866-1881
entry at Wikipedia
Henry Wells [1805-78], co-founder of American Express Company in 1852
entry at Wikipedia
Image Gallery
L i n k s
Wells Fargo entry at Wikipedia
History of Wells Fargo entry at Wikipedia
Wells Fargo Official History Pages
here on the Wells Fargo & Company [est. 1852] Page at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Online Western Bookstore
top of page • short history • movies about Wells Fargo • books about Wells Fargo •
works about W.F.X./R.E.A. • corporate info • image gallery • links
v v
Online sales in association with 
top of this page back to Readers of the Purple Sage Bookstore homepage