Nostalgia & History > Off to Promontory

It's that time of year.

The Daily Bee
Wednesday, May 5, 1869
LOCAL NEWS
 
    Tie, Spike and Hammer.- There arrived here, last evening, by the Pacific Union Express, from San Francisco, the tie which is the last to be laid on the C. P. Railroad, and which is to connect that track with the U. P. Railroad. The tie is made of California laurel, beautifully polished, and on a silver plate, in size 6 by 7 inches, is the inscription: "The last tie laid on the comple­tion of the Pacific Railroad, May, 1869. Directors - L. Stanford, C. P. Huntington, E. B. Crocker, Mark Hopkins, E. H. Miller, A. P. Stanford and Charles Marsh. Officers - Leland Stanford, President; C. P. Huntington, Vice President; Charles Crocker, Superin­tendent; Mark Hopkins, Treasurer; E. H. Miller, Secre­tary." This tie was forwarded to the "front" this morning, and with it went a golden spike to be used in fastening in its place the tie referred to. The spike is presented by David Hewes of San Francisco, and on its head is inscribed "The Last Spike." On one side, "The Pacific Railroad; ground broken January 8th, 1863; Completed May -, 1869." On another side, this sentiment: "May God continue the unity of our country as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world." Also, "Presented by David Hewes, San Francisco." The other sides bear the names of the Directors and officers of the company. The hammer which is to drive the golden spike was presented by the Pacific Union Express Company, and it also is on its way to the "front." When the spike was cast there was attached to it a nugget about as long as the spike. When the last tie is laid, the nugget will be broken off by Governor Stanford, to be used in the manufacture of mementoes of the completion of the road. Spike and nugget are worth four hundred and fourteen dollars.
 
    Off for the Front.- At a quarter before seven o'clock this morning a locomotive having in tow the "Commissioner's Car" of the Central Pacific Railroad, left for the "front." There were on the car some ten or fifteen gentlemen, among them, ex-Gov, Stanford, Gen. Nottingham, of the Erie and Cleveland Railroad; Gen. Casement, of the Union Pacific Railroad; G. P. Senter, ex-Mayor of Cleveland; F. McCrellish, of the Alta; Judge Sanderson, C. T. Wheeler, and Edgar Mills. With this party went the celebrated tie, spike and hammer. As Governor Stanford placed his foot on the car platform just as the train was starting the crowd at the depot gave him three hearty cheers and a "tiger." Mr. Stanford took off his hat and in behalf of the Pacific Railroad and himself, bowed his acknowledgements. J. O'Leary, one of the proprietors of the BEE, started for the "front" on last Monday morning.
 
    Celebration.- The Railroad Celebration Commit­tee met last evening. It was announced that the last spike would be driven at 10 o'clock, A.M., on Saturday the 8th instant. A committee composed of H. L. Nichols, G. W. Mowe, P. H. Russell, C. H. Ross, H. F. Hastings, L. A. Upson, L. B. Harris, D. W. Earl, W. B. C. Brown and J. H. Carroll, was appointed for the duty of provid­ing comfortable quarters for visitors to the city on the occasion of the Celebration. Dispensations have been received by the various Lodges of Odd Fellows in the city, and Pacific Encampment No. 2, from Grand Master Chas. S. Haswell, and Grand Patriarch E. M. Roberts, granting those associations the privilege of appearing in regalia in procession on the day of the Celebration.
 

Thanks for reminding us, Stan.  This also reminds me of a "how embarrassing" experience at Orange Empire.  Back in the 1970s, I worked a night shift, and would on occasion volunteer for weekday charter train duty at OERM.  Some of our charters were for school groups, often fourth grade classes who were studying California History.  I was running one of our narrow-gauge streetcars for one of these visits, and one of the girls in the class asked me, "Do you know what today is?" and I replied "May 10"  "Do you know why it's special?"  When I said no, she said, "It's Golden Spike Day!"  Ooops!

hi, stan. by chance, do you have some photos of the golden spike centennial celebration? iirc, you were there, along with several of the MMRC faithful. i was there. eljay

Back in the days when railroads were "THE" technical forefront that, for the first time, affected the whole nation. Going back to the first days of US railroading in the 1830's thru the 1910's railroading was truly on the forefront of technical industrial advancement in the USA. Roughly 90 years is a heck of a run to be in the forefront and yet still very viable today.

Jay

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eljay Wrote:
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> hi, stan. by chance, do you have some photos of
> the golden spike centennial celebration? iirc, you
> were there, along with several of the MMRC
> faithful. i was there. eljay

Yes I do.  I will post them on the 10th.

^  ^  ^

all right!

I've always been curious as to how westward immigration occured in 1869.  Did they have scheduled passenger service from Kansas City to Ogden in April 1869?  Did westward travel by wagon taper off in 1868 because folks figured they'd be able to immigrate by rail the following year?  Or did wagon immigration intensify because everyone figured there would be a big rush in 1869, so they should get their claim in early?  

& the railroad initially had no spurs or branches.  So unless you wanted to try settling right on the UP/CP line, you'd need to ship your wagon, oxen and livestock west on the train, then get off at some point and go seek your fortune in Oregon, Idaho, etc.  Did the Union Pacific do this?  Is there documentation -- written of photographic -- showing what it was like?  Or, would there be outfitters in Ogden, Evanston, Elko, etc. who would sell wagons and livestock to would-be settlers?  So the settlers would just come west with barrels of grain, bureaus, and basic supplies, then get outfitted for settling where they got off the train?  

All fascinating questions for me, which I've never seen an accounting of.  

Any ideas on sources where I might find this out?  I've found a number of sources on the Oregon Trail and Mormon migration, through the 1850s, but nothing on how it changed as the railroad was built.  

Ted in MN