In the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law. It declared that a railroad would be built to connect the United States' east and west coasts and unite the nation. After six years of construction and roughly $100 million in costs, the transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869.
To celebrate the completion of the railroad, a ceremony was held where four special spikes would be driven into a laurelwood tie to mark the occasion. Those were the Golden Spike, The Nevada Silver Spike, The Arizona Spike (an iron spike plated with gold and silver), and a second spike also made of gold.
The transcontinental railroad reduced the travel time between the east and west coasts from months to days. It not only allowed more ease of movement for people, but also for goods and supplies. It transformed the nation! Utah is proud of the part it played in this important chapter of United States history!
Facts about the spikes and the transcontinental railroad
The Arizona Spike recently sold at auction for $2.22 million.
The Golden Spike weighs 14.03 ounces, is 5 5/8 inches long, and is made from 17.6 carat gold.
The Golden Spike is 73% gold, alloyed with copper.
One of the spikes, the second golden spike, is missing. No one knows where it is! Some think it was destroyed in the fires that resulted from the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
The workers who built the transcontinental railroad laid 1,776 miles of track across the Western United States; 690 by the Central Pacific and 1,086 by the Union Pacific.
David Hewes, brother-in-law and friend of Leland Stanford, who owned the Central Pacific railroad, used $400 of his own gold to have the Golden Spike made.
During the ceremony on May 10, 1869, Leland Stanford, owner of the Central Pacific Railroad, made the first swing at the Golden Spike, but missed, hitting a rail instead!
Following the ceremony at Promontory Summit, the Golden Spike was on display for a short while, then returned to Hewes's personal collection. In 1892, he donated it to Stanford University.
Below are pictures Mr. Pendleton took while he was visiting Stanford University with his family. The Golden Spike is beautiful! Behind it on the wall is a picture from the 1939 movie, Union Pacific, in which the joining of the rails was reenacted. Mr. Pendleton was surprised to find that there was no name card identifying the Golden Spike or the silver maul, no plaque explaining what museum patrons were looking at, no acknowledgement of the historical importance of these artifacts. The Silver Spike was in storage and not on display.
This inspired Mr. Pendleton to have his 4th grade students write a persuasive letter to the Cantor Arts Center, as a writing assignment. On the day he started that assignment with his class, he realized that "if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right!" The idea of the letter-writing campaign was born, and it took off from there. Everyone who heard about it was instantly on board and eager to help. Experts and professionals from around the state offered their support and willingness to help in any way they could. We are extremely thankful to them for everything they have done to help the Spikes2Utah campaign move forward!
