Golden spike sesquicentennial8/22/2023 ![]() ![]() So they began traveling back and forth from California, dedicating their efforts to lobbying for their dream in Washington.Īnna was sharp, charming, and tenacious and undoubtedly Theodore’s biggest booster. Together they fell in love with the idea of the railroad taking the Central Route across the Sierra Nevadas, believing that it would be the perfect path. She sketched and did watercolors and oil paintings of the terrain, plants and foliage gathered and labeled minerals and fossils and took copious notes of their travels.Īfter their time in the Sierra Nevadas, Theodore and Anna, like Brigham Young, knew: This is the place. When Theodore hiked and surveyed the Sierra Nevadas, Anna hiked and worked right alongside him. While many routes were surveyed as possible paths for the railroad, Theodore Judah had an often-scoffed-at dream of laying rails through the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, from California eastward.Īnd Anna Judah shared Theodore’s dream of connecting the First Transcontinental Railroad. Some of us might know the name of Theodore Judah, a railroad and civil engineer who was key to the original idea and design of connecting the railroads and who advocated for the so-called “Central Route” for the First Transcontinental Railroad.īut less familiar is the name of his wife, Anna Judah. There are hidden heroes that make history and unseen efforts of people who work to keep that history alive.Īnd so I’d like to take a moment to honor a few of them today. Most of us have a sense of the enormous achievement that this was, the great impact it had on our nation, and the legacy it has left behind.īut what we often don’t know are the stories of the ordinary men and women behind these achievements, and the ones who have worked to preserve this great legacy. Most of this is in the history books, as well it ought to be. It required a clear-eyed vision from President Lincoln and the federal government and a fruitful private and public partnership which allowed the engineers, railroad companies, and local communities the freedom to do their jobs well.Īnd it would not have been possible without the work of the Chinese, Irish, Mormons, Civil War veterans, Native Americans, and other laborers who toiled to build these railroads. It started a significant new chapter in our relationship with Asia and the Pacific region and it served as a model of innovation and prosperity for the rest of the world.Īll of this came about, it’s important to note, through the perseverance and efforts of many different people working together. It spurred a boon in communications, commerce, agriculture, construction, and mining. Goods became efficiently transported across farther distances sellers found new markets and buyers on the frontier and in rural areas were able to purchase items previously unavailable to them. Thousands of miles of tracks were laid across the country, allowing people to migrate West and establish new settlements far more quickly and easily.Īnd it transformed the economy in Utah and across the nation. With the driving of the golden spike, the arduous 6-month journey required to cross the country, costing $1000, had become a mere 10-day trip, costing only $150. For this, Mr./Madam President, was a moment that changed the course of history in Utah, our nation, and ultimately the entire world. Tomorrow marks the 150th anniversary of this pivotal moment, and it is only right that we pause to recognize it. ![]() ![]() As the spike was struck, a telegraph was sent around the nation, and bells rang out from coast to coast. With the joining of the Union Pacific Railroad, stretching from the Missouri River near the Iowa-Nebraska border, and the Central Pacific railroad, stretching from Sacramento, California-East met West. Made of 17 carat gold, and driven into a pre-drilled hole in the last ceremonial tie, it bore this inscription: “May God continue the unity of our Country, as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world.”Īnd indeed it did. On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven into the last link joining the rails of the First Continental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |