Help Bring the Golden Spike Home!

***Spikes2Utah will soon be featured again nationally, this time in Scholastic News for kids, with over 2 million student readers in classrooms across the country!***


Thank you so much to all those who wrote and submitted letters for Spikes2Utah!  In all, we received 1,098 letters, and they weren't only from Utah!  We received letters from New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado, California, Idaho, Washington, and several more states!  We sent all your letters to Stanford in early June, and received word back that they have the letters and are "looking into the possibilities."  We are very hopeful!

Watch Our Campaign Video!

Major Announcement and Update!

NBC's Nightly News: Kids Edition featured our campaign!

Granite School District's Mini Documentary on Spikes2Utah

Spikes2Utah:  What is this all about?

In 1869, the transcontinental railroad  was completed at Promontory Summit in northern Utah.   Four spikes were used in the ceremony that celebrated the "Wedding of the Rails," including the famous "Golden Spike," or "Last Spike."  People could now travel across the country in a few days instead of over several weeks!  This is a proud part of Utah history.  Where are those four spikes now?  It might surprise you to learn that none of the four spikes or the hammer used in that 1869 ceremony are in Utah!

After the ceremony, the Silver Spike and the maul (hammer) used to tap in the spikes were presented to Leland Stanford, owner of the Central Pacific Railroad.  Some time later, David Hewes, a friend of Leland Stanford who had the Golden Spike made, donated it to the Stanford University Museum in Palo Alto, California, where all three objects remain to this day.  Learn more here!

Submit Your Letter Here!

We invite students of all ages and the general public to join us in this campaign to bring the spikes back to Utah!  You can write your letter by hand and send it to us at Neil Armstrong Academy, Attn:  Spikes2Utah, 5194 Highbury Parkway, West Valley City, Utah, 84120, or you can click the button below and submit a digital letter.  It will go straight to us!  Either way, we will send all the letters to the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University on Friday, May 26.  Make sure to submit your letter before then!

The Spikes2Utah Campaign - A Student-Led Campaign to Bring the Spikes Home

Every aspect of this campaign has been brainstormed, workshopped, and designed by us (the students!).  We are a 4th grade class at a public school in Utah, and we are doing this because we strongly believe the Golden Spike belongs here!  The transcontinental railroad was completed here in Utah, and that was a very important event in Utah's history.  It helped make Utah "The Crossroads of the West"!  We want students in Utah to be able to see the spike as they learn about it.  We want the public to be able to come see this important artifact and learn about its rich history.  If our campaign is successful, the Golden Spike, Nevada Silver Spike, and the Silver Maul will be housed in the new Utah Museum, which is currently under construction, and will be dedicated to honoring Utah's history and heritage.

Where you belong, they belong!

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Special Thanks

While this campaign has been designed and implemented by students, we have received a bunch of help along the way!  We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to the following people and organizations who have helped us in tremendous ways to bring this campaign to life!