Central Pacific President Leland Stanford arrived on time in his private railroad car. The “Wedding of the Rails” ceremony was originally to take place on May 8, 1869. Here are a few other points worth noting about a monumental endeavor-made possible by the backbreaking labor of mostly Chinese (Central Pacific) and Irishmen (Union Pacific)-that began America’s honeymoon with railroads and changed the way Americans thought about time, landscapes and horizons: Still, close to 30,000 people showed up at the right place in 1969 for the centennial celebration, and even the 125th anniversary in 1994 drew 14,000 spike buffs. Renewed interest in the “Last Spike Site” did not end all historical misconceptions, of course. government establish the Golden Spike National Historic Site. These may be viewed as small points about a pivotal event in American history, but here is a larger point: Although Promontory Summit, where the “Wedding of the Rails” ceremony took place, became Promontory Station and later Promontory, a center for local dry farming, this important historical site was all but forgotten for nearly a century. In truth, the last spike was made of ordinary iron, and it was driven at Promontory Summit, about 35 miles north of Promontory Point, in what was then Utah Territory. Well, that was indeed the date of the great American railroad linkup, but they are wrong on several points. Countless books, magazines and history teachers have said so. Inexhaustibly, the Union Pacific built westward and the Central Pacific built eastward until their rails joined to form the first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, with the driving of a golden spike at Promontory Point, Utah. A Few Good Points About the Golden Spike Close
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