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This spike is a replica of the original Golden Spike, which is located at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. It was part of the official flight kit aboard the orbiter Atlantis during space shuttle mission STS-38, November 15-20, 1990. By this gesture, the ribbons of iron that spanned America's first frontier were united with the ribbons of fire that are spanning America's final frontier.
On May 4, 1869, with the scheduled May 8 completion of the railroad imminent, Leland Stanford's friend, San Francisco contractor David Hewes, was upset to discover that no one had prepared a special commemoration for the event. Unable to persuade anyone to finance the casting of a solid gold or silver section of rail, Hewes decided upon a more practical token. Using over $400 worth of his own gold, he had San Francisco jewelers Schulz, Fischer, & Mohrig |
fashion and cast a 5 5/8 inch long, 14.03 ounce, 17.6 carat golden spike. After casting, the following words were engraved on one side of the spike; "May God continue the unity of our Country as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world." Another side read; The Pacific Railroad ground broken Jany 8th 1863 and completed May 8th 1869." The remaining two sides were engraved with the names of the officers of the Central Pacific and railroad directors. The top or head of the spike simply read "The Last Spike." Although there was another spike of gold used in the ceremony, it was Hewes' spike that became know as the Golden Spike.
The transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, and the Golden Spike is engraved with the completion dates as May 8, 1869--that is another story. |
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