Patee (PAY-tee) House was the business headquarters of the Pony Express and now has a museum. Info:
http://www.ponyexpressjessejames.com This pole, insulator and attachments are from the Transcontinental Telegraph line that replaced the Pony Express in 1861.
Poles were cut from whatever was available--sometimes short and crooked trees. The wire was galvanized iron. (A few weathered stumps remain in eastern NV.)