The Golden Spike
Posted on May 25, 2008
Filed Under From the road |
Posted by Sierra
Bang! Crash! Boom! Settlers first thought it was a passing storm. But the “storm” didn’t pass for seven years. Even when all was quiet, the sound echoed in the ears of poor, sleepless homesteaders. What was the cause? The Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads were being joined into one long transcontinental railroad.
Many a settler liked the idea of a transcontinental railroad. But one man in California had surveyed a route over the Sierra Nevada and drew up a plan for wealthy Sacramento merchants to build the Central Pacific Railroad. The man’s name was Judah. Theodore Judah.
Shortly after the Central Pacific was built, Congress allowed the builders to continue the railroad farther east. At the same time, Congress allowed another railroad, the Union Pacific Railroad, to build farther west.
Settlers who heard about the railroads decided to connect them. Many supporters rallied around this idea. When they got permission to connect them, they hopped to it.
Workers dwindled to a small number as the Civil War suddenly raged, swallowing up a lot of citizens. Chinese and Irish men were hired, and they toiled hard and strong, working twice as quickly as Americans!
Finally, on May 10, 1869, the last rail was laid down. It was held with four special spikes. The last one was made of gold.
Today, the Golden Spike is at Stanford University. Replicas of all four spikes are at the Golden Spike National Historic Site in Promontory, Utah, which is where the final rail was set.
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interesting