Wells Fargo was such a successful shipping and mail company that they surpassed the USPS in both cost and efficiency. The government actually stepped in and mandated that WF would still need to pay the USPS It's due in order to keep that branch of the government equitable. It's main rival was the Adams Express Co. They were the Fedex and UPS of their day. Interesting facts about Adams Express. They lost credibility in the Western States due to the Page Bacon bank crash of 1855 so they re-emerged as the Pacific Express Co. They did something similar in the Southern States during the ACW by rebranding those branches as The Southern Express Company.