What was so special about the Golden Spike?

Otherwise known as the Golden Spike Ceremony, this historic event not only celebrates the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, named the Pacific Railroad, but it also recognizes the significance of the immigrant workforce that helped the nation accomplish what many believed was impossible.



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One hundred and fifty years ago on May 10, 1869, university founder Leland Stanford drove the last spike that marked the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

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On July 15, 1923, President Warren Harding drove the “Golden Spike” at Nenana, signifying the completion of the interior Alaska Railroad.

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Today, most of the transcontinental railroad line is still in operation by the Union Pacific (yes, the same railroad that built it 150 years ago). The map at left shows sections of the transcon that have been abandoned throughout the years.

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He told President Andrew Johnson that the Chinese were indispensable to building the railroad: They were “quiet, peaceable, patient, industrious and economical.” In a stockholder report, Stanford described construction as a “herculean task” and said it had been accomplished thanks to the Chinese, who made up 90% of the ...

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