Transportation History - The Development of Golden Spike National Historic Site: A History of Its Creation
Hanover E. 1996. Transportation History - The Development of Golden Spike National Historic Site: A History of Its Creation
One of the greatest achievements of the nineteenth century was the completion of the world's first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, May 10, 1869. The events of that day received great fanfare from a national eagerly awaiting news that the heretofore impossible had been achieved. After the junction between the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific moved to Ogden in early 1870, Promontory's importance quickly faded from the minds of most Americans. After completion of the Lucin Cut-off across the Great Salt Lake in 1904, the route through Promontory was relegated to secondary status, and in 1942 it was abandoned completely. Another fifteen years passed before America paid much attention to this famous western site with the creation of the Golden Spike National Historic Site under non-federal ownership. Since then, the site has burgeoned into an internationally recognized symbol of industrialization, westward expansion, and sheer human will. Due to the paramount importance of Promontory Summit, it is imperative to trace its decline and reemergence in order to explain why a national historic site now commemorates the areas heritage for the benefit of historians and non-historians alike.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Hanover, Elmer
- Date of Issue
- 1996-12-16
- Units
- GOSP , HIST
- Keywords
- American West , Central Pacific Railroad Company, Construction, Cultural Resources, Culture, Development, economic development, ehistory, Engineering, History, Railroad, railroad construction camps, Settlement, transcontinental railroad, Union Pacific, Utah, Utah