While we learned about a lot of big things, we also learned about small things. One of the golden spikes, considered the official golden spike, was a gift to Leland Stanford of CP. How did the project come about, and what were its initial goals? The railroad would solve that problem. On May 10, 1869, East met West at the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad across the United States, connecting the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific lines. Several U.S. … The second book is Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, which I authored, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. With the 150th anniversary coming up, many are very pleased that the story of Chinese railroad workers will finally make it into the public’s consciousness, through public events and books and other work that the project has completed. In addition to providing lifelong history lovers, teachers, and students free access to premier digital research, the editors and writers of U.S. History Scene are available for freelance or consulting work. The visitor center is open year-round. We learned what they ate—largely Chinese food. All rights reserved. (Schedule subject to change. They were very proud of their stories and very proud of their ancestors because the railroad is so typically American. Shop The Bradford Exchange Online for Golden Spike Cuckoo Clock. They’re very happy with our project, to make this history known. 1 South Main St. Many of the Chinese communities that sprung up in the 1870s and 1880s and continued on were the result of the railroad workers dispersing across the country and people establishing themselves, and a small number starting families and having native-born Chinese-Americans in the United States. The 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration taking place now in Ogden and at Golden Spike National Historical Park! Chinese laborers made up a majority of the Central Pacific workforce that built out the transcontinental railroad east from California. (The West Auto Tour is a 14-mile round trip, the East Auto Tour is about a 2 mile loop. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the stalemate was broken, and Abraham Lincoln signed a bill in 1862 to authorize federal support for the building of the line. It just seemed to resonate, to be an important symbol of Americanization. We hit your inbox once a month and never abuse your personal information. Visitors to the park can see the location of the Last Spike Site, 1869 railroad construction features, walk or drive on the original railroad grade, and get an up close view of Victorian era replica locomotives. The rails they laid eventually met track set down by the Union Pacific, which worked westward. The Last Spike Ceremony is reenacted every year on the May 10th anniversary, as well as every Saturday and Holiday from May 10th to September, and at the annual Railroader's Festival held the second Saturday … On May 10, 1869, officials of the Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad met here to drive four symbolic spikes (two gold), celebrating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. They were really responsible for building the western portion of the transcontinental railroad, and without them, the railroad might not have been completed, and certainly would not have been completed in the time that it was. 150 years after the completion of … It’s still relatively unknown among the American public. Those who were able to save some money and establish themselves—maybe by starting a store after working on the railroad—were able to marry, either other people in America or Chinese women who came over from China. The crowd cheers as Governor Leland Stanford drives the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah to complete the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Many of the descendants we interviewed were very eager to come forward. On May 10, 1869, the golden spike was hammered in at Promontory, Utah. Small crowds. And so, The Great Race began. I hope that people who are interested will go find those books and learn much more than what we could cover here in this interview—there’s a lot of information that we didn’t cover at all. Slide programs, films, and museum exhibits are available at the visitor center. Big mountains. Utah Travel And we learned that, after the railroad was completed, many of them continued to be railroad workers and went eastward to work on railroad lines throughout the entire country. But a handful did, particularly the managers or supervisors or labor contractors who recruited the workers on to the rail line. But, simultaneously, there arose a movement that saw them as alien threat and an undesirable workforce. ), Working replicas of the 1860's steam locomotives 'Jupiter' and '119' are in operation from May-September. Spikes date back to the first railroads in the 1830s and are still the fastener of choice for most North American railroads. The money these workers earned in the United States was considerably more than what they could earn in China. 435-734-3300 Printer Friendly Version >>>. High quality Golden Spike gifts and merchandise. How do these descendants tend to view the railroad today? Golden Spike 150 ceremony: How Utah celebrated the transcontinental railroad anniversary By Carter Williams, KSL.com | Updated - May 10, 2019 at 2:37 p.m. | Posted - … It’s a passion as well as an intellectual endeavor. You can find essays about the railroad workers, and information about other resources that are available, including school curricula: We worked with other Stanford folks to complete a K-12 curriculum unit that introduces the subject to students. The Last Spike Ceremony is reenacted every year on the May 10th anniversary, as well as every Saturday and Holiday from May 10th to September, and at the annual Railroader's Festival held the second Saturday in August and during the Winter Steam Festival on the last weekend in December. Box Elder County is home to Golden Spike...and a whole lot more. The descendants feel this is a woefully neglected chapter of American history. Much of what we know—or believe we know—about History with a capital H, and American history more generally, are things that we can read in our history books. Major companies in Wayne County included the Pennsylvania Railroad, Erie Railroad, and B&O Railroad. What are some resources for people who want to know more about Chinese railroad workers in North America? What they did was really quite astounding. Recently re-designated as a historical park, visitors to the Golden Spike National Historical Park can see the location of the Last Spike Site, 1869 railroad construction features, walk or drive on the original railroad grade, and get an up close view of Victorian era replica locomotives. This interview has been condensed and edited. You mentioned connections back home. It was also understood, particularly by the boosters who pressed for this line early on, that it would open enormous political and economic potential by linking the East and the West, and by bringing the Far East—Asia—closer to the United States, via shipping lines out of San Francisco. They pressed for its construction over the years, but the sectional conflict—between North and South, the slave states and the northern states—blocked agreement about where the route should go. What could be more American than working on the railroad? Keep up with history and join our newsletter. Golden Spike National Historical Park. Nickel Plate 759 steams through Brewster, Ohio in May of 1969. ), Copyright © 2020 Utah.com. In the late 1950s a tourist attraction, the Golden Spike Railroad Museum, opened many miles away from the Spike site, but close to the nearest highway. Worth - Liberia 20 dollars 2000, History of America - Transcontinental Railroad "Golden Spike" in the coin catalog at uCoin.net - International Catalog of World Coins. Did these Chinese railroad workers build communities in the United States? What didn’t you expect to learn? Presented that day were two golden spikes, a silver spike, and a spike made of both gold and silver. It was at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, that Leland Stanford drove The Last Spike (or golden spike) that joined the rails of the transcontinental railroad. In this interview, he reflects on the history of the first transcontinental railroad and discusses how he and colleagues have worked to bring the histories of Chinese railroad workers to light. There were Chinese railroad workers as far away as Tennessee or Alabama or New York, even out to Long Island, in the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s. What happened to these workers after the railroad was completed? Why was the role of Chinese railroad workers something that had to be recovered? I’d studied and had written about those issues extensively in my earlier career, and finally, in 2012, I had a chance to co-found and co-direct this project, to recover the history of Chinese railroad workers. They became known as the go-to railroad workers, since they had experience and were good workers. This book tells the story from beginning to end, as well as describing what this experience means for us today. The driving of this final golden spike represented a new era in connecting people, moving goods, and igniting America’s … It would link, literally, New York City with San Francisco—the two great harbors in North America. On May 10, 1869, officials of the Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad met here to drive four symbolic spikes (two gold), celebrating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. The original legislation granted each railroad 6,400 acres and up to $48,000 in government bonds for each mile completed. Why did the United States build a transcontinental railroad, and why did it do so at this moment, in the late 1860s? It was engraved on all four sides, including the names of the railroad officers and directors along with start and end dates of construction. There was already an extensive rail system, particularly in the North, before the Civil War, but this rail line would give the North even greater advantages. Union Pacific, starting from Council Bluffs, Iowa, built west, laying more than a thousand miles of rail; Central Pacific, starting from Sacramento, California, built east, laying nearly seven hundred miles of track. Central Pacific workforce that built out the transcontinental railroad’s completion is a once-in-a-lifetime transcontinental railroad golden spike taking place now Ogden. 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