Golden spike
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- This article is about a historical event, for information on "golden spikes" in geology: See GSSP.
The golden spike was the last (ceremonial) railroad spike, driven by Leland Stanford, to mark the completion of the world's First Transcontinental Railroad, when the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads met on May 10, 1869 at Promontory, Utah in Box Elder County in the northern Utah Territory (now part of the State of Utah). Contrary to popular belief, the spike was not actually pure gold; it was made of an alloy of different metals, as the softness of pure gold would not be able to resist the impact of a sledgehammer.
History
Completing the last link in the Transcontinental Railroad with a spike of gold was due to David Hewes, a San Francisco financier and contractor who was also Stanford's wife's brother-in-law. The spike had been manufactured earlier that year especially for the event by the William T. Garratt Foundry in San Francisco. A special tie of pre-bored polished California laurel was chosen to complete the line where the spike would be driven. The ceremony was originally to be held on May 8, but it was postponed for two days because of bad weather and a labor dispute that delayed the arrival of the Union Pacific delegation.On May 10, in anticipation of the ceremony, Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific No. 60 (better known as the Jupiter) locomotives were drawn up face-to-face on Promontory Summit, separated only by the width of a single tie. As many as 3,000 government and railroad officials and track workers were present to witness the event.
Before the last spike was driven, three other commemorative spikes, presented on behalf of the other three members of the "Big Four" who did not attend the ceremony, had been driven in the pre-bored laurel tie:
- a second gold spike, supplied by the San Francisco News Letter;
- a silver spike, supplied by the State of Nevada;
- a blended iron, silver and gold spike, supplied by the Arizona Territory.
With the locomotives drawn so near, the crowd pressed so closely around Stanford and the other railroad officials that the ceremony became somewhat disorganized, leading to varying accounts of the actual events. The Central Pacific's Chinese laborers were specifically excluded from the festivities. To drive the final spike, Stanford lifted a silver hammer and drove the spike into the tie, completing the line.
Immediately afterwards, the golden spike and the laurel tie were removed and replaced with a regular iron spike and normal tie. At exactly 12:47 p.m., the last iron spike was driven, finally completing the line. Stanford and Hewes missed the spike, but the single word "done" was nevertheless flashed by telegraph around the country. In the United States, the event has come to be considered one of the world's first nationwide media events.
After the ceremony, Stanford presented the golden spike to Hewes, who in turn donated it to the Stanford Museum in 1898. The last laurel tie was destroyed in the fires caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Aftermath
Although the Promontory event marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad line, it did not actually mark the completion of a seamless coast-to-coast rail network. Because no railroad bridge yet existed over the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska, passengers were required to cross the river by boat until 1872. The coast-to-coast rail link was completed in the meantime in August, 1870 in Strassburg, Colorado by the completion of the Denver extension of the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
In 1942, the old rails over Promontory Summit were salvaged for the war effort - the event was marked by a ceremonial "undriving" of the last iron spike. The original event had been all but forgotten except by local residents, who erected a commemorative marker in 1943. The years after the War saw a revival of interest in the event; the first re-enactment was staged in 1948.
In 1957, Congress established the Golden Spike National Historic Site to preserve the area around Promontory Summit as closely as possible to its appearance in 1869. The site contains working replicas of the locomotives present at the original ceremony, which are drawn up face-to-face each Saturday during the summer for a re-enactment of the event.
On May 10 2006, on the anniversary of the driving of the spike, Utah announced that its state quarter design would be a representation of the driving of the spike.
Facts about the Golden Spike
- contains 17.6 carat (73%) gold, alloyed with copper;
- total weight: 14.03 troy ounces (436 g);
- has clearly visible nicks where Stanford drove it with the silver sledgehammer;
- is engraved on all four sides:
- * "The Pacific Railroad ground broken Jany. 8th 1863, and completed May 8th 1869."
- *"Directors of the C. P. R. R. of Cal. Hon. Leland Stanford. C. P. Huntington. E. B. Crocker. Mark Hopkins. A. P. Stanford. E. H. Miller Jr."
- *"Officers. Hon. Leland Stanford. Presdt. C. P. Huntington Vice Presdt. E. B. Crocker. Atty. Mark Hopkins. Tresr. Chas Crocker Gen. Supdt. E. H. Miller Jr. Secty. S. S. Montague. Chief Engr."
- *"May God continue the unity of our Country, as the Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world. Presented by David Hewes San Francisco."
External links
- [Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Driving the Last Spike]
- [Fort Odgen web site showing reenactment]
- [Utah History Encyclopedia]
- [Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum]
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