360America's first transcontinental railroad is completed
On 10 May 1869, a ceremonial golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, joining the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads. The line linked the eastern United States with California. A journey across the country that had taken months by wagon or ship could now be made in about a week. Thousands of Chinese and Irish workers built it.
In the 1860s, travelling from the eastern United States to California meant months by wagon train, or a long sea voyage around South America.
In 1862, the US government backed two companies to build a railroad across the continent. The Central Pacific built east from Sacramento, California, and the Union Pacific west from Omaha, Nebraska.
The work was hard and dangerous, through deserts and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Central Pacific relied heavily on thousands of Chinese workers, and the Union Pacific on Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans.
On 10 May 1869, the two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah, where a golden spike was driven and the news was telegraphed across the nation. The railroad sped up settlement and trade in the West, but also brought great hardship to Native American nations whose lands it crossed.
- 1862
- The Pacific Railway Act is passed
- 1863
- Construction begins
- 10 May 1869
- The golden spike is driven
Sources: National Park Service (Golden Spike) · Smithsonian · Britannica.