On May 10, America celebrates one of the greatest engineering
achievements in human history—the completion of the (sort of) transcontinental
railroad.
The historic 1869 event at Promontory Summit (often reported
incorrectly as Promontory Point, an altogether different place) drew a crowd of
somewhere between 500 and 3,000 people. The 150th anniversary celebration
at the windswept Golden Spike
National Historic Park will likely draw many more. Museums and
libraries and other places around greater northern Utah have been and will continue to offer
exhibits and other commemorative activities.
Despite all the dire consequences associated with the building of
the railroad—further displacement of native tribes, destruction of wildlife, abuse
of workers, creation of a new class of robber barons, and the many financial improprieties
involved—the driving of the golden spike marking the completion of the railroad
hastened the settlement and economic development of the West and helped bind
the sprawling nation together.
It’s a day worth remembering. So, celebrate the wedding of the
rails—or mourn, if you must.
I have never made it to Promontory Summit, but it's high on my wish list of travel destinations.
ReplyDeleteDid you attend the anniversary celebrations?
Too many people for me, Tanja. Friends who were there estimated the crowd at 20 to 30 thousand. Traffic on the two-lane road was backed up for miles.
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