Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869 

A History of the Site Where 

The Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads 

Joined to Form the First Transcontinental Railroad, 

1869, 

With a Special Focus on the Tents of May 10, and with 

Recommendations for Interpretation of and 

Historic Furnishings Study for the 

Tents at the Last Spike Site, 

Golden Spike National Historic Site, Utah 

By 

Robert L. Spude, History Program 

And with the assistance of 

Todd Delyea, Historic Architecture Program 

The Arizona Spike 

UP Museum 

Cultural Resources Management 

Intermountain Region, National Park Service 

2005 
THE GREAT EVENT CONSUMATED 

“The last rail is laid; the last spike is driven; the Pacific Railroad is completed.” In such terse and 

brief terms as these is the announcement made to the world that the great event of the age is finally 

accomplished. In the face of natural obstacles of the most forbidding character, the shores of the Atlantic 

and the Pacific are at last practically united by an iron highway spanning the continent... 

From henceforth we are in the Union and of it, and the great event of the age has brought us all 

home at last. 

Daily Alta California, San Francisco, May 11, 1869 

PACIFIC RAILROAD 

The greatest epoch in the history of Chicago was that which occurred on yesterday, in the laying 

of the last connecting link in the great iron band, the Pacific Railroad, which cements the social and 

commercial interests in the eastward and westward extremes of the American Continent. This event, 

stupendous in its results affecting the entire country, if not the entire world, is to Chicago the dawn of a 

new era in the future greatness and prosperity of the city, and it follows that Chicago should rejoice. 

Chicago Tribune, May 11, 1869 

THE LAST RAIL LAID – THE LAST SPIKE DRIVEN 

Monday, May 10, 1869, will be forever memorable in the history of Omaha. Not to Omaha alone, 

however, will it mark the commencement of an important epoch. It shall be remembered through all time 

as the starting point of a newer, broader and greater civilization than has ever hitherto dawned upon the 

progress of the world. The union of the two great Pacific Railroads, which with their connections span a 

continent, and, simultaneously kiss with iron lips, the waters of the two oceans is an event so important in 

its bearing to the well being and future progress of mankind, as not to be passed over without serious 

thought and reflection. 

Omaha Herald, May 12, 1869 

EAST AND WEST 

The long looked for moment has arrived. The construction of the Pacific Railroad is un fait 

accompli. The inhabitants of the Atlantic and the dwellers of the Pacific slope are henceforth emphatically 

one people. Your correspondent is writing at Promontory Summit amid the deafening shouts of the 

multitude, with the tick, tick of the telegraph close to his ear.... 

It was apparent throughout the [New York] City yesterday that an event of more than usual 

importance was taking place, and that there was an evident disposition among the people to be jubilant... 

The last rail of the road connecting our opposite ocean-bound shores was laid; the last spike (a gold one, 

bye-the-bye) was driven; and thereupon there was booming of cannon, peals from Trinity chimes, and 

general rejoicing over the completion of the great enterprise. In the success of which not only this country, 

but the whole civilized world, is directly interested. 

New York Times, New York City, May 11, 1869 

COMPLETED 

Yesterday, May 10th, at high noon, the last rail was laid and spiked, connecting the Union and 

Central Pacific railroads. It was the completing of an enterprise fraught with more interest than the 

tunneling of Mount Cenis or connecting the Red and Mediterranean seas by the Suez Canal. Exchanges 

and telegrams inform us that on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts it was to be celebrated with becoming 

ceremonies and popular demonstrations, while from down in the deserts of Utah, we have rumors of gold 

spikes, and silver spikes, diamond eyes, ruby lips, alabaster necks, sparkling vintage wit, sentiment, and 

what-not, that graced the occasion and fastened the rail. 

Success to the great enterprise and a volunteer toast from Montana. 

Montana Post, Helena, May 14, 1869. 

ii
PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPLETE 

The achievement can but strike one with wonder. 

Daily Bee, Sacramento, May 13, 1869 

What a stupendous achievement this of science, enterprise, progress...Truly we live in a 

wonderful age. 

New York Herald, May 10, 1869. 

Gold has paid its largest and best tribute to its elder and more useful brother – iron...California 

and Nevada are no longer far off provinces of the United States...The six months voyage of the ox team is 

superseded, forever, by the four days journey of the iron horse. 

Daily Appeal, Carson City, May 11, 1869. 

No grander achievement in earth’s history overflowed the victorious marches of the Sons of Mars, 

than were heralded by the glorious event of the completion of the great continental railway of America... 

The driving of the last spike of the Pacific Railroads has not only united with insoluble bonds of friendship 

the two extremes of our own land, but has inaugurated a revolution in the commerce of the entire globe... 

Of what stupendous magnitude is the change thus wrought! 

Cheyenne Leader, May 14, 1869 

A thousand throbbing hearts impulsively beat to the motion of the trains as the front locomotive of 

each company led on majestically up to the very verge of the narrow break between the lines, where, in a 

few moments, was to be consummated the nuptial rites uniting the gorgeous east and the imperial west of 

America, with the indissoluble seal of inter-oceanic commerce. 

Deseret News, Salt Lake City, May 19, 1869 

Yesterday...the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were united by an iron rail track three thousand miles 

in length. San Francisco and New York are within six days of each other. We may expect in a week or two 

to be enjoying a sight, if not a taste, of the luscious fruits and vegetables of the golden fields of California 

in the markets of the Eastern cities. 

 National Intelligencer, Washington, D. C., May 11, 1869 

From our Philadelphia correspondent, May 10: --The Pacific Railway was completed this 

afternoon at half-past 2 o’clock. 

The Times, London, May 11, 1869 

The telegraph worked splendidly, and persons in the office here had the scene at Promontory 

Summit brought visibly before them, every stroke of the hammer being announced here. 

Rocky Mountain News, Denver, May 11, 1869 

This very hour the roar of cannons, the clang of bells from one end of the continent to the other, 

proclaim that the mightiest work ever undertaken in our land is today completed. 

 News, Gold Hill, Nevada, May 11, 1869 

The great railroad problem of the age is now solved. The Continental iron band now permanently 

unites the distant portions of the Republic. 

Nunda News, Nunda, New York, May 29, 1869 

 Today marks the commencement of the Age of Steam in America. 

 Colorado Tribune, Denver, May 11, 1869 

 All Hail the Pacific Railroad! 

Times, Dubuque, Iowa, May 11, 1869. 

iii
Caption for next page: 

Photographer Alfred A. Hart captured the last spike ceremony a little after noon, Promontory time, May 10, 

1869. At center, Central Pacific Railroad president Leland Stanford wields the silver plated maul. At his 

left is Union Pacific Railroad vice-president Thomas Durant. The white bearded John Duff and the mutton 

chop whiskered Sydney Dillon, both Union Pacific Railroad directors, hold up golden spikes for the 

photographer. In front of Dillon stands Arizona Governor Anson P. K. Safford, who offered the Arizona 

spike. The proceedings were halted so that Hart, the Central Pacific’s guest photographer, could capture 

the moment Leland Stanford wanted remembered, “the Last Act,” as Hart captioned it. In the background 

at left is the Wells Fargo & Co. stage office tent and beyond the crowd and right of the locomotive are the 

Union Pacific Railroad’s ticket and telegraph office tents. Courtesy Golden Spike National Historic Site 

Library. 

Cover photograph: 

Interior of Union Pacific paymaster’s tent, Laramie, Wyoming, Courtesy Union Pacific Museum. 

Title page photograph: 

Arizona Spike, Union Pacific Museum, by Tom Richter, NPS. 

iv
v
vi
Table of Contents 

Chronology ix 

I. Introduction 1 

II. A History of Promontory Summit, 1869 5 

A) Mapping the Terrain 5 

B) Locating the Line Across the Promontory 6 

C) Governor Stanford and Doctor Durant Revise the Surveys 7 

D) Clearing and Building the Grade 8 

E) Junction City 10 

F) Deciding on the Junction Point 12 

G) Completing the Track and First Days at Promontory Summit 14 

H) May 10, 1869 15 

I) Building the Junction for the Transcontinental Railroad 30 

J) Promontory City 34 

K) Sodom on the Sage 40 

L) Telegraph and Railroad Operations 42 

M) Vigilantes 44 

N) Removing the Junction 48 

O) Promontory Station, Post-1869 50 

III. Physical Description and Analysis of the Tents at the “Last Spike Site” 57 

A) The Tents of Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869 57 

1) Summary 57 

 2) Source Materials, Previous NPS Studies, Methodology 65 

3) How Many Tents? 67 

4) What Size? 69 

5) History and Use of the Tents of Promontory, May 10 74 

 6) Other Uses Considered 90 

 B) The “Last Spike Site,” May 10, 1869 and After 94 

 C) NPS Developments of “Last Spike Site” 97 

 D) Existing Conditions of “Last Spike Site” 101 

IV. Exhibit Tents and Historic Furnishings Recommendations 103 

 A) Introduction 103 

B) Interpretive Goals 104 

C) Options for Interpretation 105 

D) Tents with Suggested Layout and Furnishings 107 

E) Specifications for Phase I and Phase II Exhibit Tents 113 

1) Phase I: HS-9, HS-17, HS-10: J. S. Conner Grocery, 

Restaurant, and Saloon 113 

2) Phase II: HS-12, HS-13: Union Pacific Railroad Ticket 

and Telegraph Office Tent and Quarters Tent 123 

 F) Recommended Locations for Exhibit Tents 131 

 G) Specific Sources for Replica Objects and Exhibit Items 135 

vii
V. Bibliography 137 

VI. Appendices 147 

 A) Reporters at Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869 149 

 B) Chronology of Photographers and Photographs, 1869 151 

 1) Sequence of Photographs Taken May 10, 1869 156 

 C) Alfred Hart’s First Photograph 165 

 D) How Many Tents? Or, Finding HS-17 169 

E) The Community of Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869, 

As Portrayed in Published Histories 173 

F) Traveler’s Accounts, 1869 175 

G) Promontory Station Hypothetical Track Plan, ca. Fall 1869 181 

H) A Commentary on J. N. Bowman’s article “Driving the 

Last Spike at Promontory, 1869,” Fifty Years Later 191 

 

viii
Chronology: The Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads 

June 28, 1861 Central Pacific Railroad incorporated 

July 1, 1862 Pacific Railroad Act – charters Union Pacific Railroad and provides for 

Central Pacific to construct to California-Nevada border 

Jan. 8, 1863 Central Pacific ground breaking ceremony at Sacramento 

Dec. 2, 1863 Union Pacific ground breaking ceremony at Omaha 

1865 UP surveyor Samuel Reed recommends route north of Salt Lake over 

Promontory Range 

July 3, 1866 Pacific Railroad Act amended – provides for CP to build to a junction with 

UP, location unnamed 

Sept 1867 Reconnaissance survey by CP’s Butler Ives selects route through 

Promontory Range 

May 9, 1868 UP track reaches new town of Laramie, Wyoming; 

CP plats and sales lots for new town of Reno, Nevada 

Aug. 15, 1868 UP surveyor Frederick Hodge’s location survey over Promontory Range 

stakes Promontory Summit 

1867 UP and CP contract with Mormons to build grades, sometimes parallel to 

each other, across Utah 

Jan. 22, 1869 UP track layers reach 1,000 mile mark west of Omaha 

Feb. 1869 CP grade crews attack difficult east slope of Promontory range 

Mar 8, 1869 UP track reaches Ogden; CP near Nevada-Utah border 

Mar 28, 1869 UP begins work on Big Trestle east slope Promontory range. Estimate 

2,000 at work along line 

March 1869 Reported 6,000 workers along line in Promontory Range area, especially 

eastern slope. UP at Corinne April 8th

April 10, 1869 Joint Resolution of Congress fixes point of union of rails at summit of 

railroad pass through Promontory Range, but provides for purchase of 

Union Pacific line, Promontory – Ogden, by Central Pacific. Ogden to be 

junction 

ix
Apr 11, 1869 UP orders halt to work west of Promontory, as far as Humboldt Wells, 

Nevada 

April 12-15, UP engineers stake land claims at Promontory Summit and Blue Creek 

valley, form land company 

Apr 26, 1869 CP completes Big Fill 

Apr 28, 1869 CP crews lay ten miles of track in a day, three and a half miles from 

Promontory. UP decides to haul track to Promontory Summit to block CP 

Apr 30, 1869 CP track reaches Promontory Summit, 690 miles from Sacramento 

May 5, 1869 UP crews finish Big Trestle and Carmichael Cut on east slope 

May 9, 1869 UP track reaches Promontory Summit, 1,086 miles from Omaha; Wells, 

Fargo & Co. runs last Overland stage 

May 10, 1869 Last Spike ceremony. UP decides not to remove from Promontory 

Summit, which becomes UP-CP junction 

May 11-12, Crews build yards at Promontory; transcontinental railroad opens for 

service. Promontory City arises. No water found to support trains; water 

trains come from Corinne and Blue Creek or Kelton on Indian Creek. 

June 1869 Chief Engineers Dodge, UP, and Montague, CP, meet and start rebuilding 

yard to improve operations; CP builds wood frame station that summer 

Aug 30, 1869 Western Union completes line north of Salt Lake via Promontory 

Sept, 1869 Government commission reports on railroad construction deficiencies, far 

less than rumored. Meeting of UP and CP officials at Promontory without 

a decision about moving junction 

UP builds station/eating house/hotel at Promontory 

Sept 10, 1869 Dr. Gregory appointed Justice of the Peace for Promontory Precinct; 

reports on gamblers and corruption of Promontory City 

Nov 17, 1869 Agreement, UP and CP, to relocate junction from Promontory to Ogden 

Nov 21, 1869 Vigilantes clean out Promontory City 

Dec. 1, 1869 Transfer of Promontory Station and line to Ogden from UP to CP 

Dec 6, 1869 First scheduled CP passenger train passes through Promontory to Ogden, 

and junction with UP trains 

x
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

II. A History of Promontory Summit, 1869 

The history of the transcontinental railroad has been often told – the tales of 

visionaries, the organization of companies and government subsidies, the heroic 

engineers and construction feats of Chinese and Irish immigrants, with a golden 

completion and subsequent public scandal. The focus here, however, is on Promontory 

Summit, the site of laying the last rail and driving the golden spike, and the occupancy of 

the region by the railroad workers and optimistic town people until the end of 1869.1 

Surprising little has been published about Promontory Summit as a place.2 

Writers of the standard histories give Promontory its moment of fame, May 10, 1869, 

then move on with their narratives. The events of that day are significant and will be 

detailed in this study. The following essay expands on the brief narratives about 

Promontory Summit during 1869. 

The text chronicles the survey and construction work of the Central Pacific 

Railroad (CP) and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) at the site; the evolution of the small 

community of Promontory City; the railroad companies’ operations and the associated 

businesses; and the executives’s decisions, or, in reality, feud, that kept the junction at the 

summit until the close of the year 1869. For nearly seven months, “at Promontory,” 

George Francis Train wrote, “there was no union between the Union and Central Pacific 

– although the rails had been laid end to end.” After the removal of the junction to 

Ogden, Promontory station’s history greatly changed.3

A) Mapping the Terrain 

On August 15, 1868, Frederick Hodge’s survey crew pounded a survey stake into 

the ground marking Promontory Summit, a station point on their location survey for the 

to-be-constructed grade of the Union Pacific Railroad. The first Euro-American to camp 

at the summit of the gap through the Promontory Mountains, Hodge was preceded by 

nearly twenty years of official surveys for a route past Salt Lake to the Pacific.4

The Topographical Corps, under the Secretary of War, had mapped the lake 

shore, under Captain Howard Stansbury, 1849-50, and prepared a massive volume as part 

of the Pacific Railroad Surveys, 1853-4. In 1854, Lt. E. G. Beckwith’s party had 

followed around the southern shore of Salt Lake, down the Humboldt River valley, and 

over the Sierra Nevada to California, recommending the route as the best for a 

transcontinental railroad. Eleven years later, parched and sun-bleached surveyors 

following Union Pacific engineer Samuel Reed had a different view of the crossing of the 

Salt Lake desert and south lake route. Back in Omaha, Reed recommended that the UP 

send a reconnaissance team around the north end of the lake instead. They were to find 

and map a new corridor. Hodge’s survey would be one result of that reconnaissance.5

 

Learning of Reed’s surveys, the fast moving Central Pacific railroad crews beat 

them across the Promontory range. Samuel Skerry Montague, thirty-one year old chief 

engineer for the Central Pacific Railroad, sent topographical engineer Butler Ives into the 

uncharted landscape along Salt Lake’s north shore. In September 1866, Ives and party 

crossed to the head of the Humboldt River, near the Nevada-Utah line, then hurriedly 

kept on east across a half dozen ranges. At the Promontory Mountains, which blocked 

passage for some forty miles north of the lake, he found and entered a slightly inclined, 

5
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

broad pass, a gap Central Pacific engineers would call Promontory Summit over the 

Promontory Range of Utah.6

 

In June 1867, Ives returned to more thoroughly survey the Central Pacific 

Railroad line. In letters to his brother, Ives explained the party’s task. They would cross 

the dry alkali desert with dry camps and move at a pace of ten to thirty miles per day 

from the headwaters of the Humboldt River, around the north end of the lake, into the 

Weber River valley and beyond. The party was also well armed with Spencer rifles, he 

noted, probably because of an inflated fear of the Pauite and Shoshone.7 

Ives’s preliminary survey more accurately mapped a railroad crossing of the 

Promontory range. He camped near the summit, probably at Blue Creek, and surveyed 

several alternate paths, one of which ultimately had a relatively easy 53’ per mile grade, 

included a proposed 800-foot tunnel and heavy rock-work for three miles down the 

eastern slope. The crew placed stakes every 500 feet through the pass and across the 

range. With some changes, this would be the route followed by the Central Pacific. His 

map also helped the CP lay claim to and get government approval of a railroad line across 

Utah, including over the Promontory range.8 

The transcontinental railroad required three different types of surveys: 

reconnaissance, preliminary, and location surveys. The reconnaissance surveys found the 

best corridor, where crews moved quickly across the terrain seeking easy grades along 

water courses and over mountain passes. Next, small crews of a dozen or less did 

preliminary surveys, which mapped the selected corridor’s elevations and set a rough line 

of stakes, moving ten or so miles per day. Last, the location survey crew slowly set the 

stakes followed by graders. Ives had finished the first two tasks and would be back in 

1868 to begin the slow location survey from Nevada east. This time the Union Pacific 

acted first and sent Hodge, who beat Ives to the Promontory Summit. 

B) Locating the Line Across the Promontory 

In 1868, while Central Pacific surveyors were doing final location surveys in 

Nevada, Union Pacific Railroad engineers entered Utah for an intense field season. 

Thirty six year old Grenville Mellen Dodge, Civil War general and chief engineer of the 

Union Pacific Railroad, sent his survey crews to stake out a number of surveys, and, late 

in the field season, to complete a location survey across the Promontory range. Later 

giving credit to Ives for finding the pass, they eliminated reconnaissance and preliminary 

survey work and began staking a location survey following the CP stakes.9

 

Assistant engineer Frederick Hodge started at Promontory Summit. Aided by the 

Central Pacific survey stakes (and bumping into Col Stevenson’s CP survey crew on the 

eastern slope), Hodge’s crew camped at the summit August 15, then began their location 

survey. Fortunately, Hodge’s field books survive for that long summer season. The 

crews outfitted at Walker Brothers store in Salt Lake City and headed west in three 

wagons. According to one account, typical survey crews included “the assistant engineer 

in charge [Hodge], a transit man, two chainmen, two flag men, three axmen, stake maker, 

a leveler, topographer, two rod men, a cook,” and teamsters with wagons to haul the gear. 

Hodge hired the laborers, teamsters and cook in Salt Lake City.10

Hodge’s journal includes inventories of foods and the “Teamster’s kit.” Canned 

goods predominated. The crews slept on the ground in their bed rolls or in two tents and 

6
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

the cook in the kitchen tent. Teamsters slept in the wagons. Meals were eaten in the 

cook tent, while animals foraged nearby or were fed with oats carried along. Meals 

became more indigestible and the alkali water bothered the men; Hodge constantly 

complained of “bowel troubles.”11 

The crew moved slowly, around a mile or two per day, with rarely seeing a soul. 

Hodge noted seeing a Shoshone in the distance. Between August 15 and September 4 

they placed stakes every 50 to 100 feet to near Red Dome Pass, when they joined chief 

engineer Dodge on a quick reconnaissance west. At Pequot Pass, fifty five miles west of 

Promontory, Hodge found an inscription: “Passed here on 8 July 1866, Butler Ives.”12 

East of Promontory Summit, Dodge, assisted by Hodge and Col. J. O. Hudnutt, 

surveyed a line up the rugged eastern slope which connected with Hodge’s initial point 

on the summit. Dodge’s location survey followed below the CP stakes, Ives’s line, but at 

a steeper grade of 80’ per mile. By October, the UP engineers had finished the location 

line up and over Promontory Summit.13 

C) Governor Stanford and Doctor Durant Revise the Surveys 

In 1868, the UP and CP construction crews following the surveyors were pushed 

into a race to build the most miles before the final meeting, a tale often told. As a tactic, 

Union Pacific Railroad Vice President, Doctor Thomas C. Durant, ordered graders into 

Nevada at Humboldt Wells, some 300 miles in advance of any other grading crew. CP 

Vice President Collis P. Huntington, desirous of reaching Salt Lake Valley, learned of the 

maneuver to try to check the CP advance, and wrote CP President Leland Stanford that 

Durant “is a bold, reckless, and in some things, a foolish man.”14 

The construction race would force an abandonment of all surveys over the 

Promontory range, the Ives and Dodge lines. Routes were to be found which would have 

quicker and cheaper to construct grades, which also meant steeper grades and sharper 

curves. Leland Stanford arrived on the Promontory with consulting engineer George M. 

Gray, revisiting the Ives – Stevenson survey, which they threw out because of its costly 

tunnel. On the Promontory, his biographer later wrote, “twenty seven winter nights he 

[Stanford] spent in the open air at Promontory,” undoubtedly part of that time near or at 

the summit. He cleared snow for his bedroll, he later complained, not the usual task for a 

railroad president. In the end result, Stanford, Gray and crew revised the Ives line with a 

steeper grade and tighter curves. They eliminated the heaviest rock work and, more 

importantly, the tunnel, but inserted a fill, later dubbed “the Big Fill.”15 

In January, 1869, a worried Thomas Durant arrived on the Promontory with UP 

consulting engineer Silas Seymour and assistant engineer Thomas Morris. Camping in 

winter weather as well, they changed Dodge’s line. It now had tighter curves, steeper 

grades -- up to the government’s legal limit of 116 feet per mile. The reduced rock work 

required a long, high trestle. As actually built, the Durant changes on the Promontory line 

would have the steepest grades along the entire 1,776 miles of transcontinental railway.16

 The number of surveys across the summit, and the number of camping trips to 

converge the lines at the summit, Hodge’s and Ives’ survey stations, are uncertain. CP 

and UP engineers in the field probably had the most up to date information, but there is 

no complete record of the last changes. Durant moved Thomas Morris to construction on 

the Promontory to ensure work followed his changes and, more importantly, would be 

7
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

hurried along. Copies of the UP’s profile maps at the Nebraska Historical Society show 

numerous corrections, far more than the usual completed maps handed to contractors, or 

government officials. 

On March 17, 1869, a party of government commissioners under Brevet Major 

General G. K. Warren rolled across Promontory Summit following the multiple survey 

stakes. They had been sent by the president to inspect the railroads and propose a junction 

point. General Warren carried copies of the CP surveys up to the time of Stanford’s 

changes and copies of the Dodge survey of the previous summer. They were confused. 

As they followed the survey stakes through to their camp at Blue Creek, they noticed the 

location maps did not follow the stakes on the ground and the various lines crossed each 

other several times. On the Promontory Summit, Warren was not exactly sure where the 

two lines would be built.17

D) Clearing and Building the Grade 

The end product of the locating engineer’s work was a row of stakes on the 

ground and accurate drawings of the railroad line in plat and profile. The profile map 

was passed to the construction engineer who had the responsibility of estimating the 

amount of earth to be moved in order to build the grade. Contractors actually built the 

line, but the construction engineer set the pitons along the survey and measured the work 

done. Unfortunately, this latter unpopular task of approving funding for work completed 

by contractors often led to disputes. The engineers also determined when a contractor 

was in default.18 

On May 21, 1868, the Union Pacific signed a contract with Brigham Young for 

construction work in Utah. Young, or, rather, the Mormons, would be the primary 

grading contractors through Utah. In June, Leland Stanford arrived and negotiated a 

contract with Young – in reality the Mormon firm of Benson, Farr & West -- to build in 

far western Utah for the CP. In the fall of 1868 and in January 1869, Young signed 

additional agreements to build the central section of the lines, Ogden west across the 

Promontory Mountains to Monument Point, approximately 100 miles. Benson, Farr & 

West for the CP and Sharp & Young (bishop Sharp and one of the Mormon leader’s 

sons) for the UP took on this work, and subcontracted major portions of the grading to 

family or community groups of Mormon farmers.19

Reminiscences by Mormon workers along the Ogden – Promontory - Kelton 

section provide descriptions of how the crews were organized and how the grading was 

accomplished. In 1919, one of the graders recalled how twelve men in Ogden organized 

themselves into a work group with nothing but shovels, picks, and wheelbarrows. 

Between September 1868 and April 1869, as subcontractors for Sharp & Young, they 

built grade for the Union Pacific. Their first shoveling and moving of dirt was three 

stations done in fifteen days at Hot Spring Creek, west of Ogden, which netted $5.50 per 

day each. By April, at the Promontory, they were making $10.20 per day.20 

They worked where others with teams, plows and scrapers would not, on wet and 

spongy ground. The old-timer related how they had no boss except they reported work 

done to the UP engineer. The company helped by filling their commissary with supplies 

at Omaha prices, without freight costs. They camped along the grade. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

John Davis recalled that in October 1868, he joined a party of Ogdenites in a 

subcontract for two miles of railroad grade from Benson, Farr, & West for the CP. “We 

took our teams, wagons, plows, scrapers, tools and supplies from Plain City [Ogden] and 

drove out to a place about six miles west of Dove Creek, a little beyond Kelton. We 

finished about December 1 and made some money.” In February 1869, he recalled, they 

went back to work on 800’ of marshy ground on the UP east of Promontory. They used 

wheelbarrows and still made $8 per day each. Some ground was so wet they worked in 

rubber boots. 

Davis mentioned that in the evening they would occasionally go to Brigham City 

to see plays. Sundays were spent in Ogden, when possible. “When we wanted a little 

excitement we went over to Corinne, which was a city of tents.” Davis saw a man shot at 

the Corinne, the boisterous “Burg on the Bear.” 

Other Mormons cut ties and delivered them to the railroad; contracted to cut 

timbers for trestles, and burnt charcoal to sell blacksmiths sharpening tools. Still others 

contracted to supply beef to the camps or drove out with wagons of vegetables and fruit 

to see what they would bring. Other farmers could make money with their teams. 

According to one Mormon’s experience on the Promontory, “The pay received was five 

dollars for a man and team, everything furnished him, and ten dollars for Sunday work. 

These wages seemed enormous to the frugal pioneers.” The daughter of one of the 

Mormon farmers recalled how the railroad work and its cash meant money for her first 

pair of shoes.21 

These recollections suggest small work groups taking up subcontracts along the 

surveyed line all at one time. It was not a steady advance from one end to the other. On 

March 14, 1869, at Salt Lake City, Leland Stanford wrote a letter to his partners that 

explained his strategy: “I do not intend to finish up our line [Ogden over Promontory to 

Monument], but keep men scattered along it until our track is close upon them. I don’t 

think there will be any attempt to jump our line while it is unfinished and we are working 

on it.” 

Excerpts from Lorin Farr’s diary and later accounts suggest that the firm of 

Benson, Farr & West had 1800 graders at work for the CP leading up to and on slopes of 

the Promontory during the late winter through the spring of 1869. Sharp & Young had as 

many along the UP. Engineer reports are more conservative in their estimate of numbers 

of workers and teams on the grade.22 

The crews clearing the brush and shoveling dirt for the base grade camped along 

the way, usually at sites accessible to water. Archeological reports and period 

descriptions tell of tents, dugouts and makeshift shelters on every hill and slope along the 

grade. Recent archeological inventories estimate dozens of camp sites throughout the 

park.23

Company records, contemporary newspaper accounts, and reminiscences suggest 

that graders crossed Promontory Summit in February to early April, 1869. The pace of 

the crews, a week for several hundred feet, required they camp along the way, often in 

dry camps of a few tents and wagons. We lack specific information on who did what 

work and where they camped at Promontory Summit, other than they were Mormon 

farmers contracting with Benson, Farr & West for the CP and Sharp & Young for the UP. 

The Mormon graders most likely camped at one point in the summit, and then worked up 

9
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

and down their stations of grade work, the two miles of easy incline taking a month or 

more. 

On this section of the Promontory Summit, the grade work was less than 

substantial, clearing of sage and quick trenching on sides and piling of the dirt in a row 

down the survey line. Big Mormon work camps arose on the west slope in November, 

near Cedar Springs, and on the east after the first of the year (described below). Supply 

roads cut across the Promontory to serve these points. At Promontory Summit, once 

done with the easy work in the pass, the Mormon graders would not have lingered. 

The difficult task of building up the rugged eastern slope of the Promontory 

would consume the UP and CP. In February, the CP put the first Mormons on the rock 

work, but they lacked powder and tools. They would be supplemented by experienced 

blasting crews. The tale of building the parallel grades up the eastern slope of the 

Promontory Mountains is one of unnecessary waste, more akin to the movement of troops 

and supplies during military campaigns. 

 A reported 6,000 workers were on the eastern slope by April. An often quoted 

reporter of the Salt Lake City Telegraph describes the scene. “As one approaches the 

Promontory,” he wrote, 

a marvelous view reveals new clusters of tents, hitherto obscured by some 

towering mass of grey rock...From this camp the beholder may delight in vision 

with the discovery of camps almost innumerable – above the grade, along the 

grade, remote from the ...blasting, carting, shoveling, wheeling, picking, etc. The 

busy carvers of the iron ways for the Union and Central Pacific are being pushed 

to the utmost endurance to be ready for the tracklayers rushing upon them now, at 

such proximity, from front and rear...24

Besides graders, the reporter also noted, at a location known as Conner’s Spring, were 

camped a reported 100 Shoshone. 

However, most workers lived in tents in the Blue Creek valley and on the eastern 

slope, not on the summit. Construction engineer Morris details in his letters the work and 

the camps on the eastern slope that spring. Camped in the valley, Morris noted he was 

surrounded by hundreds of workers in small camps; canvas villages arose in the valley, 

the largest cluster of tents being at Junction City.25 

E) Junction City 

 The biggest question along the line, however, was where would the two railroads 

meet? And, more importantly to the speculators and businesses following the railroad, 

where would the “junction city” be located? In February, a correspondent to the 

Telegraph wrote, “The companies are running a race side by side. But where will they 

meet? That’s the question. The Ogdenites seem to know it; then the New Bear Riverites 

are quite confident that they are building at the right place; then again the Junctionites, on 

Blue Creek, will bet anything they have struck it.”26 Of the many sites touted as being in 

the right place, Junction City appeared to be the nearest where the engineers and 

speculators believed it would join and a city grow. 

In January, the Junction City townsite had been platted and lots sold to the 

incoming merchants from the declining railroad construction towns in Wyoming and 

eastern Utah. By February, Junction City contained a cluster of tents, the number 

10
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

increasing every day. In February, the Reporter correspondent informed readers of the 

leading businesses: J. S. Conner, Lamb & Sessins, Hague & Henry, and Watson & Co. 

plus four restaurants, corrals, saloons, etc., served the escalating number of workers on 

the eastern slope of the Promontory.27

 “Junction City,” wrote a reporter for the Deseret News, “is the largest and most 

lively of any of the new towns in this vicinity. Built in the valley near where the lines 

commence the ascent of the Promontory, it is nearly surrounded by grading camps, 

Benson, Farr and West’s head quarters a mile or two south west.” Another reporter noted 

that Junction City contained a fine lot of boys “determined to have a town entirely devoid 

of psalm singing, whiskey guzzling, co-operative holiness to the Lord.” They also 

considered themselves part of Idaho Territory, not Utah – a “Gentile Town,” in the 

rhetoric of the day, founded more along the character of the track-side towns of 

Wyoming than the farm communities of Utah.28

 Ed Watson of Watson & Co. left a diary of his activities. He left Indiana to sell 

shoes out West. In 1867, he opened a store in Cheyenne, then moved with the tide to 

Bear River City, Wyoming, but shifted to Echo Canyon by winter 1868-9. In January, he 

closed shop and followed the railroad workers to the Promontory. On February 3, he 

arrived in Junction City, “Idaho Territory,” bought a town lot and lumber for his wall tent 

(cost $150), and opened for business by the 7th, selling $60 worth of dry goods that day. 

Watson helped organize a town government – not unlike what he had down in previous 

communities along the railroad – and elected as mayor George Cockrell, merchant and 

one of his boarding house tent mates. With his bunkmates, Watson talked of business, 

played card games, and told of the girl back home. He also noted the toughs in town and 

wrote in his diary, “six shooters used freely.”29

 Two miles from Junction City, a stage line built to serve the work camps had 

erected a tent station named Harrisonville, after its agent, but better known as Dead Fall 

for the tent saloons that lined its single street on the road to the Promontory. With a 

reported 6,000 workers in the hills above Junction City during March-April, the Blue 

Creek valley became the blow-off spot for over-heated workers, and Dead Fall became 

the most notorious for its violence, while Junction City’s grass-roots government exacted 

more control on the rougher elements of the population.30 

Tales of murder and robbery (“garroting” to use the term of the day) abound for 

the region, the number of deaths having increased with the retelling of those days. A 

review of contemporary newspaper reports, always questionable, suggest a total of five 

shooting deaths in the Blue Creek Valley. After the camps were closing down, the 

number as reported began to escalate, without substantiation, first to 24, and grew from 

there with the retelling, especially in tourist guide books.31 

One of the Mormon workers later recalled Blue Creek, alias Dead Man’s Gulch, 

“It was a lawless place until Patsy Marley was installed as police officer. He had 

as his deputy a big Frenchman, who was a noted gun man. Patsy did not believe 

in cash fines. He simply disarmed the toughs, taking away their revolvers, knives, 

and slungshots [sic]. He had a big pile of those weapons in his tent.”

32 

The residents of Junction City elected Patsey Marley constable. 

 Aiding Marley was merchant Will Riley, who replaced Cockrell as “mayor.” 

According to an Omaha reporter, Riley was known in the tough districts of that city. 

Marley and Riley were operating under the tradition of grass roots government, found in 

11
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

the West’s mining camps. A miner’s meeting, in this case the workers of Blue Creek, 

formed a government for their own protection, and ignored the civil authorities within the 

Utah territorial system. Marley’s law enforcement measures were outside the appointed 

legal authorities, but served their purpose. 

While Junction City was founded and grew, a series of other speculative towns 

were promoted along the railroad. The UP platted Bonneville seven or eight miles north 

of Ogden, but lot sales were abysmal; while Mormon leader Brigham Young touted 

Ogden and offered 300 acres gratis to the railroad companies to join there. Boomers in 

clusters of tents on the respective grade crossings of the Bear River dubbed their 

prospective entrepots “Stanford” and “Conner,” after a local military leader. Both were 

abandoned when the UP supported town site of Corinne arose in March near the banks of 

the Bear River, twenty miles east of Promontory Summit. Promontory City at Cedar 

Springs on the western slope of the Promontory range was discussed as a possibility. 

And the Junction City residents concurred with a writer from Brigham City who 

commented on the busy scene at Blue Creek and concluded “We should not wonder 

much if the great city will yet be built there.”33

 These speculators were assisted by the engineers along the line. Engineers and 

surveyors had pocketed cash for non-work related activities. UP surveyor H. M. 

Chittenden wrote home that he had surveyed the townsite of Bear River City, Wyoming 

for $100 in cash and a lot. CP surveyor Henry Root help lay out lots in Cisco, California. 

UP construction engineer Hezikiah Bissel was offered $500 by gamblers to plat Sherman, 

Wyoming. Construction engineer Thomas Morris had speculated on coal mines and 

helped found towns separate from assigned UP work. 34 

Both the UP and CP had founded towns, best known being Cheyenne on the UP, 

and Reno on the CP. CP general superintendent Charles Crocker controlled the town site 

selection on the CP while chief engineer Dodge was in charge of right of ways, town site 

lots, and land sales during construction. He and a key staff of three, the former adjutant 

of his regiment, General James A. Williamson working with surveyor John O’Neil and 

land agent House, had platted towns and sold lots from Nebraska to Utah. On March 25, 

the trio sold $20,000 worth of lots in the new Corinne (the second such named town 

along the railroad after Williamson’s daughter). At the same time, the press asked Leland 

Stanford if the CP planned to create a new regional town in Utah, but he declined 

comment.35 

By April, the contest appeared to be between Ogden (or near there) and Corinne. 

Ogden was the choice of the Mormons. Corinne appealed to non-Mormons as a 

competing business community in the valley’s trade sphere. Small time speculators 

along the track, Wyoming to Nevada, however, were ready to fold their tents and jump at 

any new “junction city” opportunity that might appear. As one opportunist wrote, “this is 

a splendid country for speculation and anyone with a few hundred dollars and half a 

Yankee head, can make a fortune here in a few years.”36 

F) Deciding on the Junction Point 

 

 In early April, the site of Promontory Summit consisted of a hurriedly constructed 

grade for the CP, a grade for the UP, a wagon trace, and a few errant survey stakes. Its 

name did not appear in any of the discussions about the junction point, nor was it 

12
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

expected to be the great “junction city,” filling the pages of newspapers. No reporter 

bothered to describe Promontory Summit in glowing terms, if at all. 

To the east, the UP track layers were racing along the shore line of Salt Lake 

headed west, already in a losing race to Humboldt Wells, Nevada, then even to 

Monument Point on the Salt Lake’s northwest shore. The CP had hurriedly built track 

across Nevada and on to the lake shore bound for Ogden, but the UP had already beaten 

them to the Mormon City. No one knew where the CP and UP would meet, or if they 

would meet. Maneuvers in Washington, however, would have an immediate effect on the 

railroad construction crews and on Promontory Summit. 

 In Washington, D. C., over the night of April 8-9, chief engineer Dodge of the UP 

met with vice president Huntington of the CP in the home of Congressman and UP stock 

holder Sam Hooper. UP director Rowland G. Hazard was there as well. There they 

hammered out an agreement on the meeting of the rails, an agreement that reflected the 

realities of construction progress, and one which brought Promontory Summit into the 

limelight. Huntington was able to add a clause, which gave the CP what it wanted, a 

junction at or near Ogden, and to the UP executive committee months of anxiety and 

discussions about how to void the agreement. It read, in part: 

The place where the two roads shall meet and connect shall be at some point 

within eight miles of Ogden. 

The Union Pacific company shall complete the track to the summit of Promontory 

Point (sic.) to which place the Central shall build from the west, and the Central 

Pacific company shall pay to the Union the cost of the road without rolling stock 

from the terminus near Ogden as aforesaid to Promontory Point (sic.) 

The next day, on April 10, the U. S. Congress quickly passed a resolution blessing the 

agreement to join the rails at “Promontory Summit, at which place the rails shall meet 

and connect and form one continuous line.” One presumes that Congress feared the CP 

and UP would build to the summit, but not connect, forcing transfers of a few feet by 

land between the tracks.37 

 Huntington and Dodge wired the news, which was sent to the respective ends of 

track. Within a few days, Stanford ordered work stopped east of the Promontory. UP 

graders west of the Promontory were called back. 

Thomas Morris and other UP engineers took the news as an opportunity. On 

April 12, the diary of UP bridge engineer at Promontory, Leonard Eicholtz, noted that he, 

Morris and two others staked a quarter section each at Promontory Summit. Surveyor 

Koons platted the ground and Schyler returned to erect a tent to hold their personal land 

claim.38 

Eicholtz hedged his bets and with partners platted a new town on Blue Creek at 

the foot of the uphill grade. He named it Altoona, after the famed railroad town near the 

great Horse Shoe Curve of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he had cut his engineering 

teeth during the 1850s. By mid-April the group had taken up twelve or thirteen quarter 

sections at the Summit and at the base of the grade. They met in Morris’s tent and 

formed a land company in order to speculate on the new terminus. 

13
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

 Eicholtz’s diary indicates that he knew that the rails would meet at Promontory 

Summit, but not that the final junction would be at Ogden. On April 18, Eicholtz noted 

“the question of junction of the two roads still undecided.” He was part of a meeting at 

the summit two days later between Stanford for the CP and director Dillon, engineers 

Seymour and Reed and others for the UP, without conclusion. The CP planned to 

connect at Promontory but to run on to Ogden via the UP tracks; the UP countered that 

the question of final juncture was not resolved. Stanford wrote his colleagues that the UP 

officials were “surly” and intimated that the CP would never get possession of the road to 

Ogden. The Deseret News of April 28, broadcast to its readers that the UP would force 

the junction to remain where the rails would meet at Promontory Summit, not Ogden. 

The “junction city” would by default be at Promontory Summit. 

G) Completing the Track and First days at Promontory Summit 

 On April 30, the Central Pacific’s crews, Chinese and Irish track layers and 

telegraph line builders, arrived at the survey station denoting the “Promontory Summit.” 

CP crews had completed their 690 mile railroad first. The CP’s Chinese crews began 

ballasting track and finishing the roadbed working back west from the end of the line. 

The UP – CP “summits” were about a half mile apart and no one was sure which would 

be the point of juncture.39

Two days before, Dillon, Dodge and other UP officials, after witnessing the CP’s 

ten miles of track laying, ordered rail, ties, hardware, telegraph poles, and supplies taken 

by wagon to the summit. UP crews began building from their survey station on their 

“Promontory Summit” on the UP grade, building back east toward the rock blasters on 

the eastern slope. A few days later, a reporter noted that the UP had opened an office at 

the summit, a lone table with a telegraph key on top and battery underneath surrounded 

by sage, obviously meant to watch the movements of the fast track laying CP crews. 

 In early May, reporters noted that some 200 Chinese workers were in tents at 

Victory, six miles west, and at a gravel pit to the west of the summit. At Promontory 

Summit, tents began to appear along the UP and CP parallel track. J. S. Conner of 

Junction City moved the seven miles up the road and placed his wall tent opposite the end 

of the CP track. J. B. Keeney, Wells Fargo stage agent, established himself in a tent at 

the terminus as the last stage coaches ran between the ends of track, Junction City to the 

Summit. A migration out of the area had begun. Promontory City on the west slope and 

Junction City on the east were being abandoned. A few days later, a reporter visited 

Dead Fall and described the scene: “This town has almost entirely disappeared, a few 

deserted houses and old tent sites, alone marking where it formerly stood.”40 

Dodge, who was on the Promontory, probably met with his counterparts within 

the CP. They selected the point of junction between the UP and CP. The reporter for the 

San Francisco Chronicle noted on May 8th that “a small pennon indicates the point where 

the last rail will be laid.” Dodge did not disabuse reporters of the notion that the UP 

would stay at the junction on the Promontory; he would lay track up to the CP’s end of 

line at their “Promontory Summit” point. UP construction engineer C. H. Sharman, who 

had placed the pennons to mark the grade up over the range, later recalled that “we ran 

the curve that connected the two roads.” UP surveyors staked the arching grade line from 

the end of the CP track to a point back on the UP mainline, some 2500 feet.41

14
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

On May 7, Lewis Carmichael’s crew finished the last blast of rock work and Jack 

and Dan Casement’s track layers quickly laid the last 1.2 mile of rail to connect and 

finish the UP’s two ends of track. Over the weekend, May 8-9, Casement’s crews built a 

Wye at the Summit in order to turnaround locomotives and laid the 2500 feet of rail from 

the UP down to the CP end of track. The final rail links were left incomplete at the last 

spike site. The UP track which was laid earlier from the UP’s “Promontory Summit” 

point, now became a long spur off its transcontinental line. The Wye and spur were 

indications to all that the UP planned to stay.42 

 Arriving May 7, too, was CP President Leland Stanford and his special car loaded 

with dignitaries for the scheduled laying of the last rail planned for May 8. At four or 

five p.m., depending on your clock, the Union Pacific locomotive No. 60 met the Central 

Pacific’s “Jupiter” and “Whirlwind” with steam whistles blowing, the first steam salute 

across the continent. Dr. Stillman with the Stanford party described Promontory Summit 

the day the trains arrived, Friday, May 7. He wrote: “The morning was rainy and dreary; 

two or three tents were pitched in the vicinity for the rendezvous of those ruffians who 

hang about on the march of industry, and flourish on the vice of men. The telegraph 

operators at the end of the respective lines were then within a few rods of each other.”43 

A photograph taken about that time by Alfred Hart, CP photographer, looks west 

with a row of tents at left, J. S. Conner’s sign board jutting out from one. In the distance 

is a cluster of what appears to be wagons, possibly the UP track grading crews and 

construction engineer (who may have been holding a quarter section claim at the spot). 

Also in the distance, at left, is a lone tent, possible one of the squaters on the quarter 

sections claimed by Eicholtz and partners. 

But Eicholtz wasn’t there. He had rushed to Devil’s Gate, where his bridge had 

slipped from its foundations and caused a delay of the UP dignitaries and, thus, the delay 

of the last spike celebration until May 10. 

 

H) May 10, 186944

Of the many historic events of the nineteenth century, the driving of the golden 

spike at Promontory Summit completing the transcontinental railroad is one of the most 

documented. Eastern and western newspaper reporters, three photographers, diarists, 

journalists, and correspondents, and innumerable reminiscences have helped later writers 

detail the progression of events. Unfortunately, this mass of information has led to 

conflicting bits of detail. And, on some topics, the record is silent.45

 A reporter for the Virginia City, Nevada Enterprise rolled out of his tent and, at 7 

a.m., noticed the telegrapher placing a flag atop a telegraph pole at the last spike site. CP 

telegraph line superintendent F. S. Vandenberg, assisted by James Gamble of the Western 

Union Telegraph Company, was on the ground. A half dozen telegraphers from along the 

line were ensuring that their wires were ready, battery strength up, and keys and relays at 

work sending the numerous dispatches and speeches of the day. A. D. Bell of the San 

Francisco Bulletin and every other reporter highlighted in their articles how the driving of 

the last spike would be instantaneously communicated to America by tapping the wired 

maul to the wired spike, an unparalleled feat. 

 Charles Savage of Salt Lake City spent a cold night in the tent of the UP ticket 

office, but was first photographer on the ground. He was soon joined by photographers 

15
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figure 1. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 5, 1869, published a description of the May 10 

ceremony and a number of A. J. Russell’s photographs as woodcuts. They and other newspapers misslabeled the site as “Promontory Point” instead of Promontory Summit, which has caused continued 

confusion. 

16
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Alfred Hart, guest of the CP, and Andrew J. Russell, guest of the UP, who arrived with 

his wagon studio on the 8:20 train. Russell was in time to take shots of the Irish track 

layers placing the last rail and dirt on the UP grade. Alexander Toponce, beef contractor 

to the roads, later recalled “I took the shovel from an Irishman and threw a shovel full of 

dirt on the ties just to tell about it afterward.” He probably spent the night in a tent on 

site as well, possibly the restaurant which was like the one he once owned along the UP 

grade.46

The Virginia City reporter also noted that the UP crews were up early finishing 

the last section of a track closing the gap between the railroads. Photographer A. J. 

Russell captured the last of the crew at work ballasting the UP track. Russell’s 

photograph (Figure 2), one of his first taken that day, also shows the flag on the telegraph 

pole at left. The time is mid-morning. 

Figure 2. A. J. Russell photograph of the Union Pacific tracklayers ballasting the last section of UP track 

early on May 10, 1869. Note flag atop telegraph pole at left. Golden Spike National Historic Site (GOSP)

Russell, author of the article published in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, stated 

that he arrived around 8:20 a.m. with the UP train which carried vice-president Durant 

and other dignitaries. (The Virginia City reporter says it arrived at 9 a.m. – conflicting 

times reflects the lack of a standard time zone in 1869). Russell had his photography 

studio wagon with him and it is seen in a number of images of the day. The wagon was a 

simple buckboard with a box used as dark room on the back. 

 The strongest recollections of the children that were there was of where they slept, 

and of the flags. Gamble’s daughter slept under buffalo robes in a round tent, thought to 

be at Promontory, probably one of the sagging tents south of the CP track. Another oldtimer remembered a tent divided at night by calico partitions. The flags on the 

17
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

locomotive “Jupiter,” at the head of Leland Stanford’s special train, also caught the 

children’s eyes.47 

CP construction superintendent Strobridge’s work train is seen in Russell’s 

morning photographs (Figure 3). He and a crew in the boarding cars spent the night at 

“the front.” Chinese workers would be photographed at the last spike site, but none 

appear in the mid-morning photographs. 

Figure 3. By mid-morning the crowds began to gather. The arrow indicates the CP’s impromptu station 

and telegraph office in a box car (or “outfit car”), part of the railroad company’s work train. GOSP. 

Russell also met up with Charles Savage, Salt Lake City photographer, who had spent a 

chilly night in the UP ticket and telegraph office tent. Savage, in his diary, mentioned 

none of the UP crew, although the tent was up and undoubtedly housed the crew whose 

responsibility would be the first transfer of trains along the line. UP contractor 

Casement’s work train followed shortly after Durant’s special. A portion of the work 

train sits in the UP siding. 

By the time Russell was taking photographs, 9:00 or so in the morning, crowds 

began gathering around the last spike site. Russell’s photograph that looks back west at 

the last spike site shows a surveyor’s flag marking the end of the CP track (Figure 4). 

Figure 4. The flag at the end of the CP track. 

Detail from Figure 5. GOSP. 

 

 

18
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Tents seen in the few images he took that morning, shown below (Figures 5, 6, 7), 

have one or two people standing near them or in their door ways. In the background is 

the row of commercial tents north of the CP tracks. A man stands in the doorway of the 

restaurant (Figure 6), possibly the owner or maybe someone who has just finished 

breakfast. 

Figures 5, 6, 7, top to bottom. Russell took a series of photographs on the morning of May 10. The tents 

were in parallel rows along the CP track. A customer is seen in the doorway of the restaurant in Figure 6 

GOSP. 

Newspaper reporters on the ground, some of whom undoubtedly spent the night in 

the tents, note the day’s activities and will later send detailed dispatches, unfortunately, 

many of them contradictory. General agreement is that CP president Leland Stanford’s 

special train headed by CP locomotive #60, the “Jupiter,” arrived at the end of the CP 

19
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

track around 11:00 a.m. (it is visible down the track in the morning photographs by 

Russell, Figure 3). Around that time as well, a track gang of Chinese went to place all 

but the last plates and spikes. 

A. J. Russell captured the Chinese crew at work, surrounded by celebrants, UP 

workers, and the growing crowd. He scratched on his glass plate the caption “Chinese 

laying last rail” (Figure 8). 

Figure 8. Russell scratched on his glass plate negative: “Chinese laying last rail;” this image. Chinese 

tracklayers place the last rails and ties, except the laurel tie, around 11:00 a. m., on May 10. The UP ticket 

and telegraph office tents are in the background right of the Durant special train. GOSP. 

In the background can be seen tents abutting the UP connection track, to the right 

of UP vice-president Durant’s special train (note no other trains have arrived behind it 

yet). 

The UP tents are sturdily built with platform and wooden sidewalls indicating the 

intent of the UP to stay at Promontory for longer than the ceremony. The UP tents are 

seen in a number of photographs, some with a person sitting on a box or bench out front. 

These are hives of activity with agent and telegrapher taking care of business. UP chief 

engineer Grenville Dodge would later relate how he negotiated with the CP, the express 

and Western Union companies, and postal officials to have them set up their tents 

adjacent the UP ticket office, ensuring the terminus or junction would later be located 

there. But in the morning he was busy arranging the details of the ceremony with CP 

officials. 

Reporter O’Leary of the Sacramento Bee, who had the pleasure of riding in the 

Stanford special from Sacramento, described the arrival of the party and then the scene: 

“At present, aside for the boxcars [of construction superintendent Strobridge of the CP] 

which are used for the offices and boarding-houses of the railroad company, the place 

consists of seventeen tents, half of which have been put up since my arrival [May 7].” 

20
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

He added, “A few who have located eating houses and saloons here, predict that here it 

[the junction city] will be.” O’Leary commented on the pleasantness of the site and its 

possibilities as a good town location, except for the absence of water. He then proceeded 

to tell the folktale of 26 murders at Dead Fall, including one over gravy at breakfast. 

Later travel writers would move the shootings to Promontory station.48

The Omaha Herald reporter, W. W. Foote, wrote with amazement about the fresh 

strawberries from California available by the dish at a Promontory restaurant. Historic 

photographs show a restaurant at one end of the cluster of tents and a tent with “Red 

Cloud” painted on the front, probably a saloon named after the Chicago whiskey. The 

Mormon photographer Savage noted a half dozen tents and “rum holes” in his diary. The 

writer for Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly similarly highlighted the tents with vendors selling 

“Red Jacket, Red Cloud, and Blue Run,” popular spirits of the time.49 

 The Union Pacific entourage, led by vice-president Durant, included directors 

Duff and Dillon, who had been given explicit instructions by President Ames, who was 

not there, to make no agreements with the CP. He stated, “You will make no permanent 

arrangements for connection. Change cars only at end of track laid by us – till they pay.” 

Onboard as well was chief engineer Grenville Dodge, who met with Edgar Mills for the 

CP, to plan the day.50

 With each new train arrived another load of expectant observers. Regular 

passenger trains on the CP and UP arrived, as did a special consisting of new passenger 

cars bound west for the CP, which Dodge filled with soldiers, politicians, newspaper 

editors and other guests from as far away as Cheyenne. J. H. Beadle of the Corinne 

Reporter stated he arrived around 11:30 on the regular UP train. N. D. Baker of the 

Cheyenne Leader arrived on a special train, which, he noted, arrived at 12:17, after events 

had started. By then, “a thousand throbbing hearts,” to use the words of E. L. Sloan of 

the Deseret News, Salt Lake City, watched the events. Sloan arrived with the Mormon 

delegation, which included the principals of the contractors Benson, Farr & West and 

Bishop Sharp. 

An Iowa reporter who arrived with the crowded train from Corinne noted the 

“deadfall” saloons and the restaurants, both of which did a good business that day, as 

inferred from the reporters’ accounts. As the noon hour approached, the beginning time 

for the ceremony, the saloons and restaurants would have been busy feeding and 

refreshing the growing number of people. 

The San Francisco Bulletin reporter noted that the crowd “thronged” the last spike 

site at the noon hour, as the dignitaries came forward to begin the ceremony. Horses and 

workers moved to a point in front of the photographers who had hoped to have a clear 

view of the proceedings. One of A. A. Hart’s first photographs that day shows the crowd 

moving in to the point, which made it impossible for him to take a clear photograph of 

the proceedings (Figure 9). 

Hart’s image shows where wagons had been lined up behind the last spike site in 

order to provide an impromptu viewing stand for the participants. Participants, as noted 

above, would continue to arrive and fill the viewing space, causing the photographers to 

move closer. 

Hart’s image also clearly shows the tent of J. S. Conner, the “grocery” owner 

from Junction City, who had moved the few miles to Promontory the week before. His 

21
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

sign appears to line up with the last spike site; it was the best spot to watch the action 

until the crowd moved in. 

Another tent is barely visible behind a spectator right of center; a closer 

photograph would show its flaps wide open for business. The row of spectators near the 

saloon and other tents suggests the accuracy of a reporter’s comment that the saloons 

were well visited and the crowd swayed rather than stood still for the proceedings. 

 

Figure 9. A. A. Hart’s photograph of the crowd “swarming” the last spike ceremony site. Note the 

spectators standing on a row of wagons on the north side of the tracks. Behind them is the commercial row 

of tents, prominent among which is J. S. Conner’s tent at center. GOSP. 

The telegraphers are on the poles trying to protect the telegraph wire that extended to the 

ceremony site from being yanked loose by spectators. CP telegraph construction boss, 

Amos Bowsher, later recalled the crews wiring the maul and spike preparatory to 

telegraphing to the nation that the deed was done. Bowsher claimed to be the man on the 

ladder leaning against the telegraph pole, best seat to view events of the day. 

 At noon Promontory time, Edgar Mills opened the ceremony. Rev. Todd of 

Massachusetts gave a prayer offering thanks. Chinese track layers had already placed the 

last rail. The polished California laurel tie was placed under the joined rails by 

construction superintendents Reed and Strobridge. Comstock mining man and politician 

Frederick A. Tritle offered the first spike, a silver one from the state of Nevada. Arizona 

Governor Anson P. K. Safford offered the second spike, one gilded with silver and gold 

for Arizona. A third spike was offered by the San Francisco Newsletter and Advertiser. 

The fourth spike, one of California gold, was made per instructions of David Hewes and 

presented to Governor Stanford. He and Durant put the last spike, the “golden spike,” 

22
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

into place as Vandenberg directed the telegraphers to let the nation know the rails were 

being linked. 

 Several photographs were taken during the proceedings. According to reporters 

for the Alta California and Chicago Tribune, after Stanford’s speech, but before the 

placing of the last spikes, General Casement asked the crowds to step back to let the 

photographers have a better view. According to one paper, Hart asked that this be done; 

according to another, Russell requested the halt in the proceedings. Hart stood on the 

pilot of the “Jupiter,” while Russell and Savage stood in the temporarily cleared area 

south of the last spike site. 

Hart’s often reproduced image of Stanford holding the silver plated maul was 

taken at this time, probably half past noon, Promontory time (Figure 10). The driving of 

the last spike is about to happen. Hart, standing on the front of the “Jupiter” has captured 

the center of the action. 

Figure 10. Hart’s photograph captioned “the Last Act” shows the UP and CP officials at center ready to 

drive the last spike. CP president Stanford holds the silver maul and at his left is UP vice president Durant 

holding his sledge. At Durant’s left are UP directors Duff and Dillon, each holding up a spike. GOSP. 

Russell’s glass plate fortunately survives and provides clearer details, but from 

south of the tracks (Figure 11). Interestingly, Russell’s image also shows the same 

dignitaries as Hart, but they are confused which way to look, either at Hart on the 

“Jupiter” (see Dillon in mutton chop whiskers with spike looking toward Hart on the 

“Jupiter”) or at Russell (see white bearded Duff with spike next to Dillon looking at 

Russell). Durant with maul and fancy gloves looks at Russell; while Stanford’s image is 

blurred -- he is turning with the maul not sure to look at Hart or Russell. 

23
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figures 11. Russell’s photograph taken at nearly the same time as Hart’s (Figure 9), again, shows the 

principals holding up spikes and mauls (see detail, Figure 12). GOSP. 

 Stanford 

 Durant 

 Duff 

 Dillon 

Figure 12. Detail from Russell photograph, Figure 11. 

Dillon holds spike. Laurel tie ready to be put in place. 

24
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

In Figure 11, the locomotive “Jupiter” obscures Hart’s camera and all but part of 

the sign on Conner’s tent (seen under the headlight brace). The row of two tents to the 

right of Conner’s are 1) lost by the crowd in front of it and 2) just the upper stretch of 

canvas visible, but obviously the tent flaps are wide open for business. 

According to reporters, after the photographers snapped their shots (and the 

telegraphers finished wiring the maul and spike), the ceremony continued with the 

placing of the last tie and last spikes. The nation was anxious and to quiet the line, the 

Promontory telegrapher announced “we have done praying.” According to the Chicago 

Tribune, “it was now announced that the last blow was to be struck.” Bell in the San 

Francisco Newsletter reported Stanford with the silver maul sent the electric 

announcement that the work was done by tapping the golden spike. Durant and Stanford 

finished the job by each driving the last spikes into the laurel tie, securing the last rail. 

During this time, a UP train arrived with the reporter from Cheyenne who 

complained of its tardiness – the train had stopped at Corinne to pick up its loose 

population, according to the Cheyenne Leader, a couple hundred people, which meant 

standing room only. Also onboard, were the majority of troops who passed through 

Promontory on their way to San Francisco. Lt. Currier was with the troops and left the 

most detailed diary of May 10. He had arrived with his wife earlier, as a special guest of 

UP vice-president Durant. 

The spike was driven at a reported 2:47 p.m. Washington, D. C. time (today, 

Promontory would be 12:47 p. m., the agreed upon time of the driving of the last spike, 

or the telegraph announcement of the great work being “done”). According to Lt. 

Currier, the trains were then moved forward, pilots touching. Lt. Currier noted that “the 

engines then backed about two rods. Our regiment marched up, stood at parade rest 

while our pictures were being taken.” 

A reporter for the Deseret News noted that after the closing remarks “a half hour 

longer sufficed for the photographers to take views of the scenes from every available 

stand point.” This is probably when Lt. Currier mentions the locomotives backed up 

again and the troops stood at parade rest. The ceremonial photographic work continued. 

The arrival of the troops and the placement as a perimeter around the last spike 

helps identify which photographs were taken when. The troops seen in Figure 14 and 

Figure 16 are as described by Lt. Currier, at parade rest on the north side of the track. 

Other soldiers can be seen as pickets in a semi-circle holding the crowd back south of the 

tracks while the photographers take their images. 

The research of Paul Hedren suggests that the troops numbered nearly two 

hundred and fifty, a sizeable number. Their absence in the morning photographs 

coincides with Lt. Curriers diary about arrival times and activities. They arrived at the 

end of the ceremony, too late to help with crowd control before the event. 

The military also brought a band, commented upon by contemporary observers. 

At least one reporter lamented their tardy arrival, which precluded any music during the 

ceremony. The band was photographed by Hart in front of the locomotives after the 

ceremony. 

The photographs taken by Hart, Russell and Savage are important records of the 

scene, especially of the tents during this half hour post-ceremony opportunity for 

photographs. The tents were hives of activity, business was good. 

25
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

 

Figure 13. Russell photograph of UP officers in front of the Durant special shortly after the closing of the 

ceremony. GOSP. 

Of the Russell image (Figure 13) of the dignitaries in front of the No. 119 taken at 

this time, the Omaha Herald reporter wrote: “After the conclusion of these ceremonies 

the officers and distinguished visitors standing in a handsome group, a fine engine and 

train being in the background, were photographed.” Photographer Charles Savage took a 

similar image; his and Russell’s work were later often confused. The Russell negative is 

in his collection of negatives at the Oakland Museum. 

Some authors have stated that UP vice-president Thomas Durant had a headache 

and left the group after the ceremony. Durant with his fancy suit and gloves stands 

bearded at left of the rail just after the ceremony. To the right of the track are a row of 

UP officials, directors Duff and Dillon, engineers Dodge and Reed. 

Hezekiah Bissell, one of the UP engineers, in his reminiscence, recalled standing 

at the smoke box of the UP “No. 119” during the ceremony. In the photo a line of men 

stand clinging to the locomotive’s front, its smoke box, among them the engineers who 

worked on the line and not a few who staked land claims around Promontory Summit. 

In Figure 13, the UP ticket and telegraph office tent can be seen at the right of the 

train with people milling in front. The agent and telegraphers were probably busy 

helping people transfer from the UP to the CP, and assisting reporters and others send 

dispatches to the newspapers and listening dignitaries across the country, including 

president Grant (although that message may have been sent to Omaha early to ensure it 

would get through). 

To the left of the train is the tent of the Wells Fargo & Co. stage line. Beyond it is 

the sage brush flats where Promontory City would arise over the next few days as the CP 

removed the squatters in tents along its right of way, and where the UP engineers had 

staked a land claim. With UP chief engineer Dodge present and his friend, town 

speculator J. A. Williamson present, an opportunity to lay out a town and sell lots was 

possible but not taken. 

26
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

During this period, after the ceremony, Hart’s photograph from atop the UP “No. 

119” (Figure 14) shows the soldiers as noted in Curriers diary – at parade rest at right and 

in pickets forming a circular perimeter at left. The row of wagons earlier used as a grandstand for spectators at right, have been removed. 

Figure 14. Hart’s photograph from atop the UP locomotive No. 119 shows the scene after the ceremony 

with troops controlling the crowds. At right is the west end of the commercial row of tents. GOSP. 

Figure 15. A detail of Hart’s image shows activity at the saloons and restaurants along the commercial 

row north of the tracks. In the distance, the CP crew begins work at the site of their yard, side track and 

turntable. A cluster of tents would be seen in later photographs of the area, possibly the Chinese workers’ 

tents. GOSP. 

27
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Meanwhile, Russell has moved to on top of the “Jupiter,” capturing Hart and his 

camera in his photograph looking east. Both the Hart and Russell photographs, one 

looking east and the other looking west, were taken within minutes of each other (Figures 

14 and 16). They show the crowd after the ceremony, while also showing the celebratory 

activity starting up around the tents. 

Russell’s view from atop the “Jupiter,” Figure 16, shows much of the surrounding 

activity. At right, the telegraph crew relaxing, two still on the ladder, leans against the 

pole, their work done. The telegrapher’s tent is open, but is barely visible at the right 

edge of the image. It and the wagon probably held batteries, spare wire, and other items. 

Only what may be a box out front hints at the confusion that must have centered there, 

and will continue as reporters try to send their dispatches via Western Union. 

Figure 16. Russell’s image of the post-ceremony activities. GOSP. 

Behind the poles at right, behind Casement’s work train on the spur track at right, 

are the tops of tents, a base camp of operation like many others the Casement brothers set 

up. The work crews would be getting ready to build sidings and finish track work over 

the next few days. A clear photograph of previous base camps reveals the clutter of 

28
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

material and equipment that would have been located here, but is hidden in this scene by 

the railroad construction cars. 

At center is the Union Pacific ticket and telegraph office, beyond which stretch 

the trains of visiting celebrants (Figure 17). Some of the passengers are ticketing through 

from one line to the other, a process yet settled. Luggage, boxes and crates can be seen 

near the tracks beyond the UP tents. Opposite them, along the road, is the Wells, Fargo 

& Co. stage and express office. What looks like bags of mail or express are now piled 

out front. Like the passenger exchange, workers have yet to learn of all the details in 

transferring mail and express between the various companies. 

In Figure 17, beyond the stage office tent, in the distance can be seen the quiet 

tent of the UP engineers and speculators. They have claimed acreage and will offer land 

along the UP right of way. The tent is the beginning of Promontory City, which will 

grow over the next few weeks as the commercial row at the junction. The commercial 

row of May 10 north of the last spike and along the CP tracks will be removed to this 

area. 

Figure 17. Detail of Russell’s post-ceremony image. Note distant tent of land speculators, site of future 

Promontory City. GOSP 

After the half hour of photographs, Lt. Currier noted that the engineers moved the 

trains back together, pilots touching. The railroad officials retired to their cars for 

celebrations. This is when Russell took his famous “champagne photograph,” Figure 18. 

 

Figure 18. The Champagne photograph by Figure 19. Post-ceremony group 

Russell. GOSP. Photographs by Russell, this of 

 UP engineers and families. GOSP. 

29
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

“A clear, cool, beautiful day,” noted paymaster O. C. Smith in his diary. He and 

his wife had joined the celebration with other UP staff. The party began early – Eicholtz 

wrote in his diary that there was a “great deal of speechifying and wine drinking.” Wells 

Spicer wrote to the Tipton, Iowa Advertiser that drinking became general and not just 

water (at 50 cents a cup). He noted that after the photographers finished, “all then 

adjourned to the ‘deadfalls’ to irrigate.” 

The first train, the UP work train bound east, left around 2:00, followed by the 

Stanford Special headed west, and then others. The UP kept the local run late. Noted 

editor John Beadle of the Corinne Reporter, the train “remained on the ground till 

evening, presenting a scene of merriment in which Officers, Directors, Track 

Superintendents and Editors joined with the utmost enthusiasm... At a late hour the 

excursionists returned to Corinne.”51

 Many accounts relate the celebrations in the railroad cars and on the grounds. 

Historian Edwin Sabin, who interviewed some of the participants, noted that the 

celebration at Promontory continued into the evening, including an impromptu torch-light 

parade of workers in front of the row of tents. 

Left at Promontory Summit were the shop owners and a few needed workers for 

the railroads. In his memoir, General Dodge wrote, “That evening the visitors started 

east and west, leaving the engineers and working parties to arrange the details for 

conducting business of each road at this terminal [Promontory]. It was only a day or two 

before trains bound for the Atlantic and Pacific were passing regularly.”52

Figure 20. The “Stanford Special” at Promontory, May 10: locomotive “Jupiter,” 

 commissary car, and the private car of CP President Leland Stanford. They departed 

by 5:00 p.m. GOSP. 

I) Building the Junction for the Transcontinental Railroad 

In order to move people across the continent, each company established terminal 

facilities at Promontory Station. The companies had already issued schedules, which had 

two trains daily, one freight and one passenger, each way, with required transfer of 

passengers and freight cars at Promontory. As already mentioned, the UP had built a 

30
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figure 21. Union Pacific Railroad timetable, May 10, 1869. Courtesy Denver Public Library. 

31
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Wye east of the junction and had a spur made of its track on its original grade. The CP 

had built a siding west of the junction and had materials on hand to build a turntable for 

turning locomotives around and had ties and rail to build spur tracks. As for the actual 

transfer point and operations, Montague for the CP arranged the details with Dodge of the 

UP.53 

However, Dodge created a minor crisis from the start. He explained in a letter to 

UP president Ames, “After our people left Monday, Gov. Stanford notified us that he 

would put in a siding on his old grade, that our line covered and east of our connecting 

point and told Hoxie not to put any in, but I immediately ordered up Casement, put the 

siding in before day light and when their workmen arrived in the morning we had it 

completed, much to their disgust. I then made arrangements that all transfers should be 

done opposite our office and opposite our main track.”54 

Dodge had already placed tents along the main line for the UP ticket office and 

telegraph office, and set-up an office there for assistant superintendent Hoxie for 

operations. A Pullman Palace car was ordered moved from Wahsatch and placed on a 

siding for emergency sleeping space. A June 30 photograph shows the tent row. A Wells 

Fargo express tent, a Western Union telegraph tent, and the tent for “terminus post 

office” of postal agent Ball are visible in the scene. CP agent Hildreth, in charge of 

operations at the junction, placed the CP ticket and telegraph office along the row. 

Between the main line and UP’s 1350 foot siding workers built a wood platform to assist 

transfer movements.55 

Hoxie operated the Utah Division for the UP, with crews from Bryan, Wyoming 

[part of Utah until creation of the new territory in 1869] to Promontory. The CP division 

ran from Toana, Nevada to Promontory. Trains were passed between crews, from one 

division to another, with a major shift between railroads at Promontory. Hoxie had a 

pony engine, No. 5, which was used up and down the line to switch cars.56 

UP maintenance crews were directed out of Wahsatch, Utah under re-assigned 

Thomas Morris. Their focus was rebuilding the bridges of Echo canyon damaged by 

spring rains. The CP built shops at Terrace, Utah to the west and maintained a switching 

crew and gravel train at Promontory. A large force of Chinese was retained to gravel the 

track and, in essence, finish construction of the line. Historic photographs suggest that the 

CP’s Chinese crews were located at the western end of the yard in a cluster of tents. UP 

crews and office clerks lived in the company tents or boarding houses soon erected at the 

station. 

The biggest demand at Promontory was fuel and water for locomotives, both 

brought in by coal-filled gondola cars and water cars from the east, and water and flat 

cars piled with wood from the west. The locomotive servicing facilities were nonexistent. No structures were built at first. Cars were shunted onto side tracks and 

workers shoveled coal and tossed wood into locomotive tenders. Yard work was labor 

intense. 

The first train schedule show a four day crossing, Omaha to Sacramento. 

Passengers boarded trains in Omaha on Monday morning at 10 am and arrived at 

Promontory at 10 the next evening, Tuesday. The CP schedule, purposely or not, caused 

UP travelers to wait up to 22 hours at Promontory station. When CP trains left the 

following afternoon, travelers arrived at Sacramento two days later. The operations were 

not synchronized. 

32
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

At Promontory, the railroads offered no accommodations and minimal services. 

The first travelers told of the horrors. W. L. Humason was deposited at the end of track 

May 11 and found nothing but “sand, alkali, and sage brush.” The passengers, he wrote, 

“sat on their carpet-bags, nodding in the hot sun,” waiting all day for the CP train. One 

of the party shot a rattlesnake. They ate at a local tent restaurant, which served Plover 

and other local fowl. Upon the arrival of the train, they left “curses loud and deep upon 

the place.” Returning a week later, Humason found the same vexations and delay at 

Promontory.57

On May 15, New Yorker Searls Niles wrote his wife about arriving at 3 a.m. after 

the train crawled across a dangerous trestle at 2 or 3 miles per hour. He added, “I write 

you sitting on the last rail. The spike of gold is not here.” He made no complaint about a 

delayed transfer, however he wrote that “a city is growing up here which dates from day 

before yesterday.”58

A few businesses were already on the ground by May 10; others would follow 

shortly. On May 15, reporter W. W. Foote of the Omaha Herald wrote a description of 

the changed scene: 

“But a few days since, this point was an almost unsettled waste; now it is the 

temporary transfer point for freight transported from the extremities of the 

continent. Prior to the completion of the road, there were few or no houses, and 

with the exception of a few scattered tents for the accommodation of workmen, no 

signs of civilization were visible. Since the work is finished, however, many 

improvements have been made. 

Foote did not believe the junction would stay long on the summit, but admitted 

accommodations were needed for travelers during the interim. He added, 

for even though there is but slight probability that the terminus will be fixed here, 

still there is a great need for buildings and conveniences, to accommodate through 

travelers. These improvements have been made. The railroad companies have 

erected a large platform between the two roads, upon which freight, express 

matter and baggage is transferred with ease and without incurring loss. Some 

enterprising individual has erected a large tent, 30 x 70 feet, in which is kept a 

first class eating house. Eggs, beefsteaks and other delicacies can be had in 

abundance; fresh strawberries from California are also served for a small extra 

charge – one dollar per saucer. Of course, there are the usual number of drinking 

saloons, etc., such as are always found in U. P. towns.”59

 Dodge was interviewed by the Omaha Herald and other reporters. He confirmed 

that the UP would continue to use Promontory as its terminus and not Ogden. The CP, 

on the other hand, told the press it planned to move from Promontory within a “a day or 

two.” 

Neither company had plans for supporting a town at the summit, it just grew 

there. The CP, obviously, angered at the failure of the UP to live up to its agreement, had 

no plans to build a town at Promontory, and, further, construction chief Strobridge would 

not let any whisky or other shop on the CP grounds. He later reminisced how if one 

would appear near his camps, there was a convenient group gathered to tear it down. The 

tents along the CP track, “J. S. Conner” and the other tent shops in the May 10, 1869 

images, were removed from the CP right of way to opposite the tent stations in a row 

along the Union Pacific right of way.60

33
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Dodge, as land agent for the company made no effort to plat a town at 

Promontory. His men, General Williamson and surveyor O’Neil were at the May 10 

ceremony, but made no survey, filed no town site plat. The tents that began to appear at 

Promontory Summit stood outside any potential land grant section. Odd section numbers 

5 and 9 were railroad land grant land, if approved; railroad surveyors had tentatively 

mapped in section lines as the track progressed, so the sections’ locations were estimated 

and placed off limits. 

It is not known if any of the UP crews that squatted on the lands, April 12, platted 

a town, like they had elsewhere. Eicholtz makes no mention in his diary of selling lots– 

probably a reflection of directives from officials higher-up, maybe Dodge. Maybe he left 

the work to others, a work he left unrecorded as he moved elsewhere to build railroads.61

On May 10, chief engineer Dodge was ready to sell the line and move off the 

Promontory. The cost of double heading locomotives up the grade to run its trains to 

Promontory was an unacceptable cost – engineers knew that steep grades meant more 

fuel consumption and higher operation costs as well as lower revenues because less 

freight and fewer passengers could be carried uphill. Steep grades could bankrupt a 

railroad. 

He gave president Ames his opinion of the run up the east slope to Promontory. 

On May 26, he wrote: “we do not want the road, we want to get rid of it. It has 116 feet 

grades, 10 degree curves, in fact, its grades are equal to 132 feet, with high rough trestles 

and good deal of work to be done on it to get it in shape.” While the UP executive 

committee continued its indecision about selling the Ogden-Promontory line, division 

engineer Morris put crews at work putting additional bracing on the long trestle near 

Promontory. By then, Dodge had returned east.62 

J) Promontory City 

“‘Ho! for the Promontory’ – no place like the Promontory. While writing this morning in 

the ticket office [at Taylor’s switch], in the rush for passage to the west by next train, I 

heard but one person ask for a ticket elsewhere.” The correspondent for the Deseret 

News writing May 16, heard that UP directors Dillon and Duff had made no agreements 

with the CP. The Promontory was the de facto junction. As the reporter noted, a general 

movement of speculators was underway toward the new station to the west.63 

 During the middle of May, a row of tents appeared along the north side of the 

tracks at Promontory Summit. Newspapers of the period mention various businesses that 

opened shop there. T. D. Brown & Co., General & Commission Merchants, Salt Lake 

City, opened a branch at the summit. J. S. Fyfer opened a dry good store. Contemporary 

photographs by itinerate photographer John Silvis shows the tents, signs of barber shops, 

billiard halls, the California store, the San Francisco saloon, Golden Crown cigar shop, 

the Pacific Hotel, the Club House gambling hall, and Sunnyside hall. The Echo Bakery 

next to the Pacific Hotel was probably moved from Echo City, the declining construction 

camp up the line. Two Chinese men, Sam Hing and Ah Lee, operated a laundry. 

On May 21, Ed Watson, formerly of Junction City arrived to find Junctionites relocated 

to Promontory. He noted in his diary that he met Will Riley, Barney Davis, Pugeson 

brothers and a character known only as “Whalebone.’ (Possibly a name taken from 

Henry Ward Beecher’s description of the big men of the West, they’re all “whalebone 

34
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

and catgut.”). New Yorker Riley, one-time “mayor” of the now deserted Junction City, 

was a 26 year old grocer with a 25 year old wife, Francis. Barney Mallory, a friend of 

Watson’s, was a clerk in Riley’s grocery. A “grocery” at that time could be 

any thing from saloon to dry good store, but sold any item the owner thought would turn 

a profit.64 

As at Junction City, Riley probably helped maintain a semblance of governmental 

control. Unfortunately, newspapers of the period are silent about the residents of 

Promontory City organizing a quasi-government as they had done at Junction City and 

elsewhere. Reporters and travelers along the line mention such “miners’ court” type 

governments at Corinne, Uinta, and Wahsatch, all UP towns in Utah. One traveler wrote 

that the UP towns’ “organization of justice is on the mining region plan. A man of 

particularly bad character is warned out of town. If he refuses to go he is brought before 

the mayor and fined at discretion. If he has no money to pay, he is locked in a box car 

and sent East.” At its beginning, Promontory City probably followed this model.65 

Newspaper editor Fred K. Freeman, brother of Leigh Freeman of the infamous

Frontier Index, a rail side newspaper, surveyed Promontory City for possible relocation 

of his newspaper, to this next “Hell on Wheels” town on the UP. A newspaper in a 

frontier community meant a mouth-piece and proponent for its future. That Freeman 

chose not to stay indicates that he, like others, felt Promontory City’s future was too 

tenuous. Diarist Watson too, unfortunately for later historians, left for California. 

By the end of May the town reached its ultimate size of around thirty tents lined 

up along the UP railroad’s right of way. On May 28, Isaac Morris, a government official 

inspecting the line wrote a pessimistic review of the town. “It is a lonely and desolate 

locality, without water or fuel, both of which have to be brought from a distance, and 

Promontory City, as it is called, is not likely to become a commercial emporium, while it 

will have some fame and a romantic interest attached to it as the place where the Atlantic 

and Pacific first embraced.”66 

However, Promontory station’s train crews – brakemen, firemen, engineers, 

section hands, clerks in the various offices – all needed basic goods, clothes, food, and 

lodging. They shopped in the tent row. The CP Chinese had a tent camp near the 

turntable and ordered supplies for their needs direct from San Francisco – teas, clothes, 

foods, and supplies. Later, California suppliers of Chinese goods would open shops in 

Utah, but not Promontory, to meet their demands. The 100 or so train crew members on 

the UP lived in tents near the station, but also used boarding houses in the tent row. 

William Henry Jackson ate at the New England House and noted in his diary that he had 

a “hearty supper.” He also noted in his diary: “Promontory was just like the other towns 

only there was no exception in the mile of canvas houses – all the RR offices, etc. being 

wall tents boarded up.”67 

There are no population statistics for Promontory City, but 257 voters were 

counted in the precinct in an August election. This suggests a sizeable population along 

the railroad across the range to the Nevada border. 

Most of our information about Promontory City comes from weary travelers who 

left published accounts. The description by a group of excursionists from Cincinnati is 

representative: 

35
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figures 22, 23, 24, 25. Images of Promontory: Summer 1869 

Promontory City’s single street as photographed by John Silvis during the summer of 1869. Silvis was an 

itinerate photographer who worked along the Union Pacific Railroad for a decade. In September, he met 

William H. Jackson and A. C. Hull in Utah. Images courtesy Barry Swackhamer. Todd Delyea prepared 

the line drawing based upon the Silvis and Russell images. 

36
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figures 26, 27, 28, 29. Images of Promontory: June 30 – July 1, 1869 

William H. Jackson and A. C. Hull were in Promontory, June 30-July 1, 1869. Jackson noted in his diary 

that they took three pictures on June 30, of the last spike site with flag still on telegraph pole, above. On 

July 1, they took several photographs of the town, none of which have been located. The row of tents along 

the track may have been taken either day. 

The depots and tent row along the tracks 

photographed by Jackson and Hull June 30 or July 

1shows the primitive arrangement prior to 

September. Todd Delyea delineated the row based 

on the photograph. 

Jackson images at Denver Public Library and U. S. Geological Survey; and Silvis images courtesy Barry 

Swackhamer.

37
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figure 30. Union Pacific railroad route map showing proposed line from Promontory to 

Portland. Courtesy Denver Public Library.

38
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Promontory consists of ... thirty-six houses in one row on the other side [of

tracks]. These thirty-six structures ar

 the 

e all one story high and roofed with canvas. 

There is not a dwelling in the place, every shanty being occupied for business, the 

inhabitants sleeping in odd corners and recesses. A barber shop, drugstore, 

saloons, restaurants, fruit stalls, and stores filled with general merchandise 

compose the commercial row of the place ....The reputation of Promontory for 

rough characters is well established; but the gamblers did not bring out their 

games for the benefit of the Cincinnatians.68 

The speculators of Promontory City lived on hope. Hopes, at first, that 

Promontory would become a freighting and staging jump off spot for Idaho and Montana 

died by midsummer. Freight teams and stage coach lines for Montana began running 

from Corinne, twenty-eight miles to the east, and, at Kelton, thirty-eight miles west, the 

companies followed a new wagon road to Boise, southwest Idaho, and eastern Oregon. 

The lack of water at Promontory was a factor. The railroad companies brought water to 

the station from Corinne on Bear River and Kelton on Indian Creek. Local residents 

brought water in a barrel by wagon from a spring six miles south of town. 

Some residents hoped the UP might build on to the Northwest, with Promontory 

as division point, a constant rumor fed by track crews and a published map showing 

Promontory as the junction point for the road to Oregon (Figure 30). By midsummer the 

UP had called back its engineers locating that venture. 

Of course, all hoped that the CP or UP might build a permanent terminal in 

Promontory. The companies took no action that summer to build shops or terminal 

structures, which might feed any such rumor. More often, newspaper stories were filled 

with rumors of the CP building its own line to Ogden, demoting the place to just another 

eating house stop along the line. One Promontory merchant published an advertisement 

that stated he would be moving any day, to Ogden or elsewhere, once the junction was 

removed. 

One young man, a mail clerk at Promontory, expressed this desire to move in a 

letter home, July 7. “Dear Olive,” he wrote, “my office is not five rods from where the 

last rail was laid,” from which he helped transfer the 2 1⁄2 tons of mail and express per day 

handled by the railroad. But he desired to return east rather than remain in the west even 

though there was fine grazing land in the region, he thought. But for most of the country, 

especially around Promontory, he wrote, the land was “entirely worthless consisting of 

boundless plains white with alkali and mountains covered with sage brush.” He was 

ready to return east to farm -- “if we go to farming I think we will do better.”69

Promontory City’s future, or lack of one, evident by June, caused the tent city to 

remain a canvas town. As terminus it had facilities to house and feed workers. The row 

of tents, some with wooden false fronts, served the workers and travelers. The 

companies had tent offices as did associated businesses, with their clerks. The 

community’s appearance remained much the same over the six to seven months of its 

existence. 

Newspaper correspondents were universally critical of any railroad caused delay, 

which may have influenced their view of the tent city and that of their readers. None 

were more eloquent in their critique than New York Tribune reporter Albert Richardson. 

He penned, “Promontory is nether city nor solitude, neither camp nor settlement. It is 

bivouac without comfort, it is delay without rest. It is sun that scorches, and alkali dust 

39
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

that bli

twentythe Gre

K) Sod

“The L

destruc n long ago,” wrote the editor of the 

Elko, N us. A 

ntory station 

before 

aper showing the good side of the 

commu

et 

 level; for it certainly was, for its size, morally nearest to the infernal regions of 

any tow

oons, and 

prostitu

 The 

. Over a 

 

of the wooden dwellings attracts notice on account of the neatly arranged 

f 

nds. It is vile whiskey, vile cigars, petty gambling, and stale newspapers at 

five cents apiece. It would drive a morbid mind to suicide. It is thirty tents upon 

at Sahara, sans trees, sans water, sans comfort, sans everything.”70 

om on the Sage 

ord must have become more lenient and patient toward sinners since the 

tion of Sodom, or Promontory would have falle

evada Independent the next dining stop down the line west of the termin

series of tales of woe by passengers who had been fleeced there, and vented their anger in 

Elko, had the editor indignant. “It would be a mercy to the traveling public,” he wrote,

“especially that portion coming west, and a relief to the honest mechanics of Promontory

and the moral sentiments of the age, if the cleansing element of fire would sweep the 

town from the face of the earth.”71

 Such a diatribe reflects how a gang of gamblers had found a way to profit from

the bored transcontinental travelers as they waited for connections at Promo

continuing on their journey. Unfortunately, the popular image of the community, 

ca. summer-fall, 1869, is reflected in the few newspaper accounts available that 

highlighted the shocking, as opposed to an absence of opposing views like one would 

find in the “local topics” column of a small town newsp

nity. 

 A number of reporters related descriptions of the method of the gamblers. 

Colorful descriptions are those by Cincinnati Commercial correspondent and occasional 

editor of the Corinne Reporter, John H. Beadle. Beadle visited Promontory City August 

1. He wrote the often quoted line, Promontory is “4900 feet above sea-level, though, 

theologically speaking, if we interpret scripture literally, it ought to have been 49,000 fe

below that

n on the road.” (One could have said the same for early Corinne). Beadle did 

concede, in his later book Western Wilds, a compilation of his writings, that some 

individuals were fools tempted too easily to part with their cash. He wrote, “Strange that 

so many men are yet deceived when these tricks have been exposed so often; strange that 

even old travelers can be caught by devices explained a hundred years ago in the 

‘Rogue’s Lexicon.’”72

 World traveler and London newspaper man William Rae arrived in August as 

well. Between transferring luggage to the CP, he described the card sharps, sal

tes. 

There is usually ample time to stroll through the town and see the sights. The 

town is built partly of canvas and partly of wood, and has but one street.

signs are hardly in keeping with the structures to which they are attached

shanty is painted in large letters, ‘Pacific Hotel,’ and over a tent, ‘Club House.’

One 

muslin curtains within the window. Unlike the others, it has no signboard to 

indicate its purpose, but a glance through the open door satisfies the curiosity o

the passerby. He sees two or three smiling females ready to extend welcomes to 

whoever will enter ....Of drinking saloons there are many at Promontory; but 

there is only one gambling hell as far as I could learn.”73

40
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Rae describes the various games in the halls, the use of cappers and an open air tabl

Three Card Monte game underway. He reported that one gambler had, the story went, 

made $1700 on one notable day. Rae did not fear for his safety. 

e with 

Woodcuts in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly published January 5, 1870, after 

ve a national audience its image of Promontory City, a row of 

nts and a street table gambler, as always, ready to fleece the foolhardy traveler. 

otion of 

the 

paper to Promontory, was describing the systematic 

. 

gent at 

wspaper editors of Ogden, Corinne, and Elko reveled in attacks on the 

rminu , in 

t accounts, for the most part, note the gambling, but avoided it. 

y 

 At Promontory, she could see inside the tents, men drinking at the bar, 

boarder r at 

his side ides 

“blown

tent res s, 

probab

change

wife Fr

William tier 

bullwh r of 1869. 

the gamblers had left, ga

te

Railroad guidebooks, the first published in September, 1869, did not dispel the n

Promontory as a “Hell on Wheels” town. Early newspaper articles and later guidebooks 

influenced traveler’s views. One scared diarist on August 14 wrote an example view of

Promontory: this “is a fearful place composed almost entirely of open gambling booths 

and whiskey shops. They tell one someone is killed here nearly every day. One of our 

passengers fleeced of all he had by the gamblers. Glad to get away.”74 

 Contemporary newspaper accounts do not counterbalance the image. By July, 

Corinne Reporter, the nearest news

band of robbers who used marked cards, fixed three-card Monte games, and loaded dice

On June 27, the editor wrote the town was “infested with about as nice a set of 

sharps...as ever made Natchez under the hill notorious.” The Telegraph of Ogden also 

noted murders of cattle men in the nearby hills and the work of a special postal a

Promontory, who made a profit through a confederate secreting vegetables and fruits 

from Sacramento in a mail bag, which he sold to the boarding houses along the tent row. 

 The ne

te s town, and each other. This was a period of uncontrolled, local boosterism

which an editor’s duty was to praise his home, ignore its faults, and criticize every failing

in neighboring communities, especially if it could help remove some plum, such as the 

junction city status. Promontory was an easy target for such editors, cursing it while 

praising its own advantages as the perfect site for the rail junction. The Boise Idaho 

Statesman editor, after reading one self-promoting article in the Corinne Reporter wrote: 

“One would think to look at the columns of the Reporter that New York, Chicago, and 

San Francisco were situated too far from Corinne ever to amount to much.”75 

Without its own editor to fight back, we have a biased image of the railroad 

transfer point. Reverend Sheldon Jackson, itinerant Presbyterian minister, and Episcopal 

missionaries preached in its tents, but left no impressions of Promontory station. 

Travelers who have lef

Mary Mathews and her son traveled through Promontory, talked more of the comrader

of the coaches, how she and her son were made part of a larger, caring family during the 

railroad trip. 

s eating baked beans and pork, a card game with four men, each with a revolve

. She could see all this because a wind gust hit several tents, which had their s

 away.”76 

A young boy, age nine, traveling west with his family would recall an enormous 

taurant and the abundance of food. Somehow the boys also ended up with card

ly the gift of a gambler. The diary of a school teacher mentions the hurry to 

 baggage, and to get a meal, but makes no notice of gamblers. J. P. Morgan and 

ancis passed through in their Pullman in July without discomfort or distraction. 

 Henry Jackson’s diary makes no mention of gamblers, but he had been a fron

acker and was hardened to any card sharps by that summe 77

41
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

In July, a traveler from Chicago took a hike to a local mountain top, awed by the 

view of the lake below. Another from Wisconsin went to see the last tie, which was “in

very slim condition.” He also had an “excellent supper, served wit

 a 

h meat and every 

edible g

, 

 the uphill run, 

ts 

e 

or 

s 

rote that 

his mee

 

 to 

ion Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, May 10, 1869.” The stone 

was pro

re strung 

ood, was only $1.” For drinking water, the restaurant owner paid $2 for a barrel

of water from the railroad company. He added, “here saw the first evidence of a mining

town in a hard looking man, with blue spectacles on and a cunning wagging tongue

presiding at a three card monte table,” but he steered clear.78

An account of a shooting on the main dirt street of Promontory, between a rancher

and a younger cattleman, adds a note of tragedy and is the only documented act of 

violence. “Uncle Jimmy” Williams accused the young man of cattle stealing, and was 

shot in the thigh as a response. He recovered. The only death that summer of 1869 at 

Promontory was a twenty-two year old brakeman. Injured in a wreck on

he died in Promontory.79 

Brakemen, conductors and firemen falling off trains, getting injured in minor 

accidents, and smashed between cars was, unfortunately, far more often the cause of 

death and injury on the Promontory and elsewhere along the line. These acciden

receive a small note in the local columns of the Utah newspapers. Newspaper 

correspondents like Rae and Beadle shocked readers with morality tales, but failed to 

mention railroad deaths or major wrecks, the pangs of the industrial revolution. The 

evolving technology of the railroad and the mixed response of management still left 

safety as a low priority. Two years later the Wyoming territorial legislature, one of th

first, would pass legislation making all railroads responsible for its employees disabled 

killed on the job.

L) Telegraph and Railroad Operations. 

In mid-June, chief engineer Montague of the CP called a meeting at Promontory 

with chief engineer Dodge. He needed to settle disputes on trackage at the terminus plu

try to develop a more interconnected operation between the lines. Dodge later w

tings with Montague had always been fair and professional. The CP planned

improvements, to add a new switch and build a 18 x 24 wood frame ticket and telegraph 

office. The CP also desired coal from along the UP in the Wasatch Mountains and

Wyoming as its locomotives were slowly converted from wood burners to that of coal.80

 However there would be no shops or roundhouse built. Montague and Dodge 

agreed that the track alignment at the junction would be improved, lessening kinks, and 

adding more ballast. Sometime during their discussions, then or later, Dodge planned

better mark the junction. In a note to engineer Morris, July 15, then cutting stone 

abutments for new bridges, he wrote: “the stone for junction had better be marked 

‘Junction of the Un

bably meant to replace the tie at the last spike site. One traveler noted earlier that

the company had to place a guard at the whittled tie since souvenir collectors continued 

to cause it to need to be replaced.81

During the summer, the Western Union built a new telegraph line along the 

railroad, across the Promontory. The CP signed an agreement where the Western Union

used its lines, in part, but had to build a new line east to its earlier transcontinental 

telegraph wires in the Salt Lake Valley. By August the new wire and poles we

42
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

east fro

h 

ains 

e of the better trains wrote: 

ce, 

he 

 bridge – strong, but a temporary structure.”

sing 

ix 

n 

er 

e 

uining track, it is almost impossible to keep it up under their weight.” 

His crews had to increase their work since a scheduled transcontinental Pullman train 

hs.84 

Section crews were stationed at Promontory by both companies, according to 

reports

ck 

 of 

m 

t 

 had few section crew workers there in 1869, after 

the init

 plea 

m Promontory to Salt Lake Valley. Ed Conley, superintendent of the section, 

upgraded the system and placed a telegrapher in the CP’s new station building. The UP 

later signed an agreement with the rival Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company, whic

began stringing additional wires along its line and upon the unused poles west of 

Promontory.82

Train movement continued to be hampered by the Promontory grade. Short tr

with two engines was the norm. E. H. Derby traveling on on

After shifting luggage and thus losing two hours at Promontory, we enter the 

silver palace cars of the Central Pacific. Our train comprises two silver pala

two passenger and two baggage or mail cars, with about one-hundred first class 

passengers and we take the berths we have engaged by telegram. In ascending t

short gradient of eighty feet or more, at Promontory, we have used two engines 

and crossed a trestle 83

Other travelers noted that trains were split in half, a locomotive pulling each 

section up the eastern slope. 

The editor of the nearby Corinne Reporter kept tabs on the size of trains pas

west. He commented when the longest trains or newest passed by. A train of s

passenger cars was good sized, where freights were no longer than a dozen cars with a

immigrant car attached. The Reporter announced on August 12th the longest train ev

to date on the UP passed by: engine, twenty box cars, two other cars, and caboose. Th

first all Pullman trains with diners and sleeping cars began crossing the transcontinental 

railroad in August. Within days, Morris was complaining to Dodge, “these Pullman 

sleeping cars are r

began running in October, but lasted only six mont

, “Hibernians” of the UP on the east and Chinese of the CP on the west side. 

Travelers rolling into the station encountered their first Chinese at Promontory. One 

commented: “It was there the excursionists first saw the Chinaman. Sam Hing and Ah 

Lee have little huts adorned with signs vouching for ‘good washing and good ironing 

done here.’ A gang of Chinese laborers, in loose blue muslin garments and peaked 

parasol hats of straw were grading a new switch at the station.” Unfortunately we la

reminiscences by the Irish or Chinese of early Promontory, although three of first 

Chinese section gang members participated in Ogden’s fiftieth anniversary celebration

laying the last rail.85

One report counted 200 Chinese and several gravel trains at work on the CP 

division, Toano to Promontory. Morris had 278 men, four gravel trains, and a stea

excavator on the UP’s Utah division, reportedly mostly Irish. The UP company kep

secret its plans to supplement the crews with cheaper Chinese labor; the telegrapher at 

Promontory was told to not announce their movements over the wires.86

By order of Dodge, Morris was to do no maintenance work between Ogden and 

Promontory. Thus, the UP probably

ial work to brace the long trestle on the east slope of the Promontory. A train

crashing through a short trestle on the stretch in the Salt flats brought repairs, but Dodge 

did not respond positively to Morris’s requests to fix the line to Promontory, nor his

that it is “easier to keep up than put up.”87 

43
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Old timers recalled early train crews fifty years later. Names of locomotive 

engineers, yardmasters, telegraph operators were shared, a long list of young men. 

Unfortunately, payroll records for the period are lacking and, thus, most information is 

anecdotal. Each locomotive engineer was responsible for his engine, enhancing a

connection bet

 close 

ween man and machine. They put antlers, brass eagles, and other 

orname

“Swifts or 

of the t e 

of forty

been a 

Hammo f the UP, while 

f 

e operations from the haphazard construction 

era to o

 for 

e 

ry 

ee 

ats to 

. 

ld 

he 

iness, though 

one cow

a 

en 

ds and conductors chased the characters off, 

but to no avail. Rev. John Ross’s journal provides a picture of the increasing boldness of 

nts on headlights and domes, giving each a distinctive character. The locomotives 

in the terminus yard were the classic American 4-4-0s with names, on the CP, like 

ure,” “Whirlwind,” and “Apollo.” One local newspaper note captures the flav

ime: “The whirlwind which passed up toward Promontory last evening, at the rat

 miles per hour, was the well-known locomotive of that name.” She must have 

wonderful sight.88 

In July and August, respectively, the UP and CP changed management. Colonel

nd of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy became superintendent o

A. N. Towne, former assistant superintendent of the CB&Q, became superintendent o

the CP. Both would attempt to change th

ne of set time schedules and acceptable rate structures.89

UP superintendent Hammond took decided action to improve the condition

travelers transferred at Promontory, a bottle-neck that was hurting the line’s image. He 

ordered the construction of a wood-frame, eating house and hotel, which opened in 

September. The building would also include a telegraph and ticket office. In October, h

also ordered a round house for Promontory with plans to upgrade facilities at the yard. 

On October 25, 1869, Hammond wrote president Ames: “We have after full 

consideration made Winter quarters at Promontory.” He added that, “I fear much to 

make Passengers comfortable at Promontory.” The continued problem of petty thieve

and gambling outrages needed to be addressed.90

M) Vigilantes 

“Upon the telegraph poles of Promontory one Sunday morning in November 1869,” 

wrote historian H. H. Bancroft, “there appeared posted a notice, signed by the committ

of Vigilance, warning all loafers, pimps, gamblers, pettifoggers, thieves, and cutthro

quit the town within twenty-four hours, or to prepare to be hanged each upon a telegraph

pole.” The town’s leaders, primarily the railroad men led by UP station keeper S. R

Edwards, had reached a point of action. The outrages to passengers had been endured too 

long.91

Previously, on September 6, the Box Elder county commissioners finally 

appointed a justice of the peace, James R. Gregory, for Promontory, with hopes it wou

bring order. Gregory was a Corinne druggist, who had help organize that town’s 

gymnasium, a physical fitness club. He arrived in Promontory and wrote the editor of t

Reporter that gambling and whiskey swilling was the village’s prime bus

 was in town as a hint there might be a cattle industry built up there. He added, 

this is “a ‘canvas-back’ city – city, God save the mark!” Gregory stayed in town barely 

month, leaving the town to its cappers, and the best three card monte dealers he had se

on the line.92 

The cappers and gamblers’ boldness increased that fall, entering cars to tempt 

waiting passengers out. Station agent Edwar

44
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

the gam CP 

bles 

ity with which his tongue moved. The gambler dressed as a 

erly German immigrant. 

Karl Kr

ted 

 outcries of 

Pacific”). They posted notices and, on 

Sunday November 21 , a committee of three marched through the town, “visited every 

isreputable houses and warned the proprietors harboring any suspicious 

erson, under penalty of themselves being driven from town.” They loaded the thugs, 

ded the editor, Promontory “is now deserted except for the railroad employees.” 

The Elk had 

 

bling element. On October 7, he arrived a Promontory for a long wait for the

train. In his journal he mentions foolish fellow passengers taken in by the gaming ta

– one young man lost his watch, an Irishman lost $12, all he had, and another passenger

lost $20. Friendly characters entered the coach and enticed the bored riders out of the 

cars. Ross went out to buy some tea and saw the tables in action. 

A large bonfire burned in the street. We could see each den of inequity and all 

who came out and those who venture in. A gambling table stood beside the

fire...One man was spokesman and actor. He had hands as smooth and white as 

those of any lady. They are generally enveloped in kids [gloves]. He held a pack 

of cards in his hands, and the way in which he fingered them over was only 

matched by the rapid

perfect gentleman.93

Those who staked down their money, “lose every time.” Ross felt robbed himself after 

paying $3 per pound for tea. Ross, like every other writer, left no description of the 

shops or their merchants. 

The catalyst for vigilante action was the robbery of an eld

eka with his family was bound for California via a UP emigrant car. At 

Promontory, while changing trains, he was robbed of all his cash by “garroters,” or 

muggers. Edwards and other trainmen reacted quickly and, on November 19th, arres

four suspects led by “Big Jim.” Edwards took them to the justice of the peace at Corinne. 

The railroaders also raised funds, $150, for Kreka and family to continue West. 

However, the Corinne justice of the peace let the prisoners get away bringing

bribery and demands for his removal.94 

 Incensed by the Kreka robberies, Edwards and the train crews formed a vigilante 

committee, the “B of U” (“the Boys of the Union 

st

saloon and all d

p

thieves, and muggers into a UP box car and had them hauled out of Promontory. No 

lynchings occurred that evening.95 

The Deseret News lauded the work of the “B of U.” “The conduct of Mr. 

Edwards and the railroad employees, in ridding their neighborhood of a set of harpies and

scoundrels, and for extending aid to those who had been fleeced of the whole of their 

worldly wealth by them, is worthy of the greatest praise.” They cleaned out the tent row 

and, ad

o Independent gave its blessing to the action, proclaiming that Promontory

been redeemed.96 

Law enforcement at Promontory greatly relied on the Union Pacific crews.

Edwards as agent led the vigilantes. In his reminiscence, Dodge would describe what had 

occurred when the toughs took over Julesburg, Colorado, Cheyenne, Wyoming and 

elsewhere. “We laid out towns,” he wrote, “officered them, kept peace. Two or three 

times at the end of our tracks a rough crowd would gather and dispute our authority, but 

45
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figures 31, 32, 33. Images of Promontory: October 1869 

 

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly sent artist Joseph Becker across the continent in October, 1869. Becke

was briefly in Promontory, 

r 

but his illustrations of the tent row, the gamblers in the street, and the post 

office appeared the following year, January 5 and March 19, 1870. The streetscape is probably based on 

the photographs by A. J. Russell, but with additions, changes in the names of business and other artistic 

license by Leslie’s artists or editors. 

46
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Figures 34, 35, 36. Images of Promontory: November 1869 

Andrew J. Russell traveled across the country in November 1869, making a stop at Promontory. He 

captured the last days of “Promontory City” and the Union Pacific operations in the town. In the two 

photographs above is the railroad eating house, UP ticket and telegraph office with a row of new 

frigerator cars in front. In the image at left, in the distance, can be seen the CP yards. Russell’s artistic 

ill in the use of perspective is seen in this near abandoned street scene of Promontory City and station. 

ll images in Golden Spike National Historic Site files. Better copies can be found at: Russell negatives at 

akland Museum, Oakland, California. 

re

sk

Promontory City, November 1869. 

A

O

47
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

48

tory followed the pattern. Shortly 

ereafter, CP special agents joined the “B of U” to clean out thieves, thugs and gamblers 

along the railroad, from Bryan, Wyoming to Toano, Nevada. This activity coincided 

with the final decision to move the junction from Promontory station.97 

N) Removing the Junction 

 Promontory was site of a grand council of railroad leaders in September when CP 

president Stanford, vice-president Huntington, Crocker and other men met with president 

Ames and directors of the UP, all in private cars and many with their families. They had 

come to inspect the line and negotiate the relocation of the junction site for the CP - UP. 

Negotiations over costs and payment quickly broke down into heated quarreling, and the 

junction decision was left unsettled. Interviewed after the meeting, Crocker announced 

that the CP would build to Ogden and would immediately put surveyor Bates in the 

field.98

 Meanwhile, the UP was strapped for cash and needed funds to maintain payments 

on loans and bonds. The Mormon hierarchy was demanding payment of its unpaid bills 

s well. As settlement, the UP offered surplus rails, ties, and equipment, which Brigham 

City. 

n 

99

resident to assess the condition of the transcontinental railroad, allowed that the lines 

ere complete, and, after repairs noted in the report, would meet the requirement of 

having built a “first class railroad.” The commission also advised the Secretary of 

Treasury to release final subsidy bonds to the companies. With the prospect of getting 

the bond money in hand, the UP leadership was more willing to negotiate with the CP 

over the sale of the Ogden - Promontory line. On November 17, Ames agreed to sell 

Huntington 48 1⁄2 miles of road, to a point 5 1⁄2 miles north of Ogden. Two days later the 

CP leadership approved the deal, although Stanford and Huntington were split on the 

building of a new town 5 1⁄2 miles north of Ogden, Huntington for, Stanford opposed.100

Pressure by Young, dissension among the Big Four of the Central Pacific, and 

indecision by the UP leadership, brought about the abandonment of Huntington’s 

proposed town site five and a half miles away, “near Ogden.” Young had offered the 

companies 300 acres adjacent Ogden for its transfer facilities. Stanford knew it was 

better to compromise with the Mormons, meet at their junction, than create an opposing 

community. He met with UP officials at Ogden, where a worried director Duff wired 

, Stanford “disposed to stop at Ogden ...shall not agree 

pon the other place.” Superintendent Towne organized the transfer of facilities from 

romontory to Ogden and on December 6 had the first scheduled CP train run into the 

nts for 1869, the Deseret News gave November 22nd as 

e official date for the removal of the junction to Ogden. The CP timetable of December 

6, 1869 shows that as the date for initial removal of service to Ogden as terminus town, 

though operational feuds with the UP would continue into March, 1870, finally making 

transcontinental travel less a nightmare of delays at the junction. Later, the U. S. 

 they were soon disposed of.” The action at Promon

th

a

Young accepted for his branch railroad under construction from Ogden to Salt Lake 

In October, the UP finally built a railroad siding at Ogden, stopping at the Mormon tow

for the first time, and abandoned its Salt Lake City jump-off spot of Uintah station.

 On November 1, a report of “three eminent citizens” appointed by the U. S. 

P

w

president Ames, December 2d

u

P

Ogden yard, the last five miles of the run on UP tracks.101

th

In its annual review of eve
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Congress, on May 6, 1870, passed legislation setting the junction at a point five miles 

north of Ogden and transferred pubic lands to the railroad companies, but the CP 

continued to operate into Ogden yard, eventually leasing the last five miles of UP track

into town for 999 years.

In December 1869, Stanford also announced to the press that he would “move the 

he UP line up the hill to Promontory.” Surveyor Bates had 

lready relocated the survey stakes down the steep eastern slope. The Sacramento and 

 and 

iles further east to the bottom of the grade, where it rejoined the former UP track. 

use. 

ear 

l.104

lt 

train cr

that 

ss 

. 

opulation at Promontory 

ummi

102

CP track to its grade and off t

a

Elko newspapers reported shipments of ties, gravel and fill, and building materials 

passing through their respective towns. On November 27, the Elko Independent editor 

had noted 300 Chinese workers sent east by train to work on the line, its relocation, and 

building the yard at Ogden.103 

Over the next several months they laid rail on the Central Pacific’s unused grade 

down the east slope of the Promontory. From about a mile east of the station, the new 

track followed the ignored CP roadbed, over the fills and through cuts, for about four

a half m

The CP abandoned the UP’s 116’ foot grade, the hastily surveyed and built tight curves, 

steep grades, and spindly trestles, which remained standing a few years, monuments to 

the folly of the railroad race of 1869. 

An Elko correspondent passed through Promontory in December and noted the 

town was moving west, and that the eating house crew was preparing to move to Ogden. 

Station agent Edwards was already at the Mormon town building a new UP eating ho

As for the breakfast in Promontory, the correspondent wrote, “I arrived in time...to h

the bell ring and partake of the meanest breakfast any one ever sat down to: sour bread, 

sour hash, and sour hot cakes without syrup.” All for $1 coin or $1.25 in currency. A

new proprietor, chosen by the CP, would take over the station eating house and hote

Superintendent Towne had long anticipated the move and the extension of the Sa

Lake Division, by December 6 running from Toano, Nevada to Ogden, Utah. The CP 

shops were left at Terrace (until 1893), west of Promontory. Salt Lake Division 

superintendent Campbell and roadmaster Casin relocated to Ogden. The CP and UP train

crews were shifted off the Promontory to Ogden by the end of the year. A CP station 

agent and telegraph operator were left, as were a Chinese section crew, and the gravel 

ew. 

The remaining merchants and shop owners moved to other towns. People 

served the transfer station moved to Ogden. Census data, local newspapers, and busine

directories provide some information about the movement out of Promontory. Will 

Riley and Barney Mallory moved a few miles west to Kelton, Utah, where Riley opened 

a dry goods store. He was still there a decade and half later. J. S. Conner may have 

moved to Elko, Nevada, as census enumeration sheets suggest. Of the movement of 

gamblers and cronies one can only speculate, though period newspaper editors 

recommended they shift operations to the mining camps of Utah, Nevada, and Montana

By June 1870, according to the Federal census takers, the p

S t plummeted from a high of an estimated 200 down to 40, all worked for the 

railroad except the railroad eating house/hotel keeper and his family and a miner. 

Promontory City was no more.105 

49
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

O) Promontory Station, Post-1869 

The ‘frontier railroad’ was ephemeral,” railroad historian Jim Wilkie wrote, “only lasting

a few years – until towns grew up along the line [and] eastern standards of good track and 

facilitie

City” 

to one that met eastern standards.

s were installed.” With the transfer of the line to Ogden, the Central Pacific 

rebuilt the Promontory yard to service helper engines needed to assist trains moving up 

the Promontory grades, east and west. Track realignments, a roundhouse and new 

turntable and engine support facilities would transform Promontory from “Junction 

to a standard railroad eating stop, locomotive helper station, and home for the Chinese 

section crew (Figure 37). Superintendent Towne and crew transformed the CP over the 

Promontory from a frontier line 106

Figure 37. After the removal of the junction, Promontory served as eating stop, helper station,

and home for a Chinese section crew. Photographer J. B. Silvis revisited Promontory Station in the fall

1871 and took 

Library. 

 of 

this image of a posed Chinese section crew on the Promontory. Courtesy Denver Public 

ine 

r 

 c tury, wheat farmers began changing the landscape 

with fa s and families. Promontory, with its one room school, mercantile and post 

office, became a crossroads stop for small farms. 

As bigger and longer trains arrived on the scene, the need to re-build the line or 

reroute it caused the Southern Pacific Company, which had absorbed the Central Pacific 

Railroad, to survey alternative routes from Ogden west. In 1901-3, its engineers and 

construction crews built the Lucin cut-off across the Salt Lake, which shortened the l

and left the difficult grades and curves of the Promontory on a branch-line. The last 

regularly scheduled transcontinental passenger train passed through Promontory station 

September 18, 1904.107 

Around the station, the sage covered landscape became cattle country. Large

cattle firms such as John W. Kerr, John L. Edwards, and especially those of Charles 

Crocker and his son George, shipped via the railroad to San Francisco and Chicago

markets. Early in the twentieth en

rm

50
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

During the droughts of the 1930s, wheat farm families moved off the land. Land 

oldings were consolidated. Depression era railroad traffic revenues failed to meet costs 

nd 

its, and placed two 

historic locomotives on re-laid rail, which were the centerpiece for the transcontinental 

ilroad centennial celebration of May 10, 1969. 

h

of maintenance. The SP decided to abandon the line. In 1942, after a well-publicized 

“unspiking” of the last rail, September 8, the rails over the Promontory were removed. 

Concerted efforts to preserve the historic site brought action at mid-century a

resulted in reenactments of the driving of the last spike. In 1957, local boosters led by 

Bernice Gibbs Anderson, succeeded in getting the site recognized by the Federal 

government but without Federal land ownership. Subsequent studies and support from 

the SP, which still owned the right of way, proved the value of Federal management. 

Legislation for the creation of Golden Spike National Historic Site was signed into law 

July 30, 1965. The National Park Service built a visitor center, exhib

ra

51
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

Endnotes 

1

 The most recent works which fit this pattern are David Haward Bain, Empire Express, Building the First

Transcontinental Railroad (New York: Viking Penguin, 1999) and Stephen E. Ambrose, Nothing Like it i

the World, the Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 

n 

, 

lection, Special Collections, Stanford 

versity Library. 

Ibid. 8

 Ibid.; Lynn Farrar, former chief engineer of the Southern Pacific Railroad to author, July, 12, 2003. 9

 Grenville M. Dodge, How We Built the Union Pacific Railway and Other Railway Papers and Addresses

(Denver: Sage Books, 1965), passim; Dodge and Frederick Hodge affidavits, March 1869 in Union Pacific 

Railroad Collection, Nebraska Historical Society, Lincoln, hereinafter NHS. 

10 Hodge field notebook, UP Museum. 

11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid.; Dodge, We Built the Union Pacific, pp. 117-8. 14 C. P. Huntington to Leland Stanford, October 9, 1868, in C. P. Huntington letters, Syracuse University 

Library, microfilm copy at California State Railroad Museum. 

15 Huntington to Stanford, December 7, 1868; Ibid.; Clark, Stanford, p. 42. 16 Robert Utley, Special Report on Promontory Summit, Utah (Golden Spike National Historic Site), 

(Santa Fe: NPS, 1960), p. 66; Dodge in his 1869 engineer’s report published as an Senate Executive 

document noted on page 10, “we adopted the eighty-feet grade line, the location of which was readjusted, 

finished, and turned over to the construction department. For some reason the grading at this point was not 

commenced until February, 1869.” (My italics—Dodge knew why the changes were made). In this official 

published report, Dodge did not write about the 80’ line’s abandonment by Durant and the construction of a 

much steeper and unsafe railroad grade, just that he passed the survey over to the construction crews. 

Dodge’s words influenced later writers about the high quality of UP construction, which it was not. 17 A microfilm copy of the Warren report manuscript is at the Western History Collection, Denver Public 

Library; Utley, Report, includes the Warren map. 18 Hezikiah Bissel, “Recollections,” Wyoming State Library and Archives, Cheyenne; Farrar to author, 

July 2003; A special edition of Trains Magazine, May 1969, explained construction techniques. 

19 Athearn, UP Country, passim., is best on the Mormon involvement. 20 “The Golden Spike Celebration Souvenir,” Ogden Standard, May 11, 1919 is the source for this and the 

following stories. 

21 Ibid.; Bernard DeVoto’s grandfather worked on the railroad as a grader, and his mother recalled the 

changes. “The Life of Jonathan Dyer, a Paragraph in the History of the West,” in Bernard Augustine 

DeVoto, Forays and Rebuttals (Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1970 reprint of 1936 

edition), pp. 3-24; the text refers to the young woman and her first shoes. 

22 Farr’s diary is quoted in the May 10, 1919, Ogden Standard. 23 Adrienne Anderson, “Ancillary Construction on Promontory Summit, Utah: Those Domestic Structures 

Built by Railroad Workers,” in Albert E. Ward, ed., Forgotten Places and Things: Archeological 

Perspectives on American History. Contributions to Anthropological Studies No. 3 (Albuquerque, New 

Mexico: Center for Anthropological Studies, 1983). 

24 Telegraph, April 13, 1869. 

2000), although the latter contains many errors. Among the better, older works are Robert G. Athearn, 

Union Pacific Country (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1976 reprint of 1971 edition) and Maury 

Klein, Union Pacific, the Birth of a Railroad, 1862-1893 (New York: Doubleday, 1987). 2

 The exception is the unpublished manuscript by Michael Johnson, “Promontory Station, an Industrial 

Outpost in the American West,” n.d., copy at Golden Spike National Historic Site. 

3

 Telegraph, August 31, 1869. 4

 Copies of Frederick Hodge’s field notebooks are in the Union Pacific Collection, Union Pacific Museum

Council Bluffs, Iowa (hereinafter UP Museum). 

5

 William H. Goetzman, Army Exploration in the American West, 1803-1863 (Lincoln: University of 

Nebraska Press, 1959), passim.; a copy of Samuel Reed’s 1865 field journal is in the UP Museum. 6

 Bain, Empire Express, pp. 276-77; Samuel Montague col

Uni

7

 

52
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

 

 Morris sent nearly daily reports to Dodge, which are reproduced in Grenville Dodge, “Autobiography,” 

lt 

ws, April 1, 

, 

La 

 Journal of American Postal History (April 1984), pp. 53-5; Bissell, “Recollection”; Morris letter 

ent is reprinted in Charles 

e Railroad (New York: 

orporation, 1969), pp. 317-8. 

d Eicholtz diary, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. 

ches to San Francisco which detail these feats 

5), 

da, 

eekly. The most referenced and focused study is flawed 

hed manuscript, Michael Johnson, 

ous at Promontory: A New Look at the Golden Spike Ceremony,” Utah Historical 

n: 

ical Society Quarterly 23 (1944), 

enty-

 dead. The stranger sprang up to retire from such unpleasant 

com hreat of another shot, was compelled to sit down and finish his breakfast, 

with the corpse of the murdered man beside him.” 

25

Council Bluffs, Iowa Public Library. The autobiography is a compilation of transcripts of letters to and 

from Dodge. 

26 Telegraph, February 2, 1869. 27 Ibid. 28 Deseret News, March 25, April 7, 1869; Reporter, February 19, 1869. 29 Edward Watson, Diary, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie. 30 Major Howard Egan surveyed the line ending the days of the Overland Mail via the southern tip of Sa

Lake. Reporter, February 6, 1869. 

uary 20, 25, March 2, 27, April 4, 20, 1869; Deseret Ne 31 For violence see Reporter Febr

1869; Telegraph, April 10, 13, 29, 1869. 32 John Davis, “Reminiscences of the Long Ago are Related,” Ogden Standard, May 9, 1919; Marley later 

settled in Farmington, Utah and lost his life in a cabin fire. 

33 Telegraph, February 2, 1869; Reporter, February 20, 1869. Named after General Patrick E. Connor

often misspelled Conner. 

34 Samuel H. Chittenden to Mother, May 19, 1868, Ft. Bridger, “The Chittenden Correspondence,” 

Posta: A

to Dodge, in Dodge, “Autobiography.” 

35 Brigham Madsen, Corinne (Logan: Utah State University Press), passim. 36 Samuel H. Chittenden to Mother, Ft. Bridge, May 19, 1868, “The Chittenden Correspondence.” 

37 Bain, Empire Express, pp. 632-3; Klein, Union Pacific, pp. 207-8; the agreem

Edgar Ames, Pioneering the Union Pacific, A Reappraisal of the Builders of th

Meridith C

38 Leonar

39 Alta California and Chronicle reporters sent daily dispat

and the events described in the next paragraphs. Daily Alta California, San Francisco, May 1-10, 1869; 

San Francisco Chronicle, May 1-10, 1869. 40 Ibid.; Quote from Omaha Herald, May 16, 1869. 41 Ibid.; C. H. Sharman, “Tales from the Old-Timers – No. 24,” Union Pacific Magazine (October 192

p. 6. 

42 Ibid. 43 J. D. B. Stillman, “The Last Tie,” Overland Monthly (July 1868) reprinted in Robert A. Bennett. The 

Bohemians (Walla Walla, Washington: Pioneer Press, 1987), pp. 109-117. 44 See Appendix H, pp. 147-162 of this report. 

45 The following account is based on newspaper reports of the time, primarily from the San Francisco

Chronicle, Bulletin, and Alta California of San Francisco, the Sacramento Bee, the Virginia City, Neva

Enterprise, the Omaha Herald, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Deseret News and Reporter of Utah, the

Cheyenne Leader, and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated W

by many errors; see J. N. Bowman, “Driving the Last Spike at Promontory 1869,” Utah Historical 

Quarterly (Winter 1969) 77-101, reprinted from California Historical Society Quarterly, June and 

September 1957; and see appendix H of this report; also see the unpublis

“The Golden Spike Ceremony Revisited,” n.d., copy at Golden Spike National Historic Site, and Michael 

Johnson, “Rendezv

Quarterly (Winter 2004) 47-68. 46 Quote from Alexander Toponce, Reminiscences of Alexander Toponce Written by Himself (Norma

University of Oklahoma Press, 1971). 

47 Mary Gamble, “To Europe via Promontory in 1869,” California Histor

pp. 365-8. 

48 An example inflation of the tales is in Nelson’s Pictorial Guide Books, The Central Pacific Railroad 

(New York: T. Nelson and Sons, 1870), p. 10: “This was a wild place at one time. As many as tw

eight deaths by violence occurred in the course of a single month. A stranger, entering a restaurant, sat 

down to a table occupied by two men. One of these took too much gravy, and the other, drawing his 

revolver, immediately shot him

panionship, but, under the t

53
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

 

 quoted in Athearn, UP Country, p. 101; on Spicer see Lynn R. Bailey, A Tale of the 

ritings of Wells W. Spicer (Tucson: Westernlore Press, 1999), p. 17. 

We Built the Union Pacific, p. 31. 

oric Site, Utah (Washington, 

May 10. Sidney Dillon, “Historic Moments: Driving the Last Spike of 

son diary, June 30-July 1, 1869, microfilm copy at 

es 

orinne Reporter, May-June, 1869. 

 of 

in American Heritage Center. 

“Autobiography.” 

. Information on Riley and others from Kelton enumeration 

, Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. (1933), pp. 15-29. 

s Report, p. 22. The nearby Corinne Reporter provided comment on visiting dignitaries like 

rigin, Progress, Incidents, and Results (Cincinnati: 1870), 

rch – 

9. 

869, copy at Golden Spike National Historic Site; the first guide book was 

w 

rter, September 18, 1869. 

cNair Mathews, Ten Years in Nevada, or Life in the Pacific Coast (Lincoln: University of 

y 

ate Journal,”

 2, 1869. 

49 Charles Savage, diary entry for May 9-10, copy in Utah Historical Society, Salt Lake City. 

50 Ames letter to Dillon and Duff, April 29, 1869, is in Dodge, “Autobiography.” 

51 Smith diary

“Unkilled,” the Life, Times, and W

52 Dodge, 

53 F. A. Ketterson, Historical Base Map, 1869, Golden Spike National Hist

D. C.: National Park Service, 1969). 

54 Dodge to Ames, May 15, 1869, in Dodge, “Autobiography.” Dillon in his reminiscence incorrectly 

places this event on the morning of 

the Union Pacific,” Scribner’s Magazine (August 1892). 55 Omaha Herald, May 20, 21, 1869; William H. Jack

Colorado Historical Society, Denver; Jackson photographs are at the U. S. Geological Survey Library, 

Denver. 

56 Letters from Hoaxie, Morris and others to Dodge detail activities, see Dodge “Autobiography,” as do

the nearest newspaper, the C

57 W. L. Humason, From the Atlantic to the Golden Gate (Hartford: Wm C. Hutchings, 1869), pp. 39-43. 58 “Coast to Coast by Railroad: the Journey of Niles Searls – May, 1869,” New York History, (July 1969), 

p. 311. 

59 Omaha Herald, May 20, 1869. 60 Strobridge reminiscence in Robert Lardin Fulton, Epic of the Overland, An Account of the Building

the Central and Union Pacific Railroad (Los Angeles: N. A. Kovach, 1954), p. 39, on Promontory see p. 

100. 

61 Eicholtz diary and introductory notes 62 Dodge to Ames, May 26, 1869 and Morris to Dodge, May 27, 1869, Dodge, 

63 Deseret News, May 21, 1869; During the construction period, a short-lived “Promontory City” existed

on the west slope of the Promontory Range, near Cedar Springs. 

64 Watson diary, American Heritage Center

sheets, 1870 census web accessible on Ancestry.Com. 65 Quotes from D. L. Harris diary published as “Memoranda Concerning the Union Pacific R. R.,” Bulletin 

No. 32

66 Morri

Freeman that summer and fall. 

67 Jackson diary, CHS. 

68 The Cincinnati Excursion to California: Its O

p. 39. 

69 From unknown to Dear Olive, Promontory, July 7, 1869, copy at UP Museum. 

70 Albert D, Richardson, “Through to the Pacific,” letters to the New York Herald, May-June 1869, in 

Abby Richardson, Garnered Sheaves (Hartford, Conn.: Columbian Book Co., 1871). 71 Independent, October 13, 1869. 72 Beadle’s colorful language and rants, mostly against the Mormons, fill the Corinne Reporter, Ma

July, 1869; quote from J. H. Beadle, Western Wilds, and the Men Who Redeem Them (Philadelphia: Jones 

Brothers, 1878), p. 103-4. 

73 W. F. Rae, Westward by Rail; the New Route to the East (New York: D. Appleton, 1871), pp. 187- 74 Henry Austin diary, August 1

G. A. Croffutt, Great Transcontinental Railroad Guide (Chicago: G. A. Croffutt & Co., 1869); for a revie

of the first edition of the guide see Repo 75 December 4, 1869. 

76 Mary M

Nebraska Press, 1985 reprint of 1880 edition). 

77 Florence Bennett Anderson, Leaven for the Frontier, the True Story of a Pioneer Educator (Boston: 

Christopher Publishing, 1953), pp. 16-17; Cornelia E. Comstock, “Overland Diary – 1869,” Trains (Ma

1969), pp. 51-54; Jackson diary, CHS. See appendix F for travelers’ accounts. 

78 James Ross, From Wisconsin to California and Return, as Reported for the “Wisconsin St

(Madison: Atwood and Rublee, 1869). 

79 Reporter, August 4, 1869; Telegraph, November

54
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

 

he line the 

romontory, the Utah 

t), 

utobiography”; Humason, The Atlantic Surf to the Golden 

pendent followed the telegraph activities. 

e to Ames, July 2, 1869, and Morris to Dodge, July 5, 1869, in Dodge, “Autobiography.” 

s of the Builders of the Commonwealth

storical Society; Morris to Dodge, October 8, 1869, Dodge, “Autobiography.” 

ls (San Francisco: The History Company, 1887), p. 616. 

hn Simpson Ross, Crossing the Continent by Rail in 1869 (Fort Bragg, California: Mendocino County 

ontory and vicinity in November last, gave us a 

iography of Collis P. 

e, 

 “Autobiography.” 

c Country, p. 76. 

d.; Morris to Dodge, November 2, 1869, and Dodge to Ames, November 2, 1869, Duff telegram, 

and sections 30, 31 

ownship 7, Range 2, northwest of Ogden. The UP also negotiated for 

27, December 1, 11, 1869; Ogden Junction, January 12, August 17, 1870. 

ts include an additional three ranchers 

les: 

xas A & M University 

80 Montague to Dodge, June 7, 1869, Dodge, “Autobiography;” A list of CP structures along t

summer 1869 is reprinted in Anan S. Raymond and Richard E. Fike, Rails East to P

Stations, Cultural Resources Series No. 8 (Salt Lake City: Bureau of Land Management, 1994 reprin

p.24. 

81 Dodge to Morris, July 15, 1869, Dodge, “A

Gate, p. 42. 82 The Corinne Reporter and Elko Inde 83 E. H. Derby, The Overland Route to the Pacific (Boston, October, 1869) 84 Morris to Dodge, September 8, 1869, Dodge, “Autobiography”; Lucius Beebe, The Overland Limited

(Berkeley, California: Howell-North, 1962), passim. 85 The Cincinnati Excursion, p. 39; The Ogden Standard, May 11, 1919. 86 Morris to Dodge, Dodge “Autobiography.” 

87 Dodg

88 Reporter, Corinne, May 16, 1871. 

89 “Life of Alban Nelson Towne,” in H. H. Bancroft, Chronicle

(San Francisco: History Company, 1891), pp. 197-220; on Hammond see Klein, Union Pacific, passim. 90 Hammond to Ames, October 25, 1869, Hammond letters file, Union Pacific Railroad Collection, 

Nebraska Hi

91 H. H. Bancroft, Popular Tribuna

92 Reporter, September 3, 10, 29, and November 13, 1869; County Supervisors’ Minutes, September 6, 

1869, microfilm at Box Elder County Records, Brigham City. 

93 Jo

Historical Society, 1969), p. 15. 

94 Reporter, February 18, 22, 1870. 

95 Bancroft, op. cit. 96 Deseret News, December 1, 1869; Independent, Nov 27, 1869. 97 Dodge, We Built the Union Pacific, p. 39; Independent, January 5, 1870, editor noted 

“The raid upon the gamblers and blacklegs at the Prom

good earnest [example] of what we might expect, and we have not been disappointed.” 

98 Klein, Union Pacific, p. 119; David Lavender, The Great Persuader, the B

Huntington (Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1998 reprint of 1969 edition), p. 66; Hodge to Dodg

July 26 and September 10, Dodge,

99 Athearn, Union Pacifi 100 Ibid.; Lavender, Huntington, p. 72. 101 Ibi

Chandler to Dodge, November 18, in Dodge, “Autobiography.” 

102 Klein, Union Pacific, passim. The “near Ogden” acreage granted by Congress for the junction is at

section 25, 26 and 35 of Township 7, Range 2, and section 6 of Township 6, Range 1 

of Township 7 Range 1, section 36, T

joint use of the line Ogden – Promontory in case they ever planned an extension to Oregon, which it did 

build but along a different route. 

103 Independent, November 

Reporter, January 6, 1870. 104 Independent, December 15, 1869. 105 1870 census enumeration sheets for Kelton, Elko and Promontory on the internet at Ancestry.com. 

Besides the forty, the Promontory Station census enumeration shee

who lived nearby. 

106 Wilkie quote in Anne M. Lyden, Railroad Vision, Photography, Travel and Perception (Los Ange

The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003), p. 13. 

107 On the later history of Promontory and the railroad see Michael Johnson, “Promontory Station, an 

Industrial Outpost in the American West,” n.d. [ca. 1989], copy at Golden Spike National Historic Site; 

and Don L. Hofsommer, The Southern Pacific, 1901-1985 (College Station: Te

Press, 1986). 

55
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - II History 

 

56
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

57

III. Physical Description and Analysis of the Tents at 

“The Last Spike Site,” May 10, 1869 

A) The Tents of Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869 

1) Summary 

Seventeen tents stood at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. Fourteen of them were 

in somewhat parallel rows, seven on each side of the Central Pacific – Union Pacific 

connecting track. North of the tracks was the commercial row of restaurants, saloons, 

grocery, and stage office. South of the Central Pacific track were tents for railroad 

workers, contractors, telegraph crews, and station hands. A lone distant tent northeast of 

the junction suggested the plans of land speculators at the future site of the short-lived 

Promontory City. 

This section of the report details the findings about the number of tents, their use, and 

occupants at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. As have previous historians, the 

author wishes to begin with a caveat that this is not the last word on the topic and new 

source material, hopefully, will appear which revises or clarifies conclusions given here 

about the tents that stood around the Last Spike Site during that celebratory day. 

We are fortunate in the wealth of historic photographs of the scene during the laying of 

the last rail and driving of the last spike. Because of the work of Andrew J. Russell, 

Alfred A. Hart, and Charles R. Savage, we know where the tents stood in relation to the 

last spike site. Extrapolating information from the historic photographs and combined 

with tent manufacturers’ and Civil War era tent data, we can estimate the dimensions of 

each of the tents. Table 1 provides suggested dimensions. Creating replica tents 

fashioned after the ones at the celebration is a relatively straight-forward task thanks to 

the number of firms manufacturing replica Civil War era tents. 

The more difficult task is answering the question: how were the tents used? Again, the 

historic photographs, combined with a few contemporary newspaper sources, provide 

definitive answers to three tents, which had signs attached to their fronts: the J. S. Conner 

grocery, the Red Cloud saloon, and the Restaurant, HS-9, HS-7, HS-6, respectively. 

They form part of a commercial row. These framed wall tents and their businesses were 

typical of railroad construction era “tent towns,” indeed, at least one of their owners, J. S. 

Conner, is known to have moved from Junction City, one of the Blue Creek valley 

construction camps seven miles east. The other owners most likely did as well. 

Company records (letters, reports, and other documentation), newspaper accounts, and 

personal diaries and reminiscences, plus historic photographs, provide suggestive 

information about the use of seven additional tents. The Union Pacific Railroad related 

tents, east of the last spike site, are the ticket and telegraph tents, the construction crew 

tents, and the engineer’s tent, HS-12, HS-13, HS-14, HS-15, and HS-16. They served 

specific functions for the construction and operation of the railroad. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

58

The combined Western Union - Central Pacific Railroad telegraph office and quarters, 

HS-1 and HS-2, can be similarly described. They stood nearest the last spike site. 

Observers at Promontory noted other activities. Wells Fargo & Co. ran a stage to the end 

of the track and its office was at Promontory before and after May 10. North of the last 

spike site and at the end of the wagon road coming from the east is tent HS-11. The 

tent’s location suggests it was an office for the Wells Fargo & Co. stage and express. 

The number of the reporters who stayed in Promontory before and during May 10 needed 

housing. The Central Pacific Railroad provided support for reporters from California, at 

least one on the Stanford Special and another staying at and reporting from construction 

superintendent Strobridge’s housing cars at the work camp of Victory and at Promontory. 

Other reporters sending dispatches datelined from Promontory stayed in the tents there. 

The more modest wall tent, HS-3, south of the CP tracks and nearest the CP telegraph 

office would have been a likely place for the reporters to gather, sleep and stay for the 

few days, May 8-10, when the country turned its attention to Promontory Summit. 

The final five tents at Promontory, HS-4 and HS-5, south of the tracks, and HS-7, HS-17, 

and HS-10, north of the tracks, have uses that can be predicted, but less accurately than 

the other twelve. The Central Pacific Railroad may have had more tents at the last spike 

site to support workers and guests coming to orchestrate the last details for May 10, and 

to unwillingly establish the new terminus’ operational details. The tents south of the 

tracks, HS-4 and HS-5, their smaller size, lack of lumber platforms, walls, and frame 

suggest a temporary, non-business tent. They are more the size of wall tents used for 

housing and simple mess than the larger ones across the tracks, the Red Cloud Saloon, 

HS-8, and the Restaurant, HS-6, for example. Reminiscences mention sleeping in tents at 

the site, which suggests the use of these simple wall tents as quarters. 

Tents HS-7, HS-17 and HS-10 are more substantial, with at least one known to have 

built-up wood sides. They are built to the scale of the neighboring saloons and 

restaurant. Period observers note the row of restaurants and saloons, which suggest these 

as being used for those purposes, the half dozen “rum holes” noted by diarist Charles 

Savage. 

Other uses were analyzed, but without further evidence they appear not to have contained 

functions found a day or two later at the site, including the terminus post office, barber 

shop, or cigar store, though these items may have been available along the “row.” There 

appears to be no “gambling hell,” billiard hall, or boarding house, though, every tent was 

used for accommodation of a crude fashion. 

Other uses, including military camps or photographer’s tent, were also analyzed, but at 

this time it appears none of the tents at Promontory on May 10 served these functions. 

Farmers and ranchers worked nearby but no farmer’s or rancher’s tent appears in the 

scene. Railroad workers, undoubtedly, dominated the demand for housing but the 

appearance in the photographs of work trains with boarding house cars suggests most 

workers at Promontory Summit found housing in them on May 10. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

59

In summary, the suggested uses are: 

 

HS-1, Western Union - CP telegraph office 

HS-2, Western Union - CP quarters 

HS-3, CP quarters (reporters’ tent) 

HS-4, (housing) 

HS-5, (housing) 

HS-6, Restaurant 

HS-7, (restaurant and/or saloon) 

HS-8, Red Cloud saloon 

HS-9, J. S. Conner grocery 

HS-10, (saloon and/or restaurant) 

HS-11, Wells Fargo & Co office 

HS-12, UP agent and telegrapher’s quarters 

HS-13, UP ticket and telegraph office 

HS-14, UP engineer/land speculator’s tent 

HS-15, UP construction crew (Casement’s) 

HS-16, UP construction crew (Casement’s) 

HS-17, (saloon and/or restaurant) 

One of the interpretive goals of Golden Spike National Historical Site is to assist the 

visitor in attaining an empathy with the builders of the transcontinental railroad by 

showing them the environment of the workers and followers of the railroad. To correct 

some of the widespread, popular imagery created by the entertainment industry, the most 

appropriate site to create this environment is the row of tents at Promontory Summit. 

Not every tent should be replicated, but representative tents should stand near the last 

spike site. 

Earlier National Park Service (NPS) plans have suggested five tents be replicated – the 

Union Pacific ticket and telegraph office and quarters, the Conner grocery, the Red Cloud 

Saloon, and the Restaurant, HS-12, HS-13, HS-9, HS-8, and HS-6, respectively. These 

decisions were based primarily upon historic information on hand at that time. Because 

of gaps that would be created in the tent-row-as-back-drop, and because of new 

information, it is recommended that the list be revised. If there is a need to replicate all 

tents, a suggested phasing of construction is discussed in Section IV of this report. 

In the first phase, more appropriate than the UP ticket and telegraph office and quarters 

tents, HS 12 and HS-13, would be the commercial row on the opposite side of the tracks. 

The row is best represented with tents adjacent each other and nearest the last spike site, 

HS-9, HS-17, and HS-10. J. S. Conner’s business and the tents east of it can be used for 

period interpretation, furnishings and displays. Near them should be rolled a replica of 

photographer Russell’s studio wagon. The second phase would recreate the UP ticket 

and telegraph office and quarters tents, HS-12 and HS-13. The phases are more fully 

discussed in Section IV, the Historic Furnishing Plan. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

60

 HS-14 HS-15 HS-16 

 HS-11 HS-12 HS-13 HS-1 

Figure 38. Andrew J. Russell image of the post-last spike ceremony looking northeast. Seven of the 

seventeen tents are visible. 

 

Figure 39. HS-11 stands Figure 40. HS-12 and HS-13 

adjacent the wagon road. Adjacent the tracks. 

 Figure 41. HS-1 near the 

 telegraph pole 

 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

61

 HS-6 HS-7 HS-8 HS-9 

Figure 42. In the A. A. Hart image, “restaurant” can be read above HS-6’s entrance and “Red Cloud” is 

written on a canvas sign over the doorway of tent HS-8. A striped pole stands at angle at the nearest 

corner of HS-7. HS-9, J. S. Conner’s tent, stands with flaps wide open. The cluster of wagons and horses 

in the distance beyond HS-6 is at or near the future site of a CP siding and the Chinese section camp. 

Below, Andrew J. Russell’s morning photographs(Figures 43 and 44), prior to the ceremony, show the 

tents to the south of the last spike site, HS-2, 3, 4 and 5, and northwest, HS-6, 7, and 8. 

 HS-2 HS-3 HS-4 HS-5 HS-6 HS-7 HS-8 

Figure 43. The row south of the CP tracks. Figure 44. Part of the commercial row. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

62

 HS-9 HS-17 

Figure 45. Photographer Alfred Hart stood to the southwest of the last spike site and captured the tops of 

tents HS-9 and HS-17, behind the silhouetted man at right center. The “Conner” sign is visible extending 

from the front of HS-9. The HS-9 tent has an addition or wing visible here at left. Tent HS-10 is hidden 

from view by locomotive No. 119 at right. 

Figure 46. HS-9, the “Conner” tent. Figure 47. HS-17 behind spectators. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

63

 HS-10 

Figure 48. Russell image showing HS-10 and part of Conner’s sign behind the Jupiter’s headlight. HS-17 

is hidden by the crowd at center. 

Figure 49 HS-10 behind crowd 

Figure 50. “ONNER” of Conner’s sign on HS-9 

behind “Jupiter’s” headlight. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

64

 HS-17 

 HS-10 

Figure 51. Looking northwest, Alfred Hart’s May 7, 1869 photograph of Promontory Summit shows the 

“Conner” sign for tent HS-9, tents HS-10, HS-11, and HS-17. The photograph is labeled “first greeting” 

because of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific locomotives’ first meeting near the last spike site. Note 

absence of tents at right. 

Figure 52. HS-17 and HS-10 up by May 5. 

Fig. 53. CP locomotive greets UP No. 66. Note work camp in distance. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

65

2) Source Material, Previous NPS Studies, Methodology 

Because there are no extant governmental or official records of the events, appearance, or 

people at Promontory Summit, we must rely on the impressionistic writings of the day, 

historic photographs, reminiscences, and railroad company records. According to several 

accounts, over twenty newspapers were represented; we know of four diaries; we have 

access to the extant papers of the two railroad companies and their officials; and there are 

many and varied reminiscences, most of which were written long after the event. For 

example, while railroad officials, such as Grenville M. Dodge and Sydney Dillon, did not 

notice the tents in their published accounts, information about sleeping arrangements in 

the tents is most often found in the recollections of old timers who were children at the 

ceremony. 

The Union Pacific railroad collections in various repositories (listed in the bibliography) 

provide additional source information about the physical appearance of the site. Historic 

photographs provide physical information, but little about use or occupancy of the sixteen 

tents. Un-cropped original prints were used if extant. Photographers Andrew J. Russell, 

Alfred A. Hart, and Charles Savage also provided brief period descriptions of the scene. 

Published histories of the transcontinental railroad are secondary sources, and were not of 

value to this study. Unfortunately, none of the many participants that wrote accounts 

stayed long after the ceremony, which may have provided more opportunity for contact 

with and thus information about the tents and their occupants. 

The occupants of the tents, for the most part, were ignored. None of the photographers 

focused their cameras on the two rows of tents, on each side of the rail, but kept the last 

spike site at the center of their lenses. All the above sources, including county and state 

records, period business records, census data, tax records, and museum collections were 

reviewed for this study. A more thorough review of period newspapers was undertaken as 

part of this effort. The passing comments of observers, which, when combined with the 

photographs and other records, provide clues that allow us to come to some relatively 

useful conclusions. 

Previous NPS Studies 

Previous NPS studies were consulted. These included: F. A. Ketterson’s early work and 

“Historical Base Map,” the 1974 tent village plan, Paul Hedren “Tent Study,” 1978, and 

the Boyce “File Report,” 1980, copies of which were used at the park. The staff at 

Golden Spike National Historic Site has prepared several brief studies on the tents of 

Promontory as well – on saloons, the telegraph office, ticket office, boarding houses, etc. 

Andy Ketterson did not include details about the tents in his 1969 study. The 1974 tent 

village plan was not of value to this study. In 1978, supervisory ranger Paul Hedren 

prepared a brief analysis of the tents based on the historic photographs. He created a 

numeric system and listing of possible historic uses. Park technician Benjamin Boyce, 

under Hedren’s guidance, prepared a supplemental analysis of several tents’s dimensions. 

Their numbering system, list of uses, and dimensions follows: 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

66

Hedren, 1978, Tent Numbers and Descriptions 

HS-1, unknown, 

HS-2, unknown, 

HS-3, unknown, 

HS-4, unknown, 

HS-5, unknown, 

HS-6, “Restaurant,” 15’ x 18’-20’ wall tent 12’ high 

HS6a, Rear of “Restaurant,” 12’-13’ x 12’-15’ with 9’ height 

HS-7, unknown, 15’ x 24’ wall tent 14’ high 

HS-8, “Red Cloud” bar, 15’ x 22’ wall tent 12’ high. 

HS-9, “S. Conner” (use unknown) 

HS-9a, Tent perpendicular to “S. Conner” 

HS-10, unknown, 

HS-11, unknown, 

HS-12, railroad establishments (ticket office and telegraph office), 12-15’ x 15’ wall tent 

12’ high 

HS-13, railroad establishments (ticket office and telegraph office), 15’ x 26-28’ wall tent 

14’ high 

HS-14, unknown, 

HS-15, unknown, 

HS-16, unknown, 

For consistency, Hedren’s numbering system will be used in this study. Inaccuracies in 

his report have been revised in the following. 

Also reviewed were park staff reports contained descriptions of businesses of the period 

based on comparative research. Reports on the “Red Cloud Saloon,” the “Restaurant,” 

and other activities were too generalized or use descriptions of businesses far larger than 

the ones at Promontory, May 10, to be useful here. 

Various park planning efforts, 1997-2000, recommended that at least the tents numbered 

HS-6, HS-8, HS-9, HS-12, and HS-13, be considered for replication and installation in 

the historic last spike site after collection of additional historic data. As noted elsewhere 

this list should be revised. These planning documents added no new historic information. 

Park Research Files 

This study benefited from the park’s library, which has an extensive file of research 

materials. Included are previous park studies, research materials collected by staff over 

the past four decades, and notes taken from various sources placed in binders. Reports 

prepared for the publicity department of the Union Pacific Railroad, 1949, and a 

background research report for Cecil B. DeMille’s movie “Union Pacific,” which were 

used for the 1974 “Promontory Tent Village” plan, are also in the library. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

67

The park library contains copies of historic photographs and copies of original documents 

copied from various libraries. These were of great help and have been cited as coming 

from “GOSP files.” The photographs, actually 4 x 5 negatives which the park allowed to 

be scanned for this project, were of primary importance to this study. Unfortunately, in 

reproducing the images for use in this report, some of the photographic detail has been 

lost, such as lettering on the tents’ signs. 

The park files also included scattered newspaper transcripts that gave anecdotal 

descriptions of the tent row at Promontory Summit, May 10. These news dispatches, 

well known and often quoted, are as follows: 

“The town consists of a few tents, the ticket-houses of both companies, their telegraph 

offices, hordes of grass hoppers, and swarms of sand fleas.” 

Chronicle, San Francisco, May 11, 1869 

“The place consists of seventeen tents, half of which have been put up since my arrival.” 

Daily Bee, Sacramento, May 13, 1869 

“Fourteen tent houses for the sale of ‘Red Cloud,’ ‘Red Jacket,’ and Blue Run’ are about 

evenly distributed on each side of the track.” 

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly, June 5, 69, 1869 

“Promontory Summit...two or three tents were pitched in the vicinity for the rendezvous 

of those ruffians who hang about on the march of industry, and flourish on the vices of 

men.” 

Dr. J. D. B. Stillman, “The Last Tie,” Overland Monthly, July 1869. 

These quotes exemplify the apparently conflicting information in contemporary 

published accounts; were there 14 or 17 tents? They also give stereotyped, “Hell on 

Wheels” rhetoric, probably inserted by editors in California or New York. Were they all 

“saloons” and places that flourish on the vices of men? During the course of this project 

a host of new sources were found that suggest answers to the questions: how many tents, 

what did they look like, and how were they used and furnished. 

3) How Many Tents? 

Historic photographs aid in establishing the number of tents at Promontory Summit on 

May 10, 1869. Alfred Hart, Andrew Russell, and Charles Savage, cumulatively, took 

photographs from each angle, providing a 360 degree look at the site with the Last Spike 

Site at center. We also have period descriptions that provide numbers as well. 

Combining the two sources provides a useable list. 

Paul Hedren produced the initial 1978 list of the number of tents, incorrectly finding only 

sixteen tents. He methodically reviewed the historic photographs and developed a list of 

sixteen, HS-1 to HS-16, shown above. Following his process, the tents he identifies, HS1 to HS-16, can still be identified. However, period descriptions that mention 14 or 17 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

68

tents do not agree with his number of 16, nor does a closer review of historic 

photographs. 

Taking the descriptions and photographs into consideration, there is one additional tent in 

the May 10 scene, thus there are 17 tents, not 16. 

In his discussion, Hedren mentions a tent, next to HS-10, in an Alfred Hart photograph of 

May 7. Hedren suggests it was moved before May 10. He also estimates that HS-10, 

located north of the last spike site, was moved further east away from the “Conner” sign 

sometime after the Hart stereo view captioned “First greeting of iron horse, Promontory, 

May 9, 1869” was taken (see appendix C on this photograph). Reviewing the images, the 

movement of the tents doesn’t appear to be the case, but is a result of the perspective of 

the Hart photograph (see appendix D for further discussion). For our discussions here, 

the additional tent will be referred to as HS-17. 

Looking closely at a print from Hart’s glass plate negative it shows, just beyond the 

“Conner” sign, two – not one -- wall tents, HS-10 plus another. The “Conner” sign is in 

line with the last spike pennon, noted in a newspaper article. A newspaper reporter noted 

on May 7th that the tents opposite the last spike site were the location of recent muggings, 

suggesting a number of tents. 

Dr. J. D. B. Stillman described Promontory of May 7 as including “two or three” tents 

that catered to the vices of men besides railroad company offices. This would have been 

the Conner tent, HS-9 and HS-10, and the additional tent, HS-17. Unfortunately, his 

article appeared in the magazine Overland Monthly in July 1869, so may lack an 

immediate accuracy of observation. 

O’Leary of the Daily Bee also arrived on May 7th and noted that by May 10 there were 17 

tents, half of them being built since his arrival. O’Leary was in Promontory for the 

period May 7 - 10 and his accounts in the Sacramento newspaper provide believable 

details. O’Leary had the time to look around him the morning of the 10th and his count of 

all the tents, 17, appear in the photographs of the day. O’Leary’s 17 tents would include 

the two not one opposite the last spike site (HS-10 and HS-17). 

Similarly, the writer of the article for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly counted 14 tents 

lined up equally along the tracks. Photographer Andrew J. Russell is the purported 

author of the article and, though he may have been busy, his number of 14 appears to be 

accurate, if one excludes the three tents far distant from the last spike site (HS-14, HS-15, 

HS-16). 

One last observer, Charles Savage, counted half a dozen tents and “rum holes” at 

Promontory the night of the 9th. The number of tents in the row, from HS-6 to HS-10, if 

one includes the additional tent in the Hart image, HS-17, would equal six. This business 

row of six north of the tracks excludes HS-11, the stage coach office further east, which 

will be discussed separately. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

69

In summary, neither HS-10 nor HS-17 were relocated -- their owners had prime spots 

opposite the last spike site. Photographs taken May 10 show one or the other, but not 

both, because the crowd obscures the photographer’s (and our) view of them both at the 

same time. Taking the photographs and the at one time considered confusing 

contemporary numbers count, the number of tents at Promontory Summit on May 10, 

1869 was 17, fourteen of which stood in two rows along the track at the last spike site. 

4) What Size? 

Tents of the period were influenced by Civil War era designs, shapes and sizes. In the 

images of May 10 are the classic tents used in the military campaigns, the A or Wedge 

tent, wall tent, and the larger wall or “Hospital” tent. The A or Wedge tent took its name 

from its overall shape and was a common field tent. Quartermaster guidelines described 

the canvas tent with single 6’ to 8’ ridge pole and two 6’ to 8’ support poles. Although 

they are seen in photographs of the Central Pacific Railroad construction camps to the 

west, only one A tent appears in the photographs of Promontory, May 10. HS-2, Central 

Pacific quarters, is south of and near the last spike site. 

The Civil War era wall tents had canvas walls of various heights and were used as 

officer’s quarters. During the war, field hospitals were large, framed wall tents with high 

side walls. Inside were rows of beds and a center aisle; a design easily converted to 

frontier boarding house use. The tents could be any length, often doubled in size or more 

by two tents abutting each other, ripping the center seams and rolling back the flaps. 

Wall tents were the same design, with canvas side wall, but smaller. Period descriptions 

and reminiscences along the railroad mention wall tents and “hospital” tents most often. 

All tents could be made taller by the addition of side boards, placing the canvas tent on 

top of the wooden partial walls. These tent types predominate in the Promontory historic 

scene, May 10. 

Civil War era “Sutler” tents provided dry goods, tobacco, and, rarely, alcohol for soldiers. 

The Sutler business was well prescribed by the military, but it was a common trading 

post-like business that easily adapted to the tent towns along the railroad. Civil War era 

Sutler type tents could have easily been seen along the Union Pacific tracks. 

 

Period records of the Union Pacific Railroad and those of the Casement brothers at the 

Nebraska Historical Society and the Central Pacific Railroad invoices at the California 

State Railroad Museum include the purchase of wall tents. There was no standard size, 

though military precedents were followed: 10 x 16, 12 x 14, 14 x 14, and 14 x 16, for 

example. The company records do not list the size of tents used at Promontory. 

However, the Union Pacific ticket office and quarters, HS-1 and HS-2, appear to meet the 

general size of other tents in photographs taken along the line, especially those at UP 

headquarters at Echo City, Utah. The same can be said for the Central Pacific tents. 

Business records for Promontory businesses have not been found. The diary of Edward 

Watson, copy at the University of Wyoming, who had a cigar and stationary store at 

Junction City, another canvas camp on the Promontory, describes his tents. In February, 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

70

he had for his business a 16 x 20 wall tent, cost $95. He bought $150 worth of lumber 

(600’) to frame it and add sides. Nails cost 75 cents per pound. He had it up within two 

days. He also had a 14 x 14 wall tent with stove and bed, but loaned that to a sick friend. 

He sold his tent to Ben Danforth, who continued the business. The size of Watson’s 16 x 

20 tent is near the estimated size of the larger tents at Promontory, May 10. 

Period advertisements add support to the use of the A and wall tents, the nearest dealer 

being in Corinne, Utah. Most of these dealers were buying second hand tents from 

construction firms. The appearance of the tents along Promontory’s commercial row, 

with their different colored or discolored sections of canvas, suggests that they were 

second hand. Watson bought his at Wasatch, a construction camp up the Union Pacific 

grade. 

Park technician Benjamin Boyce’s estimate on size of tents should be revised to match 

military standards and the rule of twos. Lumber for framing and canvas tents were sold 

in widths and lengths that can be divided by two (still a common practice). Though 

special orders could be filled with odd sizes, widths and lengths, the additional cost 

negated any value or rationale for not buying standard issue. 

Using the same methods of measurement as Boyce, plus architectural perspective 

practices and the period description of tent standards, the dimensions of the tents at 

Promontory can be revised (see Table 1). The list of tents, their dimensions, and their 

use will be described in the following subsection. 

 

Figure 54. Tent layout as suggested by photographs. Note: track curves and distances exaggerated
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

71

Tent Number 

Size/Description Function Owner Sources 

HS-1 14x14 wall tent Central Pacific 

– Western U 

telegraph 

office 

Central Pacific 

RR 

Russell 

photograph; 

Newspaper 

accounts 

HS-2 8x8 “A” tent Central Pacific 

– Western U 

workers bunk 

tent 

Central Pacific 

Railroad 

ditto 

HS-3 14x14 wall tent Bunk house Possibly CP 

RR 

Ditto, Gambell 

reminiscence 

HS-4 14x14 wall tent Bunk house Possibly CP 

RR 

Ditto 

HS-5 14x14 wall tent Bunk house Possibly CP 

RR 

Ditto 

HS-6 16x24 two part 

hospital tent 

14x14 back 

Restaurant Unknown Hart and 

Russell photos 

HS-7 16x24 hospital 

tent/high side 

wall tent 

Multiple: 

possible 

saloon, 

restaurant and 

barber 

Unknown Hart and 

Russell photos 

HS-8 16x22 hospital 

tent 

Red Cloud 

saloon 

Unknown Hart and 

Russell photos 

HS-9 16x22 hospital 

tent with 14x14 

wall tent wing 

Conner 

“Grocery” 

Conner ditto 

HS-10 14x14 Saloon/rest. Unknown ditto 

HS-11 14x20 Stage office Wells Fargo ditto 

HS-12 14x14 Quarters UP RR ditto 

HS-13 14x28 Ticket & Tele. 

Office 

UP RR ditto 

HS-14 14x24 UP engineers ditto 

HS-15 14x24 Const. camp Casement ditto 

HS-16 14x14 Const. camp Casement ditto 

HS-17 14x14 Saloon/rest. Unknown ditto 

Table 1: The Tents of Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

72

Figures 55, 56. Nineteenth century tent advertisements 

for wall tents and “A” tent. These advertisements 

appeared in the 1890s Montgomery Wards catalogue 

and the Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogues, though they 

are of earlier vintage design. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

73

Figures 57, 58, 59, 60. Often reprinted sketches of Civil War era tents suggests similar use as quarters at 

Promontory and elsewhere in the West during the 1860s. Along the railroad they were also used to 

temporarily house businesses and company offices. From John Billings, Hard Tack and Coffee (Boston: G. 

M. Smith, 1888). 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

74

5) History and Use of the Tents, HS-1 to HS-17, at Promontory, May 10 

HS-1, HS-2: Central Pacific Railroad and Western Union telegraph office and quarters 

tent 

Visible in images of the last spike site, nearest the Central Pacific Railroad’s last 

telegraph pole, are tents HS-1 and HS-2. Dr. Stillman on the Stanford Special train 

wrote, “the telegraph operators at the end of the respective lines were then within a few 

rods of each other.” The UP ticket and telegraph office, HS-12, is the first tent up the 

track about five rods from HS-1. Other observers noted the office – some writers call it 

the CP ticket office – at the end of the CP track. HS-1 would have served as ticket and 

telegraph office, while the “A” frame smaller tent, HS-2, would have been quarters. 

Working in concert with the CP and UP, the Western Union had a crew of telegraphers at 

the ceremony. They would have been at the Last Spike Site, working in and around these 

tents. 

Besides the tent telegraph office, the CP used one of the box cars in Strobridge’s work 

train as ticket and telegraph office. Telegrapher Louis Jacobs was in this “outfit car,” 

according to CP telegraph foreman Amos Bowsher. 

The agent in charge at Promontory was J. C. Hildreth. The terminus, of course, was 

supposed to be at Ogden, according to the April 9 agreement between Dodge and 

Huntington. With the decision by the UP not to give up the line, Ogden to Promontory, 

the CP was neither ready, nor desirous of putting buildings at Promontory. That the CP 

was not planning to stay and was ready to move with short notice is seen in the difference 

between the basic tents put up by the CP and the UP, which had tents with wood frames, 

side walls, and wooden platform. Leland Stanford’s failure to reach agreement, again, 

with UP officials that day forced the CP to unwillingly build its terminus at Promontory 

Summit. 

The telegraph operator at Promontory was Louis Jacobs. F. S. Vandenburgh, 

superintendent of the CP telegraph line, arrived at Promontory in early May with a 

number of telegraphers from along the line, J. N. Stewart, R. F. Pixley, and John Curran. 

James Gambell of the Western Union, San Francisco office was with them as was Ed 

Conway, Western Union based in Corinne. They were at Promontory early on May 10, 

working in concert to send the news nationally by telegraph. HS-1 and HS-2 were 

probably crowded the night of the 9th, with overflow, possibly, in tents down the line to 

the southwest (HS-3, HS-4, and HS-5). 

Amos Bowsher, foreman on CP telegraph construction based with Strobridge’s 

construction train at Victory, later recalled how his CP crew connected the wires from the 

CP telegraph and UP telegraph lines to the last spike. His crew would have connected 

the wires to battery storage equipment in HS-1 or in the outfit car, the CP ticket and 

telegraph office, as well as to the telegraph in Strobridge’s construction train moved up 

from Victory. They would have ensured that the battery was well charged. A special 

portable key and relay on a table were used outside near the last spike site. The CP 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

75

telegraph system would have been busy with news dispatches and ceremony tasks on the 

10th. 

A wagon visible in front of HS-1 has an odd shaped box in its bed. The box may have 

held the portable telegraph equipment and other equipment used by the Western Union - 

CP telegraph crews. 

The CP invoices at California State Railroad Museum for the period list items purchased 

by the company including furniture, telegraph equipment, and tents. Telegraph keys and 

relays were purchased from the firm of Lundberg & Marwedel, San Francisco. Period 

photographs of tents elsewhere along the line taken by Alfred A. Hart show similar office 

wall tents used by the CP. The interiors included beds, table, and chair or two and the 

agent’s ticket box and the telegrapher’s equipment. “A” frame sleeping quarters were 

rare, bare ground covered with tarp used for field situations, quickly moved or replaced. 

The CP – Western Union telegraph office tent and the quarters, wall tent HS-1 and “A” 

frame tent HS-2, would have been in the middle of events, May 10. 

HS-3: CP quarters (Reporters Tent) 

A surprising number of reporters descended on Promontory for the driving of the last 

spike ceremony. Since the event was initially scheduled for May 8, several California 

newspapers sent field journalists to the “front” early. With the postponement of the 

ceremony until May 10, they stayed in the vicinity. 

The San Francisco Chronicle unnamed reporter, who arrived by the initial date of the 

ceremony, sent a series of reports datelined from Promontory indicating he stayed there 

the 8th – 10th. Similarly, T. O’Leary of the Sacramento Bee arrived early and sent 

dispatches from Promontory those days. A reporter from the San Francisco Bulletin and 

Virginia City, Nevada Enterprise were there early. 

The reporter for the Enterprise noted the telegraphers putting up a flag on the telegraph 

pole at the last spike site at 7 a.m. on May 10. The reporter undoubtedly slept nearby. 

The reporter for the Chronicle has the most dispatches from Promontory itself, and 

undoubtedly stayed in one of its tents. Unlike other news reports that include nothing 

more than the ceremony, O’Leary of the Bee and the Chronicle reporter included details 

about local residents. He related several tall tales about Dead Fall, adding to its notoriety. 

The Chronicle reporter noted that “those who have put up restaurants and saloons here 

plan to stay,” indicating his taking time to interview one or two people. 

The Central Pacific Railroad gave special attention to the Alta California of San 

Francisco. Editor Frederick MacRellish rode in Stanford’s Special train to the ceremony. 

The Alta California also had a reporter, signed as “Evan,” sent earlier from White Pine, 

Nevada to follow the CP crews building the last few miles. Evan was probably Albert S. 

Evans, reporter for the Alta who also published in February 1869 Overland Monthly a 

description of CP construction. He stayed with Strobridge then, and it is evident from his 

dispatches that he stayed with superintendent of construction Strobridge at Victory in his 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

76

camp cars and moved with them to Promontory. At least one newspaper was critical of 

this favoritism given the Alta California. 

The numbers of reporters on the scene greatly increased with the arrival of UP and CP 

trains the morning of the 10th. Reporters or correspondents for the Cheyenne Leader, 

Chicago Tribune, and New York Times were on UP trains that arrived that morning. The 

only journalists that arrived early from the east were A. T. Drake of the soon to fold 

Cheyenne Argus and Fred K. Freeman of the defunct Frontier Index, both looking for a 

new home. 

The initiation point (Promontory) of their dispatches by wire, the number of reporters 

(too many to fit in the Stanford Special), and the length of their stay at Promontory 

suggests that several reporters stayed at Promontory Summit at least a night or two. The 

question is where did they stay? 

The only reporter to mention any lodgings is W. W. Foote of the Omaha Herald. In a 

May 12 wire from Promontory he mentions a 30 x 70 boarding house recently put up. 

Since none of the tents in the photographs of May 10 are that size, the tent probably 

arrived post-May 10. Conversely, a traveler who arrived in Promontory May 9 did not 

stay for the May 10 celebration because there was no place to stay. 

Several reporters thanked the kindness of the Central Pacific Railroad, obviously for the 

free passes, possibly for more. The tents used by the Central Pacific telegraphers, HS-1 

and HS-2, mentioned in newspaper accounts, suggest that the reporters slept, ate and 

worked in a tent south of the tracks, possibly in HS-3, one of the row of unmarked wall 

tents near the telegraphers and the last spike site. The impromptu use of the UP ticket 

office for the night of the 9th by photographer Savage, as noted in his diary, indicates that 

the companies provided limited housing for guests. A contractor’s or CP company 

boarding house, possibly HS-3, would have become an impromptu field news center and 

reporter’s tent. 

HS-4, HS-5: Housing Tents 

The tents identified by Hedren as HS-4, HS-5, HS-7, and HS-10 are of two different 

types. The tents HS-7 and HS-10 are more substantial and are located among the row of 

other businesses north of the tracks. Although they lack signs, their location and scale 

suggest they were built to house businesses to serve workers and travelers. O’Leary of 

the Bee reported “restaurants and saloons” in the town, a category which either of these 

tents may have fit. 

The one comment that seven tent saloons lined each side of the CP tracks, that in Leslie’s, 

has to be questioned. The purported author, photographer Andrew Russell, was too busy 

taking photographs that day to gather detailed information and the sentence smacks too 

much of a journalistic mot, made by editors back in New York City, rather than accurate 

reporting. The diary entry of photographer Charles Savage may have been more 

accurate in his description since it reflects the scene in photographs: “Promontory Point 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

77

[sic.] consists of 1⁄2 doz. Tents and Rum holes” – six tents, HS-6 to HS-11 (including HS17), in a row north of the tracks, made up the town, the rest were company or contractor’s 

tents. The comment about rum was unnecessary since every tent probably had a 

celebratory bottle of rum (or other liquor), including Savage’s Mormon party, which 

“cracked champagne” on the evening of the 10th back in Ogden. 

The tents south of the tracks, HS-4 and HS-5 described above, southwest of the CP ticket 

office are wall tents but of smaller scale and design. They appear less business-like. 

There are only flaps, not frame doorways. There are no boarded sides raising the 

ceilings, and they lack cleared paths, signs, or hitching rails. 

A number of reminiscences suggest that they may have served as CP company tents or 

contractor’s housing. Years later, Anna Gamble recalled that as a child she slept in a tent 

at Promontory. Her father remained up all night as guard. Some suggest, if she recalled 

correctly sleeping in a large circular tent, then she was not at Promontory since there are 

none in the historic photographs. However, a tent with sagging sides may have seemed, 

to a child, circular, which may have been the case if she was in Promontory. Having 

someone stand guard would have been wise. If James Gamble of the Western Union and 

family stayed at Promontory, then, most likely, they were near the telegraphers on the 

south side of the CP tracks, possibly in HS-4 or HS-5. 

Taking into account the limited information at hand, the tents HS-7 and HS-10 were most 

likely restaurants or saloons. Those south of the CP tracks, HS-4 and HS-5, were 

probably used for quarters, possibly by the CP company or a contractor. 

HS-6, Restaurant Tent 

In the Russell photos the last tent in the row southwest of the Conner and the Red Cloud 

saloons is a tent with the word “restaurant” stenciled on a canvas sign across its front. 

The tent restaurant is made up of two sections, the front tent being larger than the rear. It 

probably had tables in front, and kitchen in the rear tent. It has a frame doorway as well. 

 

Period descriptions of restaurants at Promontory post-date May 10. Traveler Humason 

mentions one of the passengers looking for a meal on May 11. He is offered plover, a 

native bird. Plover is mentioned a number of places as a local meal, including the May 9 

supper aboard the Stanford special. A reporter for the Omaha Herald noted an excellent 

meal available on May 12 of eggs, beefsteak and fresh strawberries from California. 

Diarists do not mention details of meals, although on June 30, W. H. Jackson noted he 

had a “hearty supper” at the New England boarding house in Promontory. 

Construction era descriptions of restaurants are found in a number of sources. Alexander 

Toponce, who supplied beef to the railroads at Promontory, operated a tent restaurant 

along the UP. He hired a husband and wife to run the place, which had a dining room in 

front and a rear tent for cooking and as living quarters. Mollie Sheehan recalled her 

father going to work as a grader for the railroad near Corinne, while she and her mother 

operated a restaurant. She recalled, “I hated waiting on tables. I begged my stepmother 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

78

to let me stay out of sight back of the canvas partition and do the cooking and 

dishwashing.” Period newspapers describe similar restaurants as the one at Promontory. 

At Hot Springs, for example, another husband and wife team operated a tent restaurant. 

They had fresh produce and meats from the Salt Lake Valley. 

Water was an expensive item at Promontory. Water was hauled in barrels by wagon from 

springs six miles distant. According to one source, restaurants paid $2 for each barrel of 

water. 

Period newspapers include advertisements for the sale of businesses. Two structures at 

Wasatch were for sale in April, the California Restaurant, 22 x 60, and the UP Boarding 

house, 22 x 50, ready to move (”made portable”), which suggests the mobility of 

businesses. The restaurant at Promontory was smaller than these structures, but tents of 

that size appeared shortly thereafter in Promontory City’s row. 

In the Box Elder County deed records, Brigham City, Utah, is a mortgage inventory of a 

restaurant, the City Bakery in Corinne, which provides example period furnishings: 

Two coffee pots 

One ou set pot 

4 candle sticks 

2 dippers 

3 stew pans 

1 frying pan 

3 milk pots 

2 kitchen spoons 

2 strainers 

15 cake pans 

1 caster 

1 dinner pail 

1 stove 

8 joints of [stove] pipe 

1 wood saw 

1 meat saw 

1 cork screw 

1 show case 

shelves 

1 waste dish 

3 butcher knives 

1 oil stone 

2 table stools 

1 scales 

5 table cloths 

24 pie plates 

4 buckets 

China and Queens ware 

Knives, forks, spoons 
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Some of these items were used primarily for the bakery, the remainder for restaurant. 

The list also includes lumber for bunks to build a boarding house. The restaurant at 

Promontory may have doubled as a boarding house with, at first, minimal amenities. 

Unlike the other businesses of May 10, the use of HS-6 is easiest to define, another track 

side restaurant serving the travelers and workers at Promontory Summit. 

 

HS-7: Restaurant or Saloon Tent 

See discussion under HS-4 and HS-6. A striped pole leaning from the front of the tent 

suggests a barber inside. Because of the size, the tent may have had multiple uses. One 

period traveler took his meals in a tent boarding house with a barber chair in the corner. 

HS-8:“Red Cloud” Saloon Tent 

In the photographs by Russell and by Hart can be seen, southwest of Conner’s tent, a wall 

tent with “Red Cloud” stenciled on a canvas sign, probably in red, and placed over the 

frame doorway. It has a built frame doorway, common in businesses in the tent towns 

along the railroad. The tent appears to be recently placed with vegetation cleared only for 

its base and on the trail crossing in front of the tent row. A hitching post is in front. 

Red Cloud was a popular whiskey marketed by the firm of Taylor & Wright, River 

Street, Chicago. Although labeled “Red Cloud Stomach Bitters,” it was less a bitters than 

a red whiskey named after the Sioux warrior. The company had other labels, best known 

being Red Jacket Bitters (whiskey) also mentioned in period newspapers. Archeologists 

have found numbers of the Red Jacket bitters bottles at the park. The firm also sold Blue 

Run. 

The Utah Daily Reporter gives the following prices for whiskey, gin and Valley Tan in 

May; 

Market Report: 

whiskey, states, @ gal .....$4.75 @10.00 

valley tan @ gal ............$5.50 

gin, @ gal... ................$6.00 @ 8.00 

The Union Pacific Brewery near Ogden sold porter and ale by the keg. 

The cheaper spirit, “Valley Tan” was a poor whiskey made in the Salt Lake valley. 

Alexander Topance’s reminiscence mentions it being drunk at Promontory, May 10. 

The Leslie’s reporter mentions the sale of ‘Red Cloud,’ ‘Red Jacket,’ and Blue Run,’ 

whiskey and gin, sold in Promontory’s saloon. Historic photographs and analysis of 

other evidence suggests that the row of saloons was located only on the northwest side of 

the tracks. The Red Cloud saloon would have been in the middle of the row, and one of 

only three or four standing that day. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

80

 

The Red Cloud saloon’s owner may have been part of the migration from Junction City 

and Dead Fall. Diarist Watson, who arrived ten days later, mentions several people that 

shifted, but not by business name. The Red Cloud saloon would have served the workers, 

travelers, and celebrants at Promontory. 

HS-9: J. S. Conner Grocery Tent 

In the left of Alfred Hart’s image of the Promontory, May 7, is the wall tent and sign of 

“[J.] S. Conner.” The tent appears to be opposite the end of track, and closest to the last 

spike site. This is an opportune business location and evidence of early arrival to the 

summit. Period newspaper accounts of May 10 make no mention of an S. Conner at 

Promontory, nor any other business person that day. Nearby, however, was the tent city 

of Junction City founded the previous January by people who had followed the railroad 

and hoped that they would be at the point where the railroads joined. Newspapers 

mention several businesses including that of J. S. Conner, Will Riley, and Watson & 

Company. 

Located in the Blue Creek valley seven miles west, Junction City residents would have 

been among the first to hear the news of the lines’ proposed meeting at Promontory 

Summit, which was telegraphed to workers April 11. Conner, like Will Riley, operated 

“groceries.” Ed Watson and Ben Davenport operated a cigar and notions store, and, more 

importantly, Watson kept a diary. Watson’s diary describes the business practices of a 

construction era tent shop. He speculated on trade items, hoping the work crews would 

purchase their needs from him. The railroad provided more rapid access to suppliers, 

which gave Watson an advantage over the previous Utah merchants who had to rely on 

slow wagon freighters. However, they also bought agricultural products, “groceries,” 

from Mormon farmers. 

After the joining of the rails, Junction City was abandoned for Promontory. Watson went 

to Promontory where he met several Junction Cityites. His diary suggests a general 

movement of businesses to Promontory Summit from Junction City. Will Riley moved 

his “grocery” to Promontory, Watson noted. Watson sold his business to Ben Danforth, 

who moved to Promontory while Watson left for California. Many of the merchants sold 

out and left, providing cheap goods to their competitors. A reporter for the Carson City 

Appeal, August 28, 1868 noted the movement of merchants at the head of the CP. He 

wrote: “As we approached our destination [end of CP track] we passed several white 

tents, in one or two of which some enterprising sutler had set out his motley wares...” 

Conner would have operated with similar motley wares like a sutler, the term for a trader 

at a military post. 

That Conner’s tent was at the end of the CP track opposite the spot selected for the 

joining of the rails suggests that his was the first business on the scene. The grocery 

provided a variety of goods and supplies for workers and travelers, much like a military 

sutler or a frontier outfitter – clothes and foods, hardware and leather goods, blankets and 

utensils. He probably had standard goods shipped in by the railroad, bought products 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

81

from the farmers, and bought up bargain priced goods from his competitors abandoning 

the field. Along the railroad and elsewhere the “grocery” also became synonymous with 

the saloon. Conner probably sold more wet goods than dry goods on May 10. 

Next to Conner’s tent, HS-9, is another tent, HS-9a, set back and most likely connected. 

This may have been a quarters or sleeping tent owned by Conner. Watson mentions in 

his diary buying a 16x22 business tent and a 14x14 tent for sleeping, which he shared 

with boarders. The set up for Conner is the same – main tent for business and side tent 

for quarters. However, on the days up to May 10, the side tent may have included some 

celebratory card games, a side room for gambling. 

The Casement brothers invoices from W. R. King & Co., Omaha, now at Nebraska State 

Historical Society, provide examples of foodstuffs sent along the line, May, 1869: 2 

chests black tea, 10 barrels brown sugar, 10 barrels ground coffee, 3 barrels rice, 5 gallon 

kegs molasses (10), 2 barrels cod fish, 1,000 lbs butter, 1,000 lbs. bacon, 6 barrels navy 

beans, 6 barrels soap, 10 barrels pork, 1,000 lbs. ham, 50 sacks potatoes, 4 boxes soap, 4 

boxes candles, dozen brooms, dozen pails, 6 cases Imperial wine, and 10 gallons best 

sherry. 

We know little about “J. S. Conner.” He is mentioned in a newspaper item on Junction 

City. He is not in the 1870 census of Utah but a J. D. Conner worked in a saloon at Elko, 

Nevada down the line, a possible incorrect middle initial written by the census taker. 

Promontory residents moved out upon the final transfer of the junction in NovemberDecember 1869, many to CP towns to the west. 

On May 10, however, the business of J. S. Conner was a tent grocery and quarters 

recently relocated to the Promontory Summit. Conner’s tent provided workers with 

supplies and provision during the days leading up to the celebration, and on May 10 was 

front and center able to provide “wet” goods and relaxation for the celebrants. 

HS-10 and HS-17: Restaurant or Saloon 

In Hart’s May 7 photograph, at far left, stand two simple tents, HS-10 and HS-17. Both 

were early on the ground, near Conner’s tent, and were for commercial use, either as 

saloons or restaurants, and served the needs of the workers hurrying up to finish the grade 

and track before May 10. For the general discussion on commercial uses, see discussion 

under HS-4. 

For details on restaurant furnishings see HS-6. 

The following discussion focuses on uses and furnishings of saloons. 

The first mention of the tents was by a San Francisco reporter. On May 7, a reporter from 

the Alta California noted that tough characters had moved to Promontory Summit, “A lot 

of them have commenced business here already. Last night they garroted and robbed two 

men in a dead fall tent opposite the junction, and two days since they knocked down and 

robbed a man of three thousand dollars in greenbacks in the same place.” The reporter’s 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

82

account suggests either HS-10 or HS-17 was a “dead fall,” euphemism for whiskey 

saloon. 

Dr Stillman, with the Stanford party, which arrived May 7, also noted the tent saloons 

that took advantage of “the vices of men.” On May 9, Charles Savage noted in his diary 

the “Rum holes.” HS-10 or HS-17 and the “Red Cloud,” are responsible for the image 

of Promontory as a “Hell on Wheels” terminus. 

A saloon set up of the size of HS-10 or HS-17 was common along the Union Pacific. 

Historic photographs of the period show the tent saloons of the towns along the track, 

most small. This is opposed to traveling journalists’ writings, who highlighted the 

grandest in size or ornament. 

In 1868-9, A. R. Converse & Co of Cheyenne was a wholesale merchant who sold goods 

to the rail towns west into Wyoming and Utah. His records at the University of 

Wyoming show inventories of items sold to saloons, which reflects the set-ups of the 

period: 

To Haas & Co 

Castor 

Salt cellar 

Matches 

Small brown glasses 

Dozen chairs 

Three dozen tumblers 

Six cordials 

Six frosted champs 

Pair jugs 

Ornaments 

Spittoons 

Duster 

Mats 

Stoppers 

Bucket 

LA Rice, Laramie 

Japaned waiters 

24 bar tumblers 

6 wine tumblers 

6 ale tumbler 

set bar spoons 

 

The 1869 mortgage of John Davies’ tent saloon in Corinne, for $900, is suggestive of a 

period saloon. It included: “tent, all pictures, mirror, decorations, stove, furniture and 

everything appertaining to the bar and store in said tent plus eight barrels whiskey, ten 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

83

barrels ale, with all other barrels, kegs and vessels therein – all liquors and merchandise 

stock of every kind whatever now in the aforesaid tent.” 

The description of the Wolf Tone saloon along the CP, east of Promontory, also provides 

a description of a construction era trackside saloon. The Daily Alta California, May 3, 

1869, reported that the “Wolf Tone Hall” “upon entering...was found that it was a much 

more pretentious affair than the most imaginative could ever have supposed from a view 

of its exterior. A strip of canvas stretched along the side and over the counter, at which 

whiskey was retailed from tin pans.” The reporter bought coffee without milk and a 

chunk of bread weightier than lead. 

HS-10 and HS-17 appeared to be on CP ground, or within the right of way. James H. 

Strobridge, CP superintendent of construction, did not tolerate saloons on company 

property and in his reminiscence says they were torn down. After May 10, the 

community of Promontory City arose but opposite the UP “connection track,” east of the 

last spike, and just beyond the 200’ right of way line. A tent similar to Conner’s is one of 

the first in the row. 

By May 9, railroad travelers were able to arrive at the end of the CP and walk across a 

short piece of ground to the end of the UP. One newspaper correspondent from Delaware 

mentions doing this. During this layover time, a stop at HS-10 or HS-17 for a drink or 

chunk of weighty bread, would have been possible. 

HS-10 or HS-17 as restaurant would have served the board and ad hoc meals of travelers 

and workers along the line. They would have also provided reporters and their readers 

with a taste of a “Hell on Wheels” terminus town 

HS-11: Wells Fargo & Co. Tent, 

On May 9, a number of reporters noted the Wells Fargo stage coach carried the last 

overland mail to the end of track of the CP at Promontory Summit. Wells Fargo had run 

stages between the ends of track as the rails approached each other. By May 9, the 

distance was a short seven miles from Junction City in the Blue Creek valley to the CP 

track at Promontory Summit. According to reports, at Promontory Summit, agent J. B. 

Keeny of the Wells Fargo terminus office, took the last bags of Overland express off the 

stage, symbolic end of an era of long, rough travel. 

A reporter for the San Francisco Bulletin was at the end of track in April and wrote of the 

stage’s arrival: 

A mail of twenty bags or more came from the East yesterday. All the passengers 

followed, and in an hour a train was dispatched West. The Central conductor, 

seeing the mail lying on the ground, offered to take it. Wells, Fargo & Co.’s 

people said “No,” they did not want to send it that day. The train and passengers 

went off West, and these bags lay on the ground outside Wells, Fargo & Co.’s tent 

all night, and are lying there now.” 

Daily Morning Call, April 30, 1869 from Bulletin
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The reporter’s brief message helps us understand the concern of the West over the nonarrival of mail and the party to blame, the stage company. Also, the writer noted the 

arrival by stage of passengers. Most importantly, he noted Wells Fargo & Company’s 

tent at the end of the track. 

The story of the Overland stage is well known. Mark Twain’s Roughing It is more 

entertaining than factual but captures the long travail of 1860s Overland stage travel. In 

1868, Thomas Magee described running from the end of tracks as did many authors, but 

he took the stage road south of the lake. Until 1869, the Overland stage line followed the 

route from Salt Lake City to Austin, Nevada and west via south of the lake. In January, 

agent Egan rerouted stages to north of the lake between the rapidly approaching ends of 

track. 

Probably the last to write about the stage trip was Frederick Whymper, a British world 

traveler. In early May he crossed from Corinne to Victory. In his “From Ocean to Ocean 

– The Pacific Railroad,” Illustrated Travels. A Record of Discovery, Geography and 

Adventure (1870), 1-12, 32-40, 63-9, he wrote: 

About the day’s travel I shall say little. The line was not then quite finished; in 

less than a week it was open to traffic, and trains passing regularly on their way to 

California. I went over between the two companies’ tracks (i.e. between the 

terminus points of the Union and Central Pacific railroads) by stage, passing 

several canvas towns, and in one or two cases smoking and burning, they having 

been intentionally destroyed by their late inhabitants. I passed the spot sacred to 

the “great track-laying feat,”... I furthermore saw the spot where the “last rail” 

was laid, the “last spike” driven, on the 10th of May... I was neither surprised nor 

disappointed to find, on reaching the end of the “Central Pacific” track (a 

California enterprise), that gold prices commenced there. I slept in a railroad 

“car,” there being no accommodation outside; a motley crew of rowdies, 

blackguards, gamblers, and abandoned women, made night hideous with their 

drunken orgies. A few days afterwards this camp ceased to exist. We were 

almost in sight of Salt Lake. No fresh water was to be found on the spot; it was 

brought from a distance in metal tanks on wheels, for the use of locomotives. 

Morning came at length, and our train started on the way...” 

A San Francisco reporter noted the Wells Fargo tent stage office in Victory, but soon 

noted that passengers, by May 7, were being dropped at the end of track at Promontory. 

President Stanford had arrived by then and most likely arranged for the passengers to 

walk between the adjacent ends of tracks. Reporters noted an average of thirty 

passengers per day crossing between rail heads by foot. A traveler on May 9 noted 

walking from one train to the other. 

The mail and express continued to be carried by the stage coaches. Per their contract 

with the Federal government, the stage line was to carry the government mail until the 

railroads met and formed a continuous line. Thus, the stage line now ran to Promontory, 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

85

but carried only mail and express for its last few days of operation. The last Overland 

stage ran May 9th. The reporter for the Alta California wrote: 

At noon to-day Well’s Fargo & Co’s Overland Stage No. 2 Eastern Division, 

driven by Samuel V. Geltz, who has been eight years in the Company’s service, 

arrived at Promontory Point [sic.] from Corinne, loaded with public documents 

and other mail matter. The four nags were worn and jaded, and the coach showed 

evidence of long service. The mail matter was delivered to the Central Pacific 

Company, and with that dusty, dilapidated coach and team the old order of things 

passed away forever. 

 Daily Alta California, San Francisco, May 10, 1869 

The editor of the Utah Daily Reporter at Corinne gave a similar report, with corrections.: 

The Last – The last run by Wells, Fargo & Co.’s stages, between the terminal of 

the two roads, was made May 9, 1869. The distance, eight miles, was 

accomplished in forty minutes. The drivers were John Mantle, Samuel Getts, and 

David Dickey, assisted by Mr. J. B. Keeny, agent at the terminus. 

 Utah Daily Reporter, Corinne, Utah, May 12, 1869 

Thirty-two year old Ohian J. B. Keeny was responsible for the mail and express at the 

terminus. A tent office would have been a simple affair since none of the passengers 

were given meals or accommodations as noted by Whymper and other travelers. 

Although the railroad ended Wells Fargo’s Overland staging business, they continued to 

send express and needed an office at the transfer point, May 10 and after. 

The question is which of the tents would have most likely been used by the stage and 

express company? Historic photographs show only three of the sixteen tents with signs, 

and none are the standard Wells Fargo sign. Since the run was only seven miles there 

was no need for extensive corrals or a station that provided meals. Promontory lacked 

water so feed and water would have been handled at the Blue Creek end of the run. A 

modest wall tent for some security between trains and for quarters would have sufficed at 

Promontory. 

Photographs show a tent, HS-11, east of the CP tracks adjacent the wagon trace. 

Although distant from the camera, the photograph shows, possibly, bags stacked in front 

of it. One reporter mentions stacks of mail bags on the ground. In the photograph, the 

wheel tracks of the wagon road appear to terminate in front of the tent as well, while the 

railroad construction road trace continues next to the CP tracks on west. There does not 

appear to be a road on the other side of the tracks. On May 10, the wagons and horses of 

visitors at the ceremony surround the wall tent, HS-11. 

Tent stage stations were common during the construction era. They were simple affairs 

that did not provide meals for travelers. Not surprisingly, at Promontory, businesses 

appeared west of HS-11, the stage office, that met these travelers’ needs. At the time of 

the driving of the last spike, the stage office would have been closing down. 

Wells Fargo continued to maintain a presence at Promontory station, a reporter a week 

later mentioning agent Theodore Tracy, Wells Fargo & Co. arranging express for the 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

86

company at the railroad transfer at the junction. Stage operations were considered by 

some to be possible from Promontory station to the north. However, stage line operators 

selected Corinne for Montana and Kelton, thirty eight miles west, as the jump-off point 

to Idaho. The June 30 photograph of the office tent row shows what appears to be the 

express office along the railroad transfer point. 

On May 10, based on photographs and period descriptions, the tent (HS-11) near the end 

of the CP tracks and adjacent the wagon road served as Wells Fargo & Co. office of agent 

J. B. Keeney. 

HS-12, HS-13: Union Pacific Railroad ticket and telegraph office and quarters tents, 

East of the last spike site, two wall tents appear along the railroad in photographs by A J 

Russell and Alfred Hart. The tents are located adjacent the UP “connection track” built 

sometime on May 9th, as described above. The photographs show the tents on wood 

platforms with wood side walls, one twice the length of the other. The ground around the 

tents has been recently cleared and lack vegetation. In one photograph, a person sits on a 

box in front of the tents and beyond the tent along the track are seen additional boxes. 

Newspaper dispatches on May 10 mention that the UP had a ticket office at Promontory 

Summit, as does the diary of Charles Savage, who noted that he spent a chilly night 

sleeping in the UP ticket office May 9-10. Tents served multiple functions at the time, 

office and sleeping quarters being common. 

Assistant superintendent Herbert Hoxie for operations was on the scene as was Grenville 

Dodge, chief engineer for the Union Pacific. In letters to president Ames, Dodge refers 

to putting up the ticket office and establishing the transfer point opposite their offices, on 

the UP connecting track. Dodge mentions in his reminiscence establishing operations for 

the railroad, May 10-11, but does not provide operational details. 

The UP’s two tents on a platform were of the pattern used elsewhere. Echo City and 

Laramie photographs show quarters with simple bed, tables and boxes interiors, with a 

mirror, spittoon, kerosene lamp, chairs, and, in one image, a board game. Travelers 

mention that the ticket agent kept materials -- tickets, schedules, and baggage checks, 

among other items -- in boxes. There may have been room for limited baggage storage. 

Traveler Humason mentions passengers on May 11 sitting on their carpet bags waiting 

for the connecting train. 

Since the UP telegraph line wires ended at Promontory, the telegraph office would have 

included a heavy storage battery besides the key and relay. Photographs of an Echo City 

telegraph and wall tent suggest the arrangement at Promontory, key and relay on a small 

table connected to wires through the tent wall. The space would have been crowded with 

company and personal belongings. 

The agent at Promontory on May 10th is unknown at this time. The agent would have 

shared space with one telegrapher, possibly two, the day and night crew. Telegrapher 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

87

Watson N. Shilling became momentarily famous for sending news of the last spike 

ceremony across the wires. His work that day has been written about often. 

A June 30-July 1, photograph by W. H. Jackson and Arundel Hull, shows the ticket office 

arranged with other office tents. In the row of platform wall tents used as offices by the 

post office, Western Union, and others along the transfer point, the former “connecting 

track,” stands the original UP ticket office tent with ticket box out front. In the 

photograph can be seen a haphazard wooden walkway or platform connecting the fronts 

of the tents to the track level where a railroad coach stands. This arrangement post-dates 

May 10, but possibly by only a few days. 

Historic photographs of the UP during construction show similar wall tents used as 

offices and quarters. 

Reminiscences of former UP telegraphers relate sleeping in the tent with the key and on 

duty operator. The telegraph key and relay would have been on a table with battery 

underneath or in a separate space, maybe the next tent. The telegraphers would have kept 

track of train movements and dispatches for officials. Because the line was already 

moving passengers through Promontory, the agent’s hands would have been full. 

On May 10th, the Union Pacific ticket and telegraph office tent and the quarters tent next 

door, HS-12 and HS-13, would have been busy places. 

HS-14: UP engineers/land speculator’s tent, 

On April 12, after learning that the UP and CP would meet at Promontory Summit, 

Leonard Eicholtz noted in his diary “After dinner Morris, Koons, Schyver [spelling 

unsure] and myself went to the summit of Promontory and staked out claims of quarter 

section each...Koons made plat of ground.” The next day he noted, “Schryver at work 

putting up buildings on our claims at Promontory.” On the 16th Eicholtz and the others 

met at Morris’s office and “formed a joint stock Land Company.” The group had 

claimed “12 or 13 quarter sections,” the equivalent of a parcel of land over three miles 

long and one mile wide. 

Eicholtz was UP bridge engineer on the Promontory in charge of building the trestles up 

the slope. In camp nearby was Thomas Morris, UP assistant engineer in charge of 

construction on the Promontory. H. L. Koons was his assistant. All were based in the 

Blue Creek valley, where most of the construction work was focused that spring. 

Schryver may have been an assistant of Morris or Eicholtz. 

The UP work was divided between the contractors building the grade and laying track 

and the company employees, the construction engineers who evaluated the work of the 

contractor. Thomas Morris was the engineer in charge on the Promontory, but survey 

crews did the actual work of putting pennons down the grade to ensure that ties and rails 

were placed at the right height. The surveyor worked in advance of rail layers in order 

not to stop or slow work. When the contractor finished, the engineer signed off or 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

88

accepted the work before the contractor received payment. Hezekiah Bissel, UP 

construction engineer at Ogden, recalled that the engineer’s duties meant that they stayed 

near the contractor’s camps. 

Before May 10, the UP had determined to make Promontory a terminus town. The yards 

would need to be laid out. Dodge directed the track construction. In the reminiscences of 

C. H. Sharman, he tells of how the UP crew surveyed in the last curved connection track. 

Sharman had worked ahead of contractor Casement, putting down pennons along the 

grade, according to newspaper reports and his reminiscence, and with other engineers 

was at the spike ceremony. Dodge had the engineer corps on hand May 10 for a group 

photograph. 

The tent of a construction engineer would have been along the track, near if not in the 

contractor’s camp. The lone, distant tent, HS-14, in a Russell photograph is positioned 

near enough to the tracks to be accessible to work along the line. It also appears to be the 

only tent far enough distant from the tracks to be outside the UP company’s right of way 

– suggesting the future site of the tent row of Promontory City. Eicholtz’s diary, the 

descriptions of work along the line by newspapers and in company documents, either as 

part of the construction engineer work, or to hold a 160 acre land claim, suggest the tent 

(HS-14) most distant from the last spike site, was probably put up by the UP company 

construction engineers/land speculators. 

HS-15, HS-16: Union Pacific construction crew’s (Casement Brothers) tents 

In the photographs of Hart and Russell, further northeast of the ticket office, in the 

background beyond the tracks, can be seen a camp or cluster of two tents. Harts 

photograph of May 7, shows the camp, possibly with wagons. 

Newspaper reporters and other observers make no mention of these distant tents, other 

than in the numbers count of 17 at Promontory that day. 

The location of the tents, nearer the UP tracks where the switch was placed in order to 

build the “connecting” track and the Wye beyond, suggests a non-business use. Rather, 

they most likely were used by UP construction crews. According to Eicholtz’s diary, 

Dodge, Durant, and Dillon, officers of the UP, had ordered rail, ties, poles, and supplies 

to Promontory Summit after witnessing the 10 mile day track laying feat of the CP on 

April 28. Reporters that arrived May 7th, noted UP crews building the track at 

Promontory distant from the other workers on the east slope of the Promontory 

These crews would have built grade and put down ties. A stack of ties is visible in a 

Russell photograph, piled near where the switch to the “connecting track” was built and 

opposite the two tents, HS-15, HS-16. 

Chief engineer Dodge refers to the Casement brothers and their construction crews as 

doing the work at Promontory. The Casements primarily laid track, but took on 

additional work, such as building grades. The brothers had boarding cars and equipment 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

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cars at Blue Creek siding May 10, but several of their cars can be seen on the UP spur at 

Promontory, blocking the view of the two tents, HS-15, HS-16, in Russell’s photograph. 

The Casement brothers, contractors would have built the Promontory yard and had tents 

at their advance camp, probably the one seen in the photographs. 

Contemporary descriptions of the work and the tents’ locations in relation to the UP track 

work but distant from the CP, suggest that HS-15 and HS-16 were used by the 

construction crews building the terminus, the Casement brother’s advance work camp. 

reminiscences of engineers, and the standard operations for the UP engineer corps infer 

its use. 

Figure 61. Suggested uses of the tents of Promontory, May 10, 1869. Note: Track distances and curvature 

exaggerated. 
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6) Other Uses Considered 

Gambling Hall 

A number of histories of the transcontinental railroad include the stereotypical image of 

the “Hell on Wheels” towns, prominent in which are gambling halls. Their sources are 

the sometimes sensational travel accounts of journalists, most often quoting Henry 

Stanley or John H. Beadle. They wrote of shocking gambling halls. One hall that 

followed the camps along the line, and is noted in western Wyoming and then Corinne, 

was in a 50’ x 100’ tent. None of the tents in the photographs of Promontory Summit are 

that size. On May 10, the largest appears to be 16’ x 24.’ Reporters on the scene would 

not have ignored the opportunity to describe a gambling hall, or at least mention their 

presence. The saloons at Promontory that day may have had tables with card games, but, 

again, none were described as, to use a contemporary phrase, “gambling hells.” 

Photographer’s tent 

An early morning view of Promontory shows at far left of A J Russell’s wagon studio. 

Of the three photographers at Promontory, we know that Alfred Hart was on the Stanford 

Special and that Charles Savage spent the night of the 9th in the UP ticket office and left 

around 5 pm on the 10th (see Appendix B). 

Leonard Eicholt’s diary notes Russell arriving at Blue Creek early on the 6th and walking 

with him to camp (a photograph by Russell of Hall’s camp is annotated with “artist’s 

camp” – possibly his tent while at Blue Creek). During the 7th, reporters note 

“photographers,” plural, were at Promontory Summit, probably Hart and Russell. On the 

8th, Savage notes in his diary he met Russell at Blue Creek. 

A series of photos by Russell show the finished track work up the east slope of the 

Promontory, which were probably taken on the 8th and 9th. His studio wagon is in at 

least one of the views, beneath the long trestle. He shot a series of images at Hall’s 

camp, at various cuts along the UP track, and one of “Dead Fall,” the notorious cluster of 

tents in the Blue Creek valley. 

Many writers presume that Russell wrote the article for Frank Leslie’s on the last spike 

celebration. If so, Russell, the author, arrived with the 8:20 UP train, according to the 

article. If that is the case, then he would not have spent the night at Promontory. He used 

his studio wagon during the day. Later accounts have Russell and Savage working 

closely and using the studio wagon (Levi Leonard later confuses the issue by stating it 

was Savage’s wagon; Savage’s diary negates this assumption). 

Photographer W H. Jackson with Arundel Hall were in Promontory June 30 – July 1 and 

tented at the site. Many photographs of their tent and operations were photographed that 

summer of 1869 along the rails. Jackson, in his diary and autobiography, detailed the 

work of the period. He helps later generations understand graphically the tedious work of 

wet plate photography. But he was not in a tent at Promontory May 10, 1869, his 

wedding day. 
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With the information at hand, especially the article in Leslie’s which his biographers 

credit Russell as writing, then he (Russell) arrived the morning of the 10th. If this is the 

case, none of the photographers had a tent studio at Promontory May 10.

Terminus Post Office 

Special Agent Ball of the US Post Office was responsible for designating and operating 

post offices along the line and maintaining the “terminus” post office that moved with the 

tracks as they advanced. On May 10, he was joined at Promontory by assistant post 

master Jones of Omaha. 

When the terminus post office moved to Promontory is unknown. Because most of the 

UP workers were in the Blue Creek valley on May 10, it may have still been in the valley 

to the east. 

Photographs of the terminus post office after May 10 show a tent structure with box out 

front. Leslie’s magazine included an illustrations and description of the operation, but 

from a later period, October 1869. 

On May 10, though it is possible postal employees were in a simple tent preparing to 

relocate to the “terminus post office” to Promontory, none of the photographs of the tents 

suggests their use as post office and none of the observers mention a post office that day. 

Western Union Telegraph tent 

Workers for the Western Union were at Promontory Summit on May 10th. They worked 

with the railroad companies’ telegraph crews to connect the lines. The daughter of 

superintendent James Gamble recalled sleeping in a Promontory tent. However, Western 

Union did not have a telegraph line or office at Promontory until after May 10. The 

crews, including Gamble, probably worked and slept in the CP tents at the site. 

The company built a line parallel the railroads from the Salt Lake Valley to Elko that 

summer of 1869, near the railroad. Assistant superintendent Ed Conway established Utah 

headquarters at Corinne in April and was at Promontory May 10. He established an 

office in Promontory, but after the ceremony. 

In William H. Jackson’s photo of the row of office tents at Promontory, June 30, 

prominent among them is the Western Union telegraph tent. Western Union later, ca. 

1878, signed an agreement with CP to operate the CP system, except for railroad use. On 

May 10, though it is probable that Western Union crews slept in standing tents HS-2, HS4 or HS-5, there is not enough evidence at this time to suggest that Western Union had a 

tent office open that day. 
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Will Riley Grocery 

One of the first businesses in Promontory was Will Riley’s “Grocery.” A grocery, the 

mid-nineteenth century American village general store with wet goods became, on the 

Western frontier, the near universal term for liquor store and saloon. In the West, the 

retailer usually sought to profit from whatever would sell on the market. In Promontory, 

as suggested by news articles, liquor predominated. 

Riley was a twenty-six year old New Yorker who had opened shop at Junction City in 

January, 1869. He became “mayor” of the town, appointed by Junction Cityites in 

mining camp fashion. He decided criminal cases, usually with banishment or fine. He is 

also accused of being part of a band of thieves, at least according to one former resident. 

The victim claimed, after reaching Omaha, that he was threatened by Riley and others to 

give over his cash or suffer the consequences, whatever that meant. There is no appeal. 

Taking another view, it may have been the miner’s court in action, with Riley as alcalde 

administering a fine and banishment. 

Riley operated a grocery in Junction City, Promontory, and, later, at Kelton, Utah. A 

later business directory listed him as a Kelton dry goods merchant. In April, 1869, he 

was in Junction City when news of the location of the joining of the rails reached the 

valley. Riley and clerk Barney Mallory were among the first on the ground. According 

to newspaper accounts, Dead Fall and Junction City were deserted by May 12. 

Unfortunately, we lack specific evidence that he was at Promontory Summit on May 10th. 

If he did erect a tent, it was quickly moved. By May 13, the railroad companies had the 

tents relocated to “Promontory City,” outside the UP right of way. 

Although Riley’s Grocery was at Promontory early, we lack specific information to date 

his opening shop on or before May 10. The possibility, however, should not be entirely 

discounted. If he was at Promontory on May 10, Riley would have been in one of the 

tents of the commercial row north of the tracks. 

 

Barber Shop 

One of the common businesses of the period was a barber shop. Reminiscences of the 

region recall several very modest shops. One account, Hezekiah Bissel’s, recalls getting 

a hair cut at an outdoor shop, one chair under a tree. In Corinne a barber shop was 

located in a boarding house. A contemporary sale of a barber shop in Wasatch to a 

Corinne barber included descriptions of interior fixtures: looking glass, wash stand, 

table, barber chair, stool, towels, chandelese, and burner. 

The identifying feature of a barber shop is a striped pole out front. Such poles are seen 

in a contemporary photograph of Dead Fall, seven miles distant, and of Promontory City 

after May 10. John B. Silvis’s photograph of the main street shows the San Francisco 

Barber Shop with barber pole jutting from a porch. The row of tents north of the tracks 

may have included a barber shop. They did shortly afterward. 
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Close-up photographs of the tents have not been found, but HS-7 may have such a pole 

out front suggesting this large tent may have also housed a barber shop. None of the brief 

newspaper dispatches from Promontory, May 10, mention a separate barber shop. 

Chinese Workers Tents. 

From all accounts, it appears that the Chinese workers’s tents remained at Victory, west 

of Promontory, until after the ceremony. They arrived with Strobridge’s train, and 

worked on the laying of the last rails and ties, but remained camped to the west. Several 

newspapers note that the Chinese workers of the CP were kept distant from the Irish UP 

workers because of a general fear of violence between the two ethnic groups. There is no 

evidence of any such violent encounter. 

Military tents 

The military presence is mentioned in reports and can be seen in historic photographs. 

Only Dr. Stillman in his later article for Overland Monthly reports that the soldiers 

camped at Promontory the night of May 10. The Stanford Special left at 4 p. m. with 

Stillman onboard, which suggests he may not have actually seen any soldiers in camp. 

The detailed research by Paul Hedren concludes that the troops at Promontory were able 

to leave that evening, none staying overnight at Promontory Summit. 

Ranchers’ or Farmers’ tents 

The 1870 census for Promontory Station includes three ranchers. Contemporary 

information shows that the Promontory range had been used to graze cattle by Mormons. 

The range industry of the region dates from the arrival of the railroad. No contemporary 

newspapers note ranch homes or farms in the immediate area. One reporter, O’Leary of 

the Bee, talked with graders, probably Mormon, who stated that the soil they tilled up to 

build the grade looked like it could produce wheat. However, there was no farming or 

ranching based at Promontory at that time. 
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B) The “Last Spike Site,” May 10, 1869 and After 

Because the tents will be described in relation to the site of the driving of the last spike, it 

is best to begin with that point. According to the agreement between the railroads on 

April 9, they were to join rails at Promontory Summit. At that time there were two 

survey station points pegged as “Promontory Summit,” one on the UP line, the other on 

the CP line. The UP profile map of grades over the summit of the Promontory 

Mountains, February 1869, is in the collections of the Nebraska Historical Society, while 

the CP profile has not been found. 

The CP track reached their Promontory Summit May 1st. Dispatches by reporters at the 

front sent the news to San Francisco, Charles Crocker telegraphed his partners, and 

diarists noted the date. According to the Leonard Eicholtz’s diary the UP sent rails and 

ties to their Promontory Summit to build backwards, east from the UP survey station 

point. There is no record of who made the decision as to which end of track, UP or CP, 

would be the joining point. But in a May 7th newspaper dispatch published in the San 

Francisco Chronicle, May 8, 1869, a reporter noted, “a small pennon” at the end of the 

CP track “indicates the point where the last rail will be laid.” This may have been a 

result of the discussions between Stanford and UP contractor Casement that day. 

During May 8-9, Casement’s crews built a Wye roughly one half mile east, while CP 

crews completed a siding west of the last spike site. Civil engineer Sharman, who had set 

the check surveys for the UP track laying crews, reminisced later that the UP built the 

curved “connection track” from a switch on the UP mainline across to the end of the CP 

track. Reporters give the distance of the connection as 2500 feet and record the 

connection being graded and track laid during May 9. In a Russell photograph taken 

early on May 10, a surveyor’s flag stands at the end of the CP tracks. Another Russell 

image shows UP crews, at left, shoveling ballast on the UP connecting track toward the 

gap, reported as a rail length, between the two ends of track. 

The UP connection track followed, in part, the CP grade. On May 10, the UP unused 

grade and spur track on a section of it can be seen southeast of the last spike site. 

Casement’s work train sits on the spur track. The Golden Spike ceremony would occur at 

the end of the CP track, on its grade, 690 3/10 miles east of Sacramento, 1084 4/5 miles 

west of Omaha. 

The row of commercial tents would have been aligned 100’ back from the CP track – out 

of the right of way. 

According to a July 1869 letter from Grenville Dodge, a stone tie was to be placed at the 

last spike site. To be chiseled on it were the words: “Junction of the Union Pacific and 

Central Pacific Railroads, May 10, 1869.” This may still exist and if it does the tie 

should help locate the historic last spike site. 

Several later documents help pinpoint the site today. In 1876, the Corps of Engineers 

measured the transcontinental railroad using a 100’ engineer’s chain. Captain James F. 
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Gregory measured the distance of the last spike site to the eastern wall of the depot at 

Promontory, 258.2 feet. An 1880 station plat held by the California State Railroad 

Museum was prepared by the Central Pacific land department and shows the depot, round 

house, housing, sheds and outbuildings. The distance of various track and sidings is also 

provided, but not the location of the last spike site, which can be accurately positioned 

from the Corps of Engineer’s measurements. During the 1910s, the U. S. Geological 

Survey mapped the area and used the depot’s west wall as a survey corner to measure to a 

red metal cap. Later a bench mark was placed on the Last Spike obelisk, built by the 

Southern Pacific Railroad, ca. 1916. The early twentieth century U. S. Geological Survey 

placement of survey caps can be used to relocate historic features on the ground today. It 

is estimated that the historic Last Spike Site is near but different than the site selected by 

the Southern Pacific Railroad for the Last Spike obelisk. The obelisk was the only 

structure at the site when NPS management began the recreation of the historic scene. 

The obelisk, after several relocations, now sits in the courtyard in front of the visitor 

center with no geographic relationship to the original Last Spike Site. 

Unfortunately, the Last Spike Site grade was quickly altered by the railroads to 

accommodate thru traffic. In several May 10, 1869 images a swale is noted in the 

landscape east of the last spike, a bridge of ties crossing a shallow gully. Also, the initial 

track was laid on a bed of dirt built up from trenching along the grade line. Within two 

months, civil engineers realigned the track at the Last Spike Site for smoother operations. 

The area became entirely the Central Pacific yard in December 1869. Through the years 

the yard was rebuilt, leveled to the point where the 1869 layout and historic contour at 

Promontory Summit has been lost. 

In 1969, Historian Andy Ketterson described the track plan and the telegraph line, both 

rebuilt for the 1869 centennial. During the 1970s, archeologist Adrienne Anderson and 

others revisited the track alignment, which was rebuilt to meet new findings. The present 

alignment serves the purpose of representing the track plan of May 10. The present track 

grade and ballast meets safety standards but is not representative of the period track 

work. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

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Figure 62. In 1974, replica tents were introduced into the historic scene with the borrowed display 

locomotives. All color images from Golden Spike NHS slide file (GOSP). 
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Figure 63. The “Tent Village” as built ca. 1974. The display locomotives are former Virginia & Truckee 

Railroad engines. GOSP. 

C) NPS Development of “Last Spike Site” 

In anticipation of the centennial of the driving of the golden spike, the National Park 

Service initiated a number of developments, which included the visitor center, 

publications and exhibits, infrastructure, and the recreation of the historic scene at 

Promontory Summit, Utah, May 10, 1869. Track was laid and display locomotives were 

borrowed for the park. Telegraph poles were erected and wires restrung. 

Replica tents were part of the initial 

proposal, but cost and time delayed their 

introduction. With American Bicentennial 

funding, a plan, “Construction Plan, 

Promontory Tent Village,” was 

implemented in 1974 with the introduction 

of eight tents at the “Last Spike Site.” The 

tents’ exterior appearances were based, 

roughly, on an 1869 photograph and 

drawings. Background research came 

from a report for the 1939 Cecil B. 

DeMille movie “Union Pacific” (Fig. 64). 

With concerns over potential loss of the display locomotives, the “Tent Village” plan was 

expanded to include living history, a growing interpretive tool. NPS Director George 

Hartzog had pushed for living historic sites. Golden Spike was one of the many units that 

developed living history programs during the 1970s. Images from the park files indicate 

the extent of activities. The number of tents was increased to eleven, including a tepee 

and canopies with sales outlets underneath. 
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Figures 65, 66, 67, 68, 69. Photographs of the 1970s Tent Village from park files: the melodrama, tepee, 

mountain man, and other scenes prompted concerns about their value as interpretive mediums. GOSP . 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS - III Physical Description 

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Living History is popular with the public, but growing concern over accuracy and 

relevance to park themes brought into question exhibits of baking, blacksmithing, and 

other activities not related to the primary goals of the National Park Service units. 

Figures 70, 71. Bakery and blacksmith shop of the 1970s were also questioned as to their relevance to the 

interpretation of the transcontinental railroad story. GOSP. 

Barry MacKintosh details this widespread concern in his Interpretation in the National 

Park Service (Washington, D. C.: History Division, 1986). Golden Spike NHS also had 

its exhibits of baking and blacksmithing (above), which became questionable under the 

new NPS philosophy as expressed by chief historian Robert Utley. In 1974, he wrote: 

“The more ‘living’ it is, the more likely it is to give the visitor his strongest 

impression, and memory of his park experience. Thus a program that is not 

unusually supportive of key interpretive objectives may be correspondingly 

distractive if not actually subversive. We are obsessed with showing what 

everyday life was like in the past... But most of our historic places are not 

preserved because of the everyday life that occurred there. The visitor whose 

fascination with ‘living’ portrayals of everyday activity inhibits his understanding 

and appreciation of the momentous significance of Lee’s surrender to Grant, or 

the progress and consequences of the Battle of Saratoga, has not been well served 

by our interpretive program, no matter how well conceived and presented..” 

New guidelines were written to ensure living history met the goals of interpretation. 

These culminated in the Interpretive Guidelines (NPS-6) of 1980, which still influence 

standards. Pertinent sections stated: “In parks established to commemorate...specific 

events.., interpretive presentations that illustrate period lifestyles will usually not be 

appropriate. [e. g. crafts at a battlefield]...All presentations dealing with history and 

prehistory must meet criteria for honesty as well as accuracy.” At Golden Spike 

National Historic Site, park staff revised the living history program after first initiating 

research on appearances and locations. This was critical since the new, exquisite display 

locomotives, which arrived in 1979, encouraged a more accurate portrayal of May 10, 

1869. The reports by chief of interpretation Paul Hedren and his staff changed the 1970s 

park tent village. 
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More accurate representations of the historic scene included improving the interpretation 

and furnishings at the Union Pacific Railroad ticket office. Paul Hedren related the 

exasperating problem of making changes using tents from the earlier plan, which did not 

fit the new needs and requirements of accuracy. Makeshift improvements were made, 

but additional information was needed. 

However, the goal of explaining the railroad functions and the “Hell on Wheel” towns 

was met by furnishing the UP ticket office and the Red Cloud Saloon, as depicted in 

color slides from the park’s files. Unfortunately, the tents and furnishings were not as 

accurate as hoped, in scale, location or furnishings. 

Figures 72, 73, 74. Later 1970s efforts to improve the accuracy of the tents included the UP ticket and 

telegraph office and the Red Cloud Saloon. GOSP. 
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By the mid-1980s, with concerns over diminishing numbers in interpretive staff, the tents 

deteriorating beyond repair and needing replacement, and the decision to revamp the 

interpretive program, the “tent village” was removed and its accompanying “Living 

History” program refocused on just the reenactment of the driving of the last spike. 

Later, two tents were refurbished and false fronts placed on them for use by interpreters 

to provide some shelter for visitors. The interpretive programs were more traditional. 

While the tents served as backdrops to the May 10 reenactment, they were of the wrong 

period, post-May 10 false fronted, tent businesses of the later Promontory City. 

In 1999, after a windstorm had damaged one of the frames, the superintendent, Bruce 

Powell, decided to eliminate the tents until further information could be gathered as 

outlined in the 1997 Comprehensive Interpretive Plan. The CIP recommends adding 

tents to the recreated historic scene. Superintendent Mary Risser followed with the 

request for this study prior to making a decision about adding tents to the Last Spike Site. 

 

Figure 75. Pacific Hotel and Echo Bakery Tents erected 1980s and removed 1999. GOSP. 

E) Existing Conditions of Last Spike Site 

Although the December 2000 implementation plan for the Last Spike Site called for an 

ambitious redevelopment of the historic scene, at present, only the wayside exhibits have 

been introduced. Other elements of the plan are still under consideration. 

The park staff maintains the replica locomotives, the focus of the Last Spike Site. The 

track, telegraph poles, and flagpole have been maintained and replaced, as needed. 

Rustic seating for the last spike reenactment event have been improved and the stands for 

viewing the locomotives have been rebuilt in metal. The trail to the site has been 

upgraded and paved. A period wagon and cart are on the site as are replica barrels and 

wooden table for the telegraph key. 
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Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Figure 76. Reenactment of the May 10 ceremony at the Last Spike Site, 2004. 

IV. Exhibit Tents and Historic Furnishings Recommendations 

A) Introduction 

To enhance the interpretive program and to provide a broader visitor experience, the 

following tents are recommended for replication. It is to be emphasized that these are 

furnished historic exhibits rather than architectural restorations/reconstructions. The 

exhibit tents should be accurate but replaceable replicas of tents at Promontory Summit 

on May 10, 1869. They will enhance the visitor experience adjacent to the replica 

locomotives “Jupiter” and “No. 119” at the Last Spike Site. Interior furnishings will 

represent period interiors while meeting interpretive goals described below. 

Decisions on furnishings will be based upon the historic furnishing study. A traditional 

historic furnishing study asks the questions, will the furnishings meet interpretive goals, 

is there adequate documentation, and is the historic interior reasonably intact for the 

desired period of interpretation? The first two questions can be answered in the 

affirmative. However, none of the tents at the Last Spike Site remain. Canvas tents last 

but a short time in the Great Basin because of its harsh winters and summers. Again, the 

tents will be accurate replicas but interiors will serve as furnished exhibit spaces rather 

than reconstructions. 

As essentially outdoor exhibits, the tents will be furnished with low cost replicas. No 

original items will be placed on exhibit in the tents. Where feasible, furnishings will be 

accessible to visitors -- chairs and benches to sit on, counters to lean on, and foot lockers 

and crates to handle. Small items will be secured by distance from visitors’ reach, but, 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

for example, replica paper ephemera could be printed in a volume which allows for some 

loss of example time tables, work sheets, passes, letterhead, etc. 

The fourteen tents along the track at the Last Spike Site (HS-1 to HS 13, and HS-17) are 

described here for potential replication and furnishing. If replication of all tents is 

desired, the remaining three tents far from the last spike, Casement’s work camp (HS-15 

and HS-16) or the engineers/speculators tent (HS-14), should be utilized for other park 

goals, such as a nature trail and interpretive tent distant from the last spike site. They are 

not discussed further. 

The exhibit tents will meet interpretive goals defined in the Comprehensive Interpretive 

Plan and other park planning documents. Furnished spaces provide the best visitor 

experience when focusing on one moment in time, May 10, 1869 in this case. They can 

help interpret the celebratory completion of the railroad in its many facets, and its 

impacts. 

B) Interpretive Goals 

The 1997 Comprehensive Interpretive Plan (CIP) and park Strategic Plan confirmed 

earlier planning decisions to interpret the completion of the transcontinental railroad 

through a number of means, including the recreation of the historic scene of May 10, 

1869. 

The park interpretive plan outlines the visitor experience and builds on earlier plans, 

especially that compiled by Bill Brown in 1966. There are three components: a hiking 

remote experience on the abandoned grades on the east slope, an auto tour in the basin at 

top and the long downward slope to the west past the “ten miles in a day sign,” and the 

visitor center complex with a focus on recreating the historic scene at the Last Spike Site. 

At the Last Spike Site, the plan emphasizes that the visitor experience the national 

euphoria on the completion of the railroad and the driving of the last spike, and how the 

event and place became significant as symbols of national goals. The image in the 

photographs of the day repeatedly reproduced has imprinted in the minds of many the 

scene of two locomotives, the Central Pacific Railroad’s “Jupiter” and the Union Pacific 

Railroad’s “No. 119,” which met that day. The plan called for the recreation of that 

historic scene. 

The CIP called for better understanding of the technology, space, and experiences of the 

day as well. What was the railroad’s impact? The plan called for a broadening of the 

story from the primary individuals that drove the golden spike to include the other 

participants, a mixture of peoples that came to celebrate the event. The CIP also 

confirms interpreting the railroad’s impact. Any introduction of tents and furnishings 

should meet these goals. 

Example themes/compelling stories/concepts from the CIP, which may be interpreted 

through the tents or furnishings include: 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

 How the railroad and telegraph created Modern America – the obliteration of 

time and space, to use a phrase of the day 

--Telegraphic equipment in tents; timetables, maps (how 

 far from home?) in ticket office tents; mail bags by tents 

--Photographers and reporters capturing the event instantaneously 

 People that owned land along the route 

--Speculators’ tents there to take advantage of business opportunities, or 

the dream of helping found the next new Reno or Cheyenne along the line. 

 “Hell on Wheels” camps 

 --Saloons and other similar tents along the track 

 Difficulty in getting supplies 

--Foodstuffs sold in the tents – Mormon produce and the railroad 

revolution caused bowl of fresh California strawberries 

 Impact of railroad 

--The movement of goods; for example, hob nail boots from the East sold 

in stores or Chicago wares quickly imported via Omaha; 

--Stage coach office tent symbol of change; the old gives way to new 

 Driving of the spike 

 --The reporters in tents capturing the event for anxious readers 

 Workers 

--Workers in the towns, including women and minorities; tents feeding 

and supplying workers. 

 The crossing of space at speed, a break from previous era’s travel experiences 

 --Promontory clocks set at Cheyenne time (UP tents) and Sacramento time 

 (CP tents) and how quickly one could be at either point. 

And the list of examples could continue. Each tent is discussed in the report with 

interpretive potential. The two clusters of tents described in more detail below can meet 

the themes listed above: the commercial row and the railroad companies’ telegraph and 

ticket office tents. Each can assist the visitor in experiencing the world around the May 

10 moment at Promontory Summit. 

C) Options for Interpretation 

During the preparation of this study, several options for interpreting the tent community 

were either found in previous planning documents or were brought up by park staff. 

These are briefly discussed here. Although the intent of recent planning documents has 

been to reintroduce several tents, these other options are provided as a record of 

discussion. 

1) Indoor Exhibit 

The tent community at Promontory Summit could be interpreted through a standard 

exhibit within the visitor center. Although present space is unavailable, when planning 

begins for new exhibits, this option could be considered. Among the suggestions heard 

during the development of this study were the production of a diorama of the last spike 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

site, accurately showing the landscape, the tents and the railroad related features. Rarer 

original items could also be exhibited in a more secure environment. 

2) Minimum Exhibit Development Outdoors 

The first interpretive plan of 1966 suggested several small plaques or identification plates 

be placed at or near the site of each tent. Although the plan confused the later 

“Promontory City” with the tents of May 10, a simple series of wayside exhibits or 

plaques could be designed and placed at the estimated tent sites, which would provide the 

visitor with some information about the occupants of and use of each of the tents. The 

marking could include outlines on the ground, either with rough gravel or timbers, 

showing the site of each tent. 

3) Wayside Exhibits 

A standard practice is to develop wayside exhibit panels with text and historic 

photographs. These have been discussed in previous planning documents. The waysides 

would focus on the tents, their uses, and the appropriate interpretive theme. They would 

not be site specific although near or directed toward the two rows of tents. 

4) Introduce Furnished Tents at Last Spike Site 

The introduction of the tents to the historic scene is recommended in the park CIP, 

Strategic Plan and other documents. The proposal to introduce tents is most detailed in 

the December 2000 “Implementation Plan for the Reconstruction and Interpretation of 

the May 10, 1869 Last Spike Site Historic Scene,” which states: 

Presently, the existing conditions of reconstructed components at the Last Spike 

Site have been successful. For the past 21 years, having working replica engines 

epitomizes the cultural landscape and the park story. However, while pleasing, the 

existing conditions at the Historic Site represents the tip of the iceberg. Many 

other important components are missing, such as tents, .... Thus, the entire scene 

(as currently reconstructed) is not a completely accurate picture. A more accurate 

representation of the historic scene will offer much additional interpretive value 

and potential for the park. 

Because ... the Last Spike Site is a focal point for almost all park visitors, this 

reconstruction effort is consequently a very high priority for the park. 

Accordingly, this project continues to be identified as a top priority in the park’s 

strategic plan as well as in the comprehensive interpretive plan. 

The plan further details specific actions for the reintroduction of the tents. After specific 

recommendations for which tents to reintroduce (a recommendation suggested for 

revision in this study’s next section), the plan states: 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Four factors have driven the proposed reconstruction of 10 tents: 

• North-view backdrop. Reconstructing tents on the north side of the tracks 

behind the locomotives provides an important backdrop to the historic scene, 

which is one of the main views depicted in the historic photographs. Also, 

visitors currently approach the Last Spike Site from the south and are mainly 

viewing the historic scene in a northerly direction. 

• Proximity. Reconstruction of tents located in the immediate vicinity of the 

Last Spike Site is recommended. Those located further away are not 

recommended for reconstruction. 

• Known Use and dimensions. Per the Boyce and Hedren reports, it is 

recommended that priority be given to reconstructing tents for which their use 

and function is known. Also, it is recommended that priority be provided to 

reconstructing tents for which we have information on their design, 

specifications, and dimensions. 

• Visitor Use Conflict. Recommend that tents not be reconstructed that would 

conflict with modern visitor use and circulation. 

This study goes into more detail on the physical description and use, and revises much of 

the findings of Hedren and Boyce mentioned above (see part III of this study). The Last 

Spike Site implementation plan concludes with a strong recommendation for introducing 

the tents: “Reconstructing five (and possibly nine) of the 16 tents in the immediate 

vicinity of the Last Spike Site is considered both desirable and feasible. The tent 

structures will provide a high level of interpretive value by creating the feeling or sense 

of place and time relative to May 10, 1869.” 

The Last Spike Site plan and related plans, especially the interpretive plan, are the 

impetus for this study. The revised list of proposed exhibit tents and furnishings are 

described in the following. 

D) The Tents with Suggested Layout and Furnishings 

The introduction of tents into the Last Spike Site, as mentioned in previous planning 

documents, should be completed in phases. The following section details six phases for 

introducing up to 14 tents, those immediately along the tracks on May 10th. However, 

the number of tents introduced at once should be limited, initially completing phase I and 

phase II as a trial. 

Phase I would create the start of the commercial row behind the locomotives (HS-9, HS17 and HS-10). Phase II would add railroad office tents east of the locomotives (HS-12 

and HS-13). Phase III would complete the commercial row (HS-6, HS-7, and HS-8). 

Phase IV would add the telegraphers tents and CP office (HS-1 and HS-2), though this 

may be delayed until safety concerns are addressed. Phase V introduces the Wells Fargo 

stage tent (HS-11). Phase VI completes the row south of the track (HS-3, HS-4, and HS6). 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

In the following each of the tents is described in sequence of production, with broad 

suggestions for furnishings. 

Phase I: HS-9, HS-17, and HS-10. 

These wall tents were part of the commercial row of May 10, restaurants, “deadfalls” or 

whiskey saloons and “groceries” opposite the last spike site. J. S. Conner moved his tent 

“grocery” early to the site and his sign aligns with the last spike. HS-17 and HS-10 

would be Civil War era standard canvas, wall tents without floor (NPS would put in tent 

platforms for stability). J. S. Conner’s wall tent with its wing would be similar, but larger 

with frame and floor. The “wing” or side tent would be connected to the main tent with 

passage between the two interiors. A colorful yellow and red sign would guide 

participants to Conner’s open tent flaps. 

It is suggested that the area around the tents be “cluttered” with barrels, benches, lumber, 

and other debris seen in period photographs. 

Furnishings: HS-9: Period interior descriptions, example period business records, 

mortgage records, and sketches reveal a similarity between Civil War era military 

Sutler’s trading post and the trackside frontier “groceries,” though the latter sold more 

and varied alcohol. HS-9, Conner’s “grocery” would include the counter, shelves, tables, 

chairs, stove and barrels of goods. The grocery would offer food stuffs, a few dry goods, 

and because of the anticipated celebration, boxes of bottles and barrels of wet goods. 

Card tables and chairs would be in the back tent, though normally this would be sleeping 

quarters with cot. The walls would have a period lithograph, “artistic” advertisement, 

and hanging kerosene lanterns with reflectors. Cigar boxes, bottles and glasses would be 

at hand ready to toast the day. 

HS-17 would be furnished like the trackside restaurants described in numerous accounts. 

A table with benches would fill the front of the room, while a cook stove and pipe would 

be in the rear. The meal offered today might be better than the norm of basic beans, 

bread and beef. A pot of stew or roast plover might be on the stove with tin dishes 

nearby. The table would be set with tin ware, plates and utensils. A canvas sign might 

indicate the cost of meals, 25 cents. A water barrel with dipper, box of wood for the 

stove, and pantry with food would crowd the room. There might be a bowl of 

strawberries in cream, fresh from California, suggestive of the wonderful treats and 

changes brought about by the railroad. 

HS-10 would be a basic “deadfall” or whiskey saloon with simple counter/bar, a few 

stools, but nothing fancy. The bottles and glasses and tin ware would be evident. 

Possibly here too a stove would have a stew pot cooking on top of it. A decorative mirror 

and “art” (framed lithograph) would be hanging from the tent frame. A well stocked bar 

would be ready to serve celebrants, since no one would deny the workers their holiday 

this day. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Layout: HS-9, HS-17, and HS-10 would be in an uneven row, unequally spaced, but 

facing the last spike, with Conner’s sign aligned with the spike. The distance from the 

track was approximately 100’, on the edge of the CP right of way (the tents appear to 

have nudged closer than the distance prescribed by the railroad). This location may be 

slightly adjusted for local conditions and landscape. 

It is suggested as part of the exhibit tents site that a replica of photographer A. J. 

Russell’s studio wagon be introduced east of HS-10, as seen in historic photographs of 

the day. 

Interpretive themes: The “Hell on Wheels” towns. Workers’ diversions and 

entertainment. Opportunistic businesses/speculation (including gambling) offering goods 

and services to workers and celebrants. The interpretive themes could be broadened by 

introduction of personalities, reporters, or props, such as Russell’s photo wagon next to 

HS-10. Women along the railroad and their lives and work could be interpreted. 

Phase II: HS-12 and HS-13. 

Union Pacific Railroad wall tents with wood sidings, frame and platform. These tents 

served as ticket and telegraph office tent and the Union Pacific Railroad office crew’s 

quarters. These are more substantial than the CP tents. Suggest NPS extend the wooden 

platform to the front of the tent to provide walkway and to define a safety zone between 

tents and the track. Tents should not block view of replica locomotives by staff in visitor 

center. 

Furnishings: More substantial than CP (remember the UP came to stay). Quarters would 

have bedstead and bedding, chairs and table, personal gear box, games, kerosene lantern, 

platform with battery for telegraph, telegraph key on table, telegraph wire running from 

battery to tent pole then to UP’s nearest telegraph pole, and stove. Ticket office would 

have desk and rear storage area screened off, baggage and agent’s ticket box. Clutter 

with telegram receipts, railroad paper ephemera, and timetable. Front platform would 

have cart, boxes, baggage, and freight (may be arranged to guide traffic away from 

tracks). Ticket office sign placed on the front of tent. 

Layout: Tents should be placed nearest the track, but further back than in historic 

photographs for safety reasons. Tents were located south of the track, approximately 100 

to 150 feet east from the last spike. Suggest the tents be on platform that extends to track 

but piled with a barrier of boxes, etc. to provide a safety block for visitors between the 

tents and the track (this would be modeled after the Ogden tent station seen in the 1869 

Russell photograph). 

Interpretive themes: Railroad competition (CP vs. UP over location of junction). 

Technology and space and time (telegraphy, and railroad communication), workers’ 

lives, and impact of railroad. 

109
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Phase III: HS-6, HS-7, and HS-8 

The wall tents opposite and east and west of the last spike site are more substantial and 

house a variety of trackside business. They have wood floors, wood side walls and 

frames. They are of the “hospital tent” class of wall tent used during the Civil War era. 

HS-6 was a restaurant that would have also provided impromptu lodging; HS-7 is a 

similar business but with a barber chair inside as well; and HS-8 is the Red Cloud Saloon. 

They fill out the row of commercial tents. 

Furnishings: HS-6 and HS-7 furnished with long table and bench. In the rear half of HS6, divided by tent wall from the front, would be cook stove, bunk area, and work space 

for the cook. Women commonly worked in such businesses and would have been present 

on May 10 as waitresses or cooks. HS-7 would be one big space with barber chair in the 

corner opposite the cook stove. HS-9 would have bar fixtures, better wall art than 

Conner and a grander mirror. The chairs and tables would have cards and chips. Barrels 

and bottles would be in crates. 

Layout: HS-6, HS-7, and HS-8 would be in an uneven row, unequally spaced, west of 

Conner’s tent, HS-9. The distance from the track was approximately 100’, on the edge of 

the CP right of way (the tents appear to have nudged closer than the distance prescribed 

by the railroad). This location may be slightly adjusted for local conditions and 

landscape. 

Interpretive themes: The “Hell on Wheels” towns. Workers’ diversions and 

entertainment. Opportunistic businesses/speculation (including gambling). Women 

along the railroad. 

Phase IV: HS-1 and HS-2, 

Central Pacific Railroad wall tent and “A” tent nearest the last spike site. These tents 

served as impromptu quarters and, more importantly for the day, as telegraph office. 

Civil War era standard canvas tents, they would lack floors (though NPS may introduce 

non-obtrusive tent platforms for stability) 

It is suggested as part of the exhibit tents site that a replica of the wagon with box, 

probably to hold the telegraph equipment, be placed next to it. Evidence of Western 

Union forms and equipment would be here. 

Furnishings: simple (remember the CP did not plan to stay long) bedding, tarp, personal 

gear, platform with battery for telegraph, telegraph key on table, telegraph wire running 

from battery to tent pole then to CP’s last telegraph pole. Period newspapers, telegraph 

receipts and railroad ephemera should be near a standard CP agent’s ticket box. 

110
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Layout: The tents and wagon should be placed in relationship to the last spike site as 

seen in historic photographs. Their location may be slightly adjusted as well to screen the 

intrusive benches from the visitor approaching the historic scene. 

Interpretive themes: technology and space and time (telegraphy, photography, and 

railroad communication), workers’ lives, and impact of railroad. 

Note: Since these tents would block the view of staff in the visitor center watching the 

locomotives, it is advisable to review security before placing them in the historic scene. 

Phase V: HS-11 

The Wells Fargo and Company tent served as agent office and quarters at the end of the 

stage run. The tent stood at the end of the wagon road along the UP. 

The tent would contain express and mail, boxes and crates, and a counter. Furnishings 

would be simple. 

Interpretive theme: The end of an era of transcontinental stage operations. The impact of 

the railroad. 

Note: Suggest developing this exhibit with Wells, Fargo & Company bank. 

Phase VI: HS-3, HS-4, and HS-5 

These wall tents, patterned after Civil War era officer’s quarters wall tents, suggest use as 

quarters, probably by the Central Pacific or its contractors. They lack wooden floors. 

Furnishings: Simple bedding, tarp as flooring, personal gear, and mess. Portable wood 

stove in corner. Tents may be left vacant and provided for temporary use during special 

occasions such as Railroaders Festival. 

 

Layout: The tents should be placed in relationship to the last spike site as seen in historic 

photographs. Their location may be slightly adjusted depending on terrain and 

conditions. 

Interpretive themes: Workers’ lives and impact of railroad. 

Additional Recommendations. 

The tents could be left up year round but without replica items. Quoting the Last Spike 

Site implementation plan: “Recommend that the tents be kept up year-round. It is 

believed that seasonal removal of the tents would cause more damage to the canvas and 

wood structures than would occur if they were just left up. Moreover, having the tents up 

year-round will provide additional interpretive value to the Last Spike Site Historic 

111
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Scene. It is fully recognized that the reconstruction of tents will subsequently require 

cyclical maintenance funding to replace the canvas and make repairs.” 

It is recommended that all tents have a wood frame and deck; there should be no bare dirt 

floors. The wood structure would need to be placed on concrete foundation piers. The 

canvas tents would be open, so that visitors could wander inside. 

It is recommended that the furnishings in the tents be used only for summertime 

visitation. The winter may be too harsh, especially for replica objects. The tents need 

not be staffed and any small items inside should be inexpensive replicas which the visitor 

can handle. The tents should be on a solid foundation, such as a wooden platform at 

grade, for visitor safety. 

Historic data should be provided interpreters who may need to interpret the activities of 

telegraphers, or ticket agents, or trackside restaurant owners, “grocery” operators, and 

saloon men. Artifacts and objects can be used to advantage. The railroad towns had a 

diverse workforce. Women worked in restaurants and as laundresses. African-Americans 

worked in all the businesses as well on the rail cars. The Chinese, the Irish and other 

immigrants worked businesses of all sorts catering to the workers. Telegraphers might be 

young, white and male, but women telegraphers were more common than thought 

(Ogden’s Western Union telegraph operator was the wife of Bishop West at the time). 

Simple personal items can show the coming changes. For example, the railroad brought 

changes visible inside the 1869 tents – a business tent could be “lit” by a glass kerosene 

lantern (as seen in historic photographs of railroad company tent interiors) while a 

quarters tent can be “lit” by a rag in a tin pan of grease (as mentioned in reminiscence 

accounts of the period). Again, simple personal items in the tents can help explain the 

transcontinental railroad’s impact, one of the park’s interpretive themes and goals. 

Wagons may be placed around the historic scene, especially replicas of photographer 

Russell’s studio wagon and the telegrapher’s wagon near HS-1. 

Because the park may limit the number of furnished tents, the fourteen listed above may 

serve the interpretive goals for the Last Spike Site. The phasing of the development 

would ensure that unknown costs or problems could be addressed before undertaking a 

major effort. Therefore, only phases I and II are further detailed here. 

112
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

E) Specifications for Phase I and Phase II Exhibit Tents 

1) Phase I: HS-9, HS-17, and HS-10: J. S. Conner Grocery, Restaurant and Saloon 

 HS-9 HS-17 HS-10 

Figure 77. HS-9, HS-17, and HS-10 (hidden by UP locomotive No. 119) in this Hart photograph, May 10. 

HS-9, J. S. Conner Grocery tent 

Scenario: J. S. Conner represents the trackside businessman that followed the Union 

Pacific railroad from one boom and bust grade-side town to the next. He sold a variety of 

goods, whatever could turn a profit. The grocery sold food stuffs to the crews building 

the grade as well as some dry goods, pants, shirts, possibly military surplus boots, and 

other basic clothes. The stock was limited. Conner would purchase “groceries” from 

Mormon farmers, who showed up with garden goods, rare in May, or canned jars of 

pickled produce, cucumbers, apples or potatoes. A cracker barrel was on the floor as was 

some hardware, such as a couple of shovels. On the counter were a barrel of pickled 

eggs, a coffee grinder, and a cigar tip and tobacco cutter. The supply of dried foods was 

good because of the numbers of merchants selling out in the Blue Creek valley, from 

which Conner moved. A clock ticked the time, to CP rules based on a clock in 

Sacramento. A calendar had May 10 circled. Conner has a sleeping tent attached to the 

store for himself and a clerk, but for the days before May 10, it was converted to a card 

room. The supply of wet goods was also evident, with bottles of Red Cloud, Red Jacket 

and Blue Run whiskey in boxes, and barrels of Ale, some from the Ogden brewery ready 

for the celebration. A bottle and cups were on the counter ready for the celebration. The 

J. S. Conner sign, yellow with red letters out front, would direct people to the wide open 

tent flaps, for no one would deny the workers and participants their holiday this day. 

113
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

HS-17, Restaurant 

Scenario: Mollie Sheehan is representative of the many young women who worked in 

the restaurants along the line. Although the tent was at Corinne, her story related in her 

memoirs, Girl from the Gulches, is universal for those found along the advancing railroad 

and can fit as a model for a restaurant scenario at Promontory. The restaurant was 

simple, which also provided board for railroad construction workers. Her father 

contracted to do grade work while she and her mother fixed meals, a drudgery to 

seventeen year old Mollie. Trackside restaurants had simple arrangements. A table with 

benches would fill the center of the tent, while a cast iron cook stove, pantry and kitchen 

utensils were in the rear. The meal offered today might be better than the norm of basic 

beans, bread and beef. A pot of stew or roast plover might be on the stove with tin dishes 

nearby. The table would be set with tin ware, plates and flat ware. A canvas sign might 

indicate the cost of meals, 25 cents. A water barrel with dipper, box of wood for the 

stove, and flour barrel and food crates would crowd the room. There might be a bowl of 

strawberries in cream, fresh from California, suggestive of the wonderful treats and 

changes brought about by the railroad. 

Unfortunately, no author has penned a study of the meals available to railroad workers, 

but studies of foods used along the trails are of help. See Jacqueline Williams, Wagon 

Wheel Kitchens, Food on the Oregon Trail (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 

1993). 

A contemporary photograph by W. H. Jackson of a western field camp shows what might 

appear inside a restaurant, without the tent. Furnishings include the cook stove and pots, 

table and benches, and tin ware. Note the deer head. Along the railroad, beef was 

available from contractors. 

 Figure 78. Jackson photograph during Hayden survey shows table ware, stove of the period, ca. 1869. 

114
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

 Figures 79, 80. Albert Richardson sketch of a tent saloon and HS-10 at right. 

HS-10 “Deadfall” or Saloon 

Scenario: The Wolf Tone saloon stood along the Central Pacific grade east of 

Promontory, but can serve as the model for the furnishings of HS-10, a trackside 

“deadfall” or whiskey saloon. The Irish owner had followed the construction crews with 

his tent, simple counter/bar, and a few stools, but nothing fancy. He had bottles and 

glasses and tin ware plus poor bread and worse stew served in tin plates. (A stove in the 

back of the tent had a stew pot cooking on top of it). A decorative mirror and “art” 

(framed lithograph) hung from the tent frame and a canvas sign with black stenciled 

lettering, “Wolf Tone Hall” wrapped around the counter and out the front flap. A bar 

would be open to serve celebrants, ready for workers and revelers this day. 

Albert Richardson’s above sketch of a frontier “deadfall” shows a row of shelves and 

barrels of whiskey. Promontory, like every other “Hell on Wheels” railroad town, 

unfortunately, earned a reputation as the place where the boys could blow off steam. On 

May 10, Promontory, would hear the wolf howl at the Wolf Tone Hall. 

 

Figure 81. Barrels, benches, debris could be placed around the tent like here at a tent saloon and bakery 

in the UP town of Pine Bluff, Wyoming. 

115
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Phase I Items needed: 

S-9: 

s wall tent, 16x22, with wooden platform, frame and sidewalls, and supports 

a) 

blanket 

 captain’s chairs and deck of cards 

d 

r near stove at end of counter 

oxes of dried lemonade powder 

ter is: 

eggs in small barrel 

. scale 

old worth $1, Greenbacks $.75” 

 cutter 

mewhat used. 

s and glasses 

ots and frying pan 

ns, Bordens milk. 

 tobacco pouches 

s 

nned fruits and vegetables 

sauce 

H

1 canva

1 canvas wall tent, 14x14, with front seam sewn into opening on side of above (HS-9

1 wooden sign and post with “J. S. Conner” stenciled in red on its yellow base. 

1 wooden counter/bar, 10’ long and 30” wide. 

1 wall of shelves behind counter 

1 ten part, cast iron cast iron stove

1 wood box with sage brush wood. 

1 rack of stove tools 

1 cot with gray wool 

1 round table of pine with two

1 foot locker or trunk with “J. S. Conner” stenciled in black on en

1 flour barrel on floor 

1 cracker barrel on floo

6 crates of food stuffs on floor, one open with paper b

6 bins of fresh vegetables, apples on floor 

Bin of three shovels and axe 

Spittoons 

Broom 

On coun

 Pickled 

 Coffee grinder 

 E & T Fairbanks & Co

 Small sign, in black letters: “G

 Bread box 

 Cigar and tobacco

 California newspapers, so

Leslie’s Illustrated weekly 

 Bottles of Red Jacket bitter

 Accounts ledger 

 Stick candy jar 

On shelves 

 Tin p

 Coffee 

 Goods in tin ca

Sugar loaf 

Cigar boxes

Bull Durham

pipes 

lantern

Jars of ca

Candles and candle maker 

Lea & perrins Worcetshire 

Stationary and writing box 

116
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Ink wells 

Dungarees

ork shirts 

s in bottles 

mach Bitters 

Hangin from prights: 

pots and pans 

k reflectors attached to tent frame. 

S-17: 

wall tent, 14x16, with wooden platform 

r cooking wood stove and pipe 

on matches (empty) 

 hooks on tent frame 

cake pans 

try 

flour on floor 

nsils, large spoons, forks and knives 

offee grinder 

atter with muffins 

Suspenders 

Checkered w

Hats and work caps 

Wool blankets 

Hob nail boots 

Medicinal good

 Dr. J. Hostetters Sto

 Red Jacket bitters 

g line between fram u

 Side of bacon 

 Row of coffee 

Clock on shelf with Sacramento time

Calendar with May 10 circled. 

Two kerosene lanterns with bac

Assorted period lithographs and “art” hanging from tent frame 

H

1 canvas 

1 eight foot long pine table with benches 

2 stools 

1 two tie

wood box with sage wood 

table cloth 

box of fricti

pots and frying pan hanging from

coffee pot 

bread pan 

pie tin and 

rolling pin 

Upright pan

Barrel of white 

Bag of beans 

Butter tub, 

egg crate 

Potato bin 

cooking ute

1 pot of stew on stove 

canned fruit jars, peach

lard tin or bucket 

spices 

small c

On table 

Pl

Condiments 

117
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Pie 

Bowl of strawberries in cream 

 cents. 

board 

earth iron 

Two tin h grease and with rags for light 

S-10: 

wall tent 14x14, with wooden platform 

s wide with bottles and glasses 

own bottles and mugs 

me, four feet long, behind bar 

es of Red Cloud whiskey 

s 

 barre y 

sibly Currier & Ives lithographs: 

est” with train 

ar 

rown glasses 

s 

ttle stoppers 

poons 

ith “Wolf Tone Hall” stenciled in black letters. 

8 plates, cups and flatware 

 Small canvas sign, meals 25

Laundry supplies in corner 

Tub 

Wash

Soap 

Lye 

Fire h

 plates filled wit

Hanging from frame beam, keepsake wild flower wreath

H

1 canvas 

1 simple wood counter/bar six feet long, 24 inche

small framed wall mirror, 12x24 inches behind bar. 

1 table and chairs with cards, wooden poker chips, br

1 cast iron trail stove 

pot of stew on stove 

2 shelves nailed to fra

on shelves 

 bottl

 boxes of cigars 

 brandied cherrie

 tin cans of oysters 

8 ls of ale and whiske

2 pieces of “art” in frame, pos

 “The Trappers Last Shot” 

 “Prairie Fires of the Great W

Coats hanging from tent frame beams 

Glass kerosene lantern 

Castor 

Salt cell

Matches 

6 Small b

dozen tumblers 

Pair jugs 

2 Spittoon

2 Mats 

dozen bo

Bucket 

set bar s

1 canvas sign w

118
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Figure 82. Sketch of J. S. Conner grocery and adjacent restaurant and saloon tents. 

119
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Figure 83. Sketch of the interior of J. S. Conner grocery. 

120
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Figure 84. Sketch of the interior of restaurant and saloon tents. 

121
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Andrew J. Russell’s Studio Wagon 

Andrew J. Russell’s photographic studio wagon moved around the last spike site 

throughout the day. At one point, it was photographed near HS-10 at the end of the 

commercial row. The wagon studio and its box with chemicals and glass plate negatives 

could be replicated for placement near HS-10, as seen in the various images of it. 

en in Figure 85, upper left, while the rest 

 10, his wagon was moved to the group of 

agons west of the stage office (HS-11) tent as seen in Figure 89, bottom; note arrow to the wagon with its 

lltale black studio box on top. 

Items needed: buckboard with photographer’s studio box and period equipment. 

Figures 85, 86, 87, 88, 89. Charles Savage’s studio wagon is se

of the images show Russell’s wagon. After the ceremony on May

w

te

 

122
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

2) Phase II: HS-12, HS-13: Union Pacific Railroad Ticket and Telegraph Office 

 HS-12 

Figure 90. Union Pacific Railroad tents at trackside. 

The Union Pacific Railroad ticket and telegraph station office tent and quarters (HS-12, a 

14 x 14 wall tent and HS-13, two such tents spliced together making it 14 x 28). It is 

recommended a platform be built to the track, like at Ogden, below. The sign reads 

“ticket office” and the platform is cluttered with handcart, boxes, crates, luggage and 

other impedimenta. The quarters would be similar to but less well furnished then the 

paymaster’s tent shown at Laramie, right. 

Tent and the Quarters Tent: 

 HS-13 

 Fig 91. Ogden’s tent station, 1869. Fig. 92. Interior of UP quarters tent, Laramie. 

123
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

The Promontory station row of tents on June 30, 1869 had a platform as well, though f

more crude. Some form of woo

ar 

den walkway would provide more stable ground for 

visitors as well as provide space for display objects. A quarters tent at right shows chairs, 

bunk and wooden walkway in front. This is at Echo City, Utah. 

 igure 93. Promontory office tents, June 1869. Figure 94. Example UP quarters. 

he interior of the office would be simple, with a wooden floor, desk and chair, telegraph 

. The below image at Echo shows the type 

 

F

T

key and table with glass jar battery underneath

of telegraph used by the UP in 1869. 

Figures 95 and 96. “Group of Engineers” and tent at Echo, Utah and detail showing telegraph. 

Inside the tent would also be boxes and general storage. The ticket office would have 

pamphlets, timetables, and other railroad information. Fortunately, the Denver Public 

Library has a rare original red timetable issued by the UP on May 10, 1869. This can be 

replicated for the office. 

On the desk would be writing materials, telegraph slips, and baggage checks. Some of 

these items have been replicated and are in the park collections, used for previous 

displays. Inside HS-12 would be two beds along the side walls with a table in between. 

The table might have a cloth cover, a glass kerosene lantern, and a cigar box. A glass 

mirror is attached to one of the wooden tent supports. Folding chairs and a captain’s 

124
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

chair are also used for sitting. A game board would be evident as would a spittoon. The 

Promontory quarters tent would have a wood stove inside. 

Personal gear and clothing would be in a steamer trunk or similar traveling box. The 

miniscence of one telegrapher tells of buying a box and stenciling his name in coal 

black on the sides. Books may be present; many of the diarists of the period mention 

reading popular novels of the day. The flaps might be open for conversation with fellow 

workers or passersby. 

re

Figures 97, 98, 99, 100. Details of interior of UP quarters tent, Laramie. 

 

Figure 101. Union Pacific Railroad pass book and time table. 

125
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

126

UP paymaster’s tent, Laramie. 

ilroad materials can be found at the California State Railroad Museum 

and fare chart would be in the UP ticket office as well. 

Figure 103. Another view of the 

Figure 104. Example paper CP ra

and elsewhere. Central Pacific Railroad timetable 

Courtesy Denver Public Library. 
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Phase II Items needed: 

HS-12: 

1 canvas wall tent, 14 x 14, wood platform, wood sidewalls, and supports and wood 

frame doorway. 

2 beds with gray wool blankets 

1 wooden box, 2 x 2 x 4, with lock and stenciled “U. P. RR Agent” 

1 foot locker 

1 coat hanging from tent frame 

1 folding canvas stool 

1 table and chairs 

1 glass kerosene lantern 

1 mirror 

box cigars 

1 cuspidor 

 game board and checkers 

S-13: 

 clock on top with Cheyenne or UP time 

 metal and leather bag checks 

 tickets and receipt book 

railroad pass book 

 UP letterhead 

 UP May 10 schedule pinned to side 

 Railroad timetable manual 

1 small table and chair with 

telegraph key and repeater 

UP telegrapher’s receipt book 

Wire and clippers 

1 pot bellied stove 

1 coal bucket 

1 wooden ticket box, 3x3x4 with “Agent, Union Pacific Railroad” stenciled on it in black 

1869 calendar 

Union Pacific poster, May 10 but says Julesburg 

2 wool blankets hanging from line across middle of tent dividing front office and back 

storage space 

ail bags and express behind blanket in “secure” storage space 

 table with large, glass bell jar battery with acid 

wire connecting telegraph key with battery and leading out the back of the tent. 

1 wooden bench in front of ticket office 

1 wooden sign with “Ticket Office” stenciled on it 

1 small posting board for time schedules 

1

1 pot bellied stove with coal bucket 

H

1 canvas wall tent, 14 x 28, wood platform, wood sidewalls, and supports. Tent to have 

wooden frame for doorway. 

1 oak desk and chair 

M

1

127
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

1 hand cart 

On walkway in front of ticket office and quarters: 

ber of large steamer trunks, 

s 

ied stoves burn coal and would have only been used in the UP tents. 

Num

crates, 

carpet bag

other impedimenta 

Note: pot bell

128
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Figure 105. Union Pacific ticket and telegraph office and quarters tents. Note stacks of baggage, boxes 

and crates as safety block between tents and tracks. 

129
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Figure 106. Interior of the Union Pacific tents. 

130
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

 F) Recommended Locations for Phase I and II Exhibit tents

The Last Spike Site plan included recommendations for development zones. The area 

immediately to the north of the Visitor Center was considered a “Historic Reconstruction 

Zone,” the focus of the recreation of the historic May 10 scene. 

The tents would be placed within the reconstruction zone as shown on the map below 

(from the “Implementation Plan For the Reconstruction and Interpretation of the May 10, 

1869 Last Spike Site”). The commercial row, the tents recommended for replication first, 

would be placed just north of the railroad tracks. The Phase II tents would be to the east 

of the trail to the last spike site and south of the Union Pacific track, still within the 

reconstruction zone. 

Figure 107. The Last Spike Site, or “Historic Reconstruction Zone.” 

131
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

Figure 108. Phase I tents, HS-9, HS-17, and HS-10, would serve as backdrop to the historic “Last Spike 

Site,” introduced into the space right of the locomotive “Jupiter” in the above scene. They would be 

placed opposite the benches with Conner’s sign aligned with the last spike. A replica of the Russell 

photograph wagon could be placed near HS-10. 

132
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

f 

e 

Figure 109. Phase II tents, HS-12 and HS-13, would be placed east of the visitor path and approximately 

left of center in the above photograph. The tents would have a platform in front that extends to the edge o

the tracks, but would be stacked with crates, baggage and hand cart that serve as a barrier between th

replica tents exhibits and the rails.

133
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

134

s and is a good example of an accurately refurnished space that aids 

e park’s interpretive goals. The J. S. Conner grocery was similar in supplying the railroad workers. His 

nt grocery at Golden Spike National Historic Site would be smaller and carry goods not found on a 

military post, but the overall impression of the visitor could be the same at Conner’s and the other tents, 

the variety and abundance of goods in such isolated settings. 

Figure 110. The refurnished post trader’s store, ca. 1876, at Fort Laramie National Historic Site served

the troopers and surrounding settler

th

te
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

G) Specific Sources for Objects and Display Exhibit Items 

Since the first tents were introduced in 1974, the business of manufacturing replica tents 

and period items has greatly increased. A number of firms are available that fabricate 

Civil War era replica tents. NPS sites have used a number of firms. Below are 

representative firms, although lines of products are always increasing and any purchase 

should be based on sound contracting practices. 

Example sources for replica tents are: 

1) Tentsmiths 

Tentsmiths produces wall tents and wedge tents, some of which are used at Gettysburg 

National Military Park and other units. They can be contacted at P. O. Box 1748, 

Conway, NH 03818, 606-447-2344. Their web address is: www.tentsmiths.com

2) Panther Primitives 

Fort Laramie NHS has used Panther Primitives tents and have found them to bear up we

under the Wyoming weather. Contact them at: www.pantherprimitives.com

ll 

3) Yakima Tent Company 

Yakima Tent Company also produces Civil War replica wall and wedge tents. They can 

be reached at their web page: www.yakimatent.com

4) Fall Creek Sutlery 

Fall Creek Sutlery manufactures Civil War replica Wall and Wedge Tents, as well as 

Sutler’s tents. They can be reached at: http://fcsutler.com/fccanvas.asp 

xample sources for replica interior furnishings: 

 number of parks already sell replica items through their cooperating associations. 

ents Old Fort National Historic Site has an extensive catalog of tin ware, trade goods, 

nd other items worth reviewing. The manufacture of period items is a popular adjunct to 

ducational programs at crafts museums and many living history museums sell their 

roducts. The best place to begin is the directory prepared by the Association for Living 

istory, Farm, and Agricultural Museums (http://www.alhfam.org/

E

A

B

a

e

p

H ). An example living 

istory museum with an extensive catalogue of tin ware and other replicas of the period is 

t the Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts (http://www.osv.org/

h

a ). A more detailed list 

of items to be purchased and suppliers can be developed in the implementation phase. 

135
Tents of Golden Spike NHS -- IV Tents Exhibit Plan 

136
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

V. Bibliography 

The best up to date bibliography is that in David Bain’s Empire Express listed below. All 

researchers will find it a treasure of source material. The following list includes the 

primary sources used for this report. 

A) Manuscript Collections 

Austin, Henry Carter. Diary. Copy at Golden Spike National Historic Site Library 

Bissell, Hezekiah. Recollections. Wyoming State Library and Archives, Cheyenne 

Box Elder County Records of Deeds and Mortgages. Recorder’s Office, Box Elder 

County, Brigham City, Utah. 

Central Pacific Railroad Collection. California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento 

Dodge, Grenville M. Collection. Public Library, Council Bluffs, Iowa 

Eicholtz, Leonard. Diary. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie 

Huntington, Collis P. Papers. Syracuse University Library, microfilm copies at 

California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento. 

Jackson, William H. Diary. New York Public Library, microfilm copy at Colorado 

Historical Society, Denver 

Madsen, Brigham papers. University of Utah, Salt Lake City. 

Morgan, Frances Tracy. Diary, 1869. The Morgan Library, New York City. 

Savage, C. O. Diary. Utah Historical Society, Salt Lake City. 

Union Pacific Railroad collection . American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, 

Laramie. 

Union Pacific Railroad collection. Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln. 

Union Pacific Railroad collection. Union Pacific Museum, Council Bluffs, Iowa. 

Watson, Edward, Diary, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie. 

B) Government Reports 

Ayres, James A. “Archeological Survey of Golden Spike National Historic Site and 

Record Search for Promontory, Utah.” Golden Spike National Historic Site, 1982. 

137
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

Hedren, Paul L. “Tents at Promontory May 10, 1869.” Golden Spike National Historic 

Site, 1978. 

Homstad, Carla, Janene Caywood, and Peggy Nelson. Cultural Landscape Report, 

Golden Spike National Historic Site, Box Elder County, Utah. Cultural Resources 

Selection No. 16. Denver: National Park Service, 2000 

Johnson, Michael. “The Golden Spike Ceremony Revisited,” n.d., copy at Golden Spike 

National Historic Site. 

Johnson, Michael. “Promontory Station, an Industrial Outpost in the American West.” 

n.d. [ca. 1989] copy at Golden Spike National Historic Site. 

Ketterson, F. A. Historical Base Map, 1869, Golden Spike National Historic Site, Utah. 

Washington, D. C.: National Park Service, 1969. 

Morris, Isaac Morris. Railroad Commissioner Report May 28, 1869, in Executive 

Document No. 180, House of Representatives, 44th Congress, 1st Session. 

Sutton, John. “Furnishing Study for the Red Cloud,” 1978; “The ‘Hell on Wheels’ 

Saloon,” 1978, Golden Spike National Historic Site File Report. 

................ “The First Transcontinental Telegraph,” 1979, Golden Spike National 

Historic Site File Report. 

................ “Telegraph Construction on the Transcontinental Railroad,” 1979, Golden 

Spike National Historic Site File Report. 

................ “Historical Background for the Ticket/Telegraph Office,” 1978, Golden 

Spike National Historic Site File Report. 

................ “Duties of the Railroad telegrapher, 1979, Golden Spike National Historic 

Site File Report. 

................. “Ticket/Telegraph Office Furnishing Study,” 1978, Golden Spike National 

Historic Site File Report. 

Testimony Taken by the United States Pacific Railroad Commission. 8 vols. 50 

Congress, 1st Session, Senate Executive Document 51. 

Utley, Robert M. Special Report on Promontory Summit, Utah (Golden Spike National 

Historic Site). Santa Fe: National Park Service, 1960 

138
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

C) Newspapers and Weeklies 

Bulletin, San Francisco 

Cheyenne Leader 

Chicago Tribune

Colorado Tribune, Denver

Daily Alta California, San Francisco

Daily Bee, Sacramento 

Daily Appeal, Carson City

Deseret News, Salt Lake City 

Enterprise, Virginia City, Nevada 

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly 

Frontier Index, Bear River City, Wyoming 

Harpers Weekly 

Idaho Statesman, Boise 

Independent, Elko, Nevada 

Journal of the Telegraph 

Montana Post, Helena

National Intelligencer, Washington, D. C. 

New York Herald 

New York Times 

News, Gold Hill, Nevada 

Nunda News, Nunda, New York 

Ogden Junction, Ogden 

Omaha Herald 

Reporter, Salt Lake City and Corinne, Utah 

Rocky Mountain News, Denver 

San Francisco Chronicle 

San Francisco Newsletter and California Advertiser 

Southern Pacific Bulletin 

Telegraph, Salt Lake City and Ogden 

The Times, London 

Times, Dubuque, Iowa 

Union Pacific Magazine 

D) Articles 

Anderson, Adrienne. “Ancillary Construction on Promontory Summit, Utah: Those 

Domestic Structures Built by Railroad Workers,” in Albert E. Ward, ed., Forgotten 

Places and Things: Archeological Perspectives on American History. Contributions to 

Anthropological Studies No. 3. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Center for Anthropological 

Studies, 1983. 

Austin, Carol Brown. “Thomas G. Brown.” Sons of the Utah Pioneers News, JanuaryFebruary 1961, pp. 11, 13. 

139
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

Bowman, J. N., “Driving the Last Spike at Promontory 1869,” Utah Historical Quarterly

(Winter 1969) pp. 77-101. Reprinted from California Historical Society Quarterly, June 

and September 1957. 

Comstock, Cornelia E., “Overland Diary – 1869, a School Teacher Crosses the West by 

Train Five Months after Promontory,” Trains (May 1869), pp. 51-55. 

Farnham, Wallace “Grenville Dodge and the Union Pacific: a Study of Historical 

Legends,” Journal of American History, LI, 4 (March 1965), pp. 632-650. 

Farnham, Wallace, “Railroads in Western History: The View from the Union Pacific” in 

Gene M. Gressley, ed., The American West, a Reorientation. Laramie: University of 

Wyoming, 1966, pp. 95-110. 

Farnham, Wallace D., “Shadows from the Gilded Age: Pacific Railwaymen and the Race 

to Promontory – or Ogden?” in David E. Miller, ed., The Golden Spike. Salt Lake City: 

Utah State Historical Society, 1973. pp.1-22. 

Gamble, Mary. “To Europe via Promontory in 1869,” California Historical Society 

Quarterly 23 (1944), pp. 365-8. 

Harris, D. L. Harris, “Memoranda Concerning the Union Pacific R. R.,” Bulletin No. 32, 

Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. (1933). 

Hedren, Paul. “A Footnote to History: the U. S. Army at Promontory, Utah, May 10, 

1869,” Utah Historical Quarterly (Fall 1981), pp. 363-373. 

Johnson, Michael. “Rendezvous at Promontory: A New Look at the Golden Spike 

Ceremony,” Utah Historical Quarterly (Winter 2004), pp. 47-68 

Ketterson, F. A., Jr. “Golden Spike National Historic Site: Development of an Historical 

Reconstruction,” Utah State Historical Quarterly (Winter 1969), pp. 58-68. 

Krause, George. “Chinese Laborers and the Construction of the Central Pacific,” Utah 

State Historical Quarterly (Winter 1969), pp. 41-57. 

Lampson, Robin. “The Golden Spike is Missing,” The Pacific Historian (Winter 1970), 

pp. 9-24. 

Long, Frances G. “Coast to Coast by Railroad: The Journey of Niles Searls – May, 

1869,” New York History (May 1969), pp. 303-315. 

McGowan, Joseph, “First Train West [Lt. Currier’s diary],” Sacramento County 

Historical Society Golden Notes (April 1969), pp. 1-35. 

140
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

Rice, Harvey, “A Trip to California in 1869,” The Magazine of Western History, (1887-

1888), pp. 675-679, and (1888), pp. 1-7. 

Stillman, J. D. B. “The Last Tie,” Overland Monthly (July 1868) reprinted in Robert A. 

Bennett. The Bohemians. Walla Walla, Washington: Pioneer Press, 1987. pp. 109-117. 

Swackhamer, Barry A. “J. B. Silvis, the Union Pacific’s Nomadic Photographer,” 

Journal of the West (April 1994). 

Utley, Robert M. “The Dash to Promontory,” Utah State Historical Quarterly (April 

1961), pp. 99-117. 

Whymper, Frederick. “From Ocean to Ocean – the Pacific Railroad.” In H. W. Bates. 

Ed., Illustrated Travels. London, 1869-1870. 

E) Books

Ambrose, Stephen E. Nothing Like it in the World, the Men Who Built the 

Transcontinetal Railroad, 1863-1869. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. 

Athearn, Robert G. Union Pacific Country. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1976 

reprint of 1971 edition. 

Bain, David Haward. Empire Express, Building the First Transcontinental Railroad. 

New York: Viking Penguin, 1999. 

Beebe, Lucius. The Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads. Berkeley, 

California: Howell-North, 1963. 

Best, Gerald M. Iron Horses to Promontory. San Marino, California: Golden West 

Books, 1969. 

Billings, John D. Hard Tack and Coffee, Soldier’s Life in the Civil War. Old Saybrook, 

Conn: Konecky & Konecky, n.d., reprint. of 1887 edition 

Brown, Dee. Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow, Railroads in the West. New York: 

Touchstone, 1994 reprint of 1977 edition 

The Cincinnati Excursion to California: Its Origin, Progress, Incidents, and Results, 

Cincinnati: 1870. 

Combs, Barry B. Westward to Promontory, Building the Union Pacific across Plains 

and Mountains. New York: Crown Publishers, 1986 reprint of 1969 edition. 

Conlin, Joseph R. Bacon, Beans, and Galatines, Food and Foodways on the Western 

Mining Frontier. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1986. 

141
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

Coyne & Co.’s Union Pacific Railroad Guide. Chicago: Horton & leonard, 1870. 

Croffutt, G. A. Great Transcontinental Railroad Guide... Chicago: G. A. Croffutt & 

Co., 1869. 

Croffutt, George A. Great Transcontinental Railroad Guide. Chicago: 1872. 

4th volume, 3d annual review. 

Croffutt, George A. Croffutt’s New Overland Tourist and Pacific Coast Guide. Omaha: 

The Overland Publishing Company, 1880. 

Dalton, James A Trip Across the Continent, by the Grand Lodge of the United States, I. 

O. O. F. September 1869. Cincinnati: R. N. Carter, 1870. 

Derby, E. H. The Overland Route to the Pacific. Boston, October, 1869 

Dodge, Grenville M. How We Built the Union Pacific Railway. Washington: G. P. O., 

1910. 

Erdoes, Richard. Saloons of the Old West. Salt Lake City: Howe Brothers, 1979. 

Griswold, Wesley S. A Work of Giants, Building the First Transcontinental Railroad. 

New York: Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, 1962. 

Hart, Alfred A. The Traveler’s Own Book...A Souvenir of Overland Travel. Chicago: 

Horton & Leonard, 1870. 

Hersh, Lawrence K. The Central Pacific Railroad Across Nevada, 1868 & 1997. Horth 

Hollywood, California: self published, 2000. 

Hofsommer, Don L. The Southern Pacific, 1901-1985. College Station, Texas A & M 

University Press, 1986. 

Howard, Robert West. The Great Iron Trail, the Story of the Transcontinental Railroad. 

New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1962. 

Humason, W. L. From the Atlantic Surf to the Golden Gate, or, First Trip on the Great 

Pacific Railroad. Hartford: Press of Wm. C. Hutchings, 1869. 

Jackson, Wiliam Henry. Time Exposure, the Autobiography of William Henry Jackson. 

Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 1986. 

Kibbey, Mead B. The Railroad Photographs of Alfred A. Hart. Sacramento, California: 

The California State Library Foundation, 1996. 

142
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

Klein, Maury. Union Pacific, the Birth of a Railroad, 1862-1893. New York: 

Doubleday, 1987. 

Kraus, George. High Road to Promontory, Building the Central Pacific Across the High 

Sierra. Palo Alto, California: American West Publishing, 1969. 

Lavender, David. The Great Persuader, the Biography of Collis P. Huntington. Niwot: 

University Press of Colorado1998 reprint of 1970 edition 

Leonard, Levi O. and Jack T. Johnson. A Railroad to the Sea. Iowa City: Midland 

House, 1939. 

Lewis, Oscar. The Big Four. New York: Ballantine Books, 1938. 

Madsen, Brigham D. Corinne, the Gentile Capital of Utah. Salt Lake City: Utah State 

Historical Society, 1980. 

McCague, James. Moguls and Iron Men, the Story of the First Transcontinental 

Railroad. New York: Harper & Rowe, 1964. 

Mathews, Mary McNair. Ten Years in Nevada, or Life in the Pacific Coast. Lincoln: 

University of Nevada Press, 1985 reprint of 1880 edition. 

Mayer, Lynn Rhodes and Kenneth E. Vose. Makin’ Tracks, the Story of the 

Transcontinental Railroad in the Pictures and Works of the Men Who Were There. New 

York: Praeger Publishers, 1975. 

Miller, Nina Hull. Shutters West. Denver: Sage Books, 1962. 

Nelson’s Pictorial Guide Books. The Central Pacific Railroad. New York: T. Nelson 

and Sons, 1870. [DeGolyer library] 

Nelson, T. A Trip Across the Continent from Ogden to San Francisco. New York, 1870. 

Rae, W. F. Westward by Rail; the New Route to the East. New York: D. Appleton, 

1871. 

Ratzel, Friedrich. Sketches of Urban and Cultural Life in North America. New 

Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1988. 

Reinhart, Richard. Out West on the Overland Train, 1877 and 1867. Palo Alto, 

California: American West Publishing Co., 1967 

Richards, Bradley W. The Savage View, Charlie Savage, Pioneer Mormon 

Photographer. Nevada City, California: Carl Mautz Publishing, 1995 

143
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

Richardson, Albert D,. “Through to the Pacific,” letters to the New York Herald, MayJune 1869, in Abby Richardson, Garnered Sheaves. Hartford, Conn.: Columbian Book 

Co., 1871. 

Robertson, William. Our American Tour: Being a Run of Ten Thousand Miles from the 

Atlantic to the Golden gate, in the autumn of 1869. Edinburgh: W. Burness Printer, 1871. 

Ross, James. From Wisconsin to California and Return, as Reported for the Wisconsin 

State Journal... Madison: Atwood & Rublee, 1869. 

Ross, John Simpson. Crossing the Continent by Rail in 1869. Fort Bragg, California: 

Mendocino County Historical Society, 1969. 

Russell, A. J. The Great West Illustrated in a Series of Photographic Views. New York: 

Union Pacific railroad, 1869. 

Sabin, Ewin L. Building the Pacific Railway. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1919 

Saltiel, E. H. and George Barnett. History and Business Directory and Guide to the 

Mining regions of the Rocky Mountains (New haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1975 

reprint of 1868 edition. 

Shearer, Frederick E. The Pacific Tourist. Adams & Bishop’s Illustrated TransContinental Guide of Travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific. New York: Adams & 

Bishop, 1884. 

Stanley, Henry M. My Early Travels and Adventures in America. Lincoln: University of 

Nebraska Press, 1982 reprint of 1895 edition, volume 1. 

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Amateur Emigrant. London: Hogarth Press, 1984 reprint 

of 1925 edition. 

Stewart, John J. The Iron Trail to the Golden Spike. New York: Meadow Lark Press, 

1994 reprint of 1969 edition. 

Toponce, Alexander. Reminiscences of Alexander Toponce Written by Himself. 

Norman: University of Oklahmoa Press, 1971 reprint 

Townsend, R. B. A Tenderfoot in Colorado. Norman: University of Colorado, 1968. 

Transcontinental Excursion of Railroad Agents. Albany 1871 

Union Pacific Railroad. Guide to the Union Pacific Lands. Omaha, 1870. 

Union Pacific Railroad. Platte Valley Route, a Glance at the Road, the country and the 

towns west of Omaha. Chicago, 1870. 

144
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific Railroad Views. Chicago, 1870. 

Walter, James. Notes and Sketches During an Overland Trip from New York to San 

Francisco, Made on First Opening of the Central and Union Pacific Railroads in May 

1869. Liverpool: Albion Office, 1869 

West, Elliott. The Saloon on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier. Lincoln: University 

of Nebraska Press, 1979. 

Williams, John Hoyt. A Great and Shining Road, the Epic Story of the Transcontinental 

Railway. New York: Randon House, 1988. 

Zider, H. F. Report of the St. Louis delegation from Omaha to Terminus of the Union 

pacific railroad, September 1869. St. Louis: G. Knapp, 1869 

F) Note on Photographs

Historic photographs for this report have come primarily from the Golden Spike National 

Historic Site Library. A good start is the collection of images gathered by Roy Appleman 

during the 1960s. He was helped by Gerald Best, railroad historian, whose collection is 

now at the California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento. In 1968, Park 

Historian Andy Ketterson made 4x5 copy negatives of the Appleman photograph albums 

as well as other images. Selections from these negatives were scanned by Walter Waite, 

NPS, Santa Fe, for use in this report. Again, with few exceptions, all historic images can 

be found in the Golden Spike National Historic Site files. 

The Union Pacific Museum has an extensive collection of stereo cards by A. J. Russell, a 

number by Alfred A. Hart, and a few by Charles Savage. The image on the cover of this 

report, the paymaster’s tent at Laramie City, was taken by A. J. Russell and is a stereo 

card image used courtesy the Union Pacific Museum, Council Bluffs, Iowa. 

Images by W. H. Jackson can also be found at the U. S. Geological Survey library, 

Denver. An album of A. C. Hull prints in the Western History Collection, Denver Public 

Library have the same prints as well as several mislabeled as Promontory. Copies are at 

the park. 

 

Collector Barry Swackhamer shared images by and information about John B. Silvis. 

The best collection of glass plate negatives from the period are those by A. J. Russell, 

now at the Oakland Museum, Oakland, California. The park has a set of prints acquired 

when the negatives were at the American Geographical Society, New York City. 

The park also supplied slides of the 1970s-90s tents from its files for scanning. They 

appear in the report as well. The Arizona spike image on the title page is by Tom 

Richter, NPS, Omaha. All other present day park scenes, 2003-4, are by Robert Spude, 

NPS, Santa Fe. 

145
Tents of Golden Spike NHS—V Bibliography 

146
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

VI. Appendices

 A) Reporters at Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869 

 B) Chronology of Photographers and Photographs 

 C) Alfred Hart’s First Photograph of Promontory, May 7 or May 9? 

 D) How Many Tents? Or, Finding HS-17 

E) The Community of Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869, As Portrayed in 

Published Histories 

F) Traveler’s Accounts, 1869. 

G) Promontory Station Hypothetical Track Plan, ca. Summer-Fall 1869 

H) A Commentary on J. N. Bowman’s article “Driving the Last Spike at 

Promontory, 1869,” Fifty Years Later 

147
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

148
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Appendix A) Reporters at Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869 

Chroniclers of the celebration on May 10 estimate twenty to thirty reporters present. Orson F. Whitney in 

his History of Utah compiled a list of fourteen reporters present plus “others.” Using the period 

newspapers and comments of other reporters the author has compiled a list of reporters known to have been 

on the scene. The two lists are here combined. Whitney mentions a Mr. Howard of the Omaha Herald, but 

that newspaper only published reports from W. W. Foote, so he is named below. This is the only difference 

in Whitney’s list, except the increase in numbers. Also, Whitney spells the reporter from the Cheyenne 

Argus as Barbardi, while Baker of the Cheyenne Leader spells it Carbanati, which is used here. 

Those names marked with an asterisk (*) are confirmed by checking newspapers. Unfortunately, some of 

the newspapers are not extant, such as the San Francisco Times and the Cheyenne Argus. The last five 

names are of special correspondents, who were there for other reasons. The “unknowns” may later be 

discovered. Their reports were among the best. 

1) Dr. Adonis, San Francisco Herald

2) H. W. Atwell, San Francisco Chronicle

3) N. A. Baker, Cheyenne Leader*

4) John Hanson Beadle, Reporter, Corinne, Utah* 

5) A. D. Bell, Bulletin, San Francisco, and San Francisco News Letter. * 

6) Carbanati of Cheyenne Argus, (per Baker of Cheyenne Leader) 

7) A. M. Clapp, Springfield, Massachusetts Republican

8) W. W. Foote, Omaha Herald * 

9) Fred Freeman**, of defunct Frontier Index (visits Beadle at Reporter) 

10) Dr. H. W. Harkness of Sacramento Press. 

11) T. O’Leary, Sacramento Bee*

12) Frederick McRellish of Alta California*

13) B. W. Miller, New York City press 

14) G. F. Parsons, San Francisco Times, (visits Beadle of Reporter) 

15) E. Richards, San Francisco Times (visits Beadle at Reporter) 

16) E. L. Sloan, Deseret News*

17) Amos Steck, Denver press (Colorado Tribune)*. 

18) T. B. H. Stenhouse, Telegraph, Ogden 

19) W. S., New York Times*

20) Unknown, Chicago Tribune*

21) Unknown, Call, San Francisco* 

22) Unknown, Enterprise, Virginia City, Nevada* 

23) A. J. Russell, Nunda, New York News* and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly (this is unconfirmed, but 

it is generally believed that Russell was the author of the heavily edited article) 

24) J. D. B. Stillman, Overland Monthly*

25) John Todd, Boston Congregationalist and New York Evangelist 

26) Charles Savage, Harpers Weekly*

27) Wells Spicer, Advertiser, Tipton, Iowa.* (Spicer’s article published over a month after the event 

suggests there are many other letters published in the home town newspapers by people who were there.) 

Also see Hugh F. O’Neil, “List of Persons Present, Promontory, Utah, May 10, 1869,” Utah Historical 

Quarterly (April 1956), 157-164, but his list is based on Whitney. 

**Fred was brother of Leigh Freeman, editor of the Frontier Index. 

149
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

150
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Appendix B) Chronology of Photographers and Photographs, 1869 

On May 6, Leonard Eicholtz, bridge engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad, returned 

from Devils Gate Bridge to Blue Creek at the eastern base of the Promontory Mountains. 

He noted in his diary, May 6,1869: “Rode all night and got to Blue Creek at 5 A. M. 

Walked over to [Casement’s] camp with Maj. Russel [sic.] Co. Photographer who came 

up to take views of Road.” From this observation it appears photographer Andrew 

Joseph Russell arrived first in the area. Since the Union Pacific line was not completed 

to Promontory Summit until the next day, Friday, May 7th, Russell may have lingered in 

the Blue Creek area. In the Union Pacific Museum collections in Council Bluffs and the 

Russell collection of negatives at the Oakland Museum, there are photographs of work 

camps and crews preparing to leave the work area now that the big job building up the 

eastern slope to Promontory Summit was nearly done. 

On May 7, a reporter for the Alta California writing from Promontory Summit, noted 

that: “photographers are busy to-day attempting to obtain photographs at the junction of 

the roads, the lines of the locomotives, the scenery, appearance of the squads of laborers, 

etc., but it is feared that in consequence of the sultriness of the weather very good 

sketches will not be obtained.” The Union Pacific had just completed the track and 

Union Pacific locomotive No. 60 with cars arrived at the Summit the afternoon of May 

7th. Russell was undoubtedly on the flat cars pulled by No. 60. 

The engineer of the UP No. 60 hailed the Central Pacific Railroad crews at the end of the 

track, the “Jupiter,” CP’s No. 60, and the “Whirlwind,” the CP’s No. 62. The “Jupiter” 

had just arrived with the special train of Governor Leland Stanford, president of the 

Central Pacific. Onboard the Stanford special was Alfred A. Hart, the guest photographer 

for the CP. An image by Hart, taken May 7, looks from the tender of the “Jupiter” west 

across the last spike site (see Appendix C). It is the earliest taken at Promontory Summit. 

A print of the image in the park collection shows a row of tents along the northwest side 

of the tracks, with the sign board of “J. S. Conner” shown at left. (J. S. Conner had 

moved his tent saloon up the seven miles from Junction City on Blue Creek.) 

Because the last spike ceremony was rescheduled from Saturday, May 8, to Monday, 

May 10, on the morning of May 8th, the Stanford party including photographer Hart, 

traveled as guests of the UP into the Salt Lake Valley. Hart took a number of 

photographs along the new line. Meanwhile, Russell returned to Casement’s camp at the 

Blue Creek siding, probably taking more scenes of workers, work sites, and the rapidly 

declining camps. Again, stereo view cards of these camps are in the collections of the 

Union Pacific Museum with, presumably, Russell’s hand written captions. At 

Casement’s camp that Saturday the 8th, he met Salt Lake City photographer Charles R. 

Savage. 

Savage had been invited to photograph the last spike ceremony by Union Pacific Railroad 

consulting engineer Silas Seymour. Savage’s diary details his leaving Salt Lake City by 

stage coach on May 6th, his night at the UP ticket office at Taylor’s Mill near Ogden, and 

then travel to the end of the track on the 7th. According to his diary, he “took 3 or 4 

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negative’s around Casement’s camp.” During this period, on the 8th, he also bumped into 

Hart and Russell. On the 9th, Savage went to Promontory Summit and spent the night as 

guest of the Union Pacific in its telegraph and ticket office tent. 

By Sunday the 9th, Hart had returned with the Stanford Special and had taken 

photographs of CP construction crews under James H. Strobridge at Victory siding, six 

miles from Promontory, and at Monument Point. Hart’s images and the account of the 

Stanford party by Dr. J. D. B. Stillman published in the Overland Monthly details his 

movements during those early May days. 

There is confusion regarding one of Hart’s stereo view cards. According to Hart’s later 

series of stereo cards, card No. 364, “First Greeting of Iron Horse, Promontory, 

5/9/1869,” he may also have been at Promontory Summit on May 9, if that caption’s date 

is correct. However, the May 9th image lacks several tents that should have appeared by 

May 9, including those of the UP workers building the wye and the tent Savage slept in 

the night of the 9th. Also, according to the May 7 newspaper report, the first greeting of 

the locomotives was on May 7, not the 9th. Hart probably took the photograph May 7th, 

but changed the date to better fit his chronological and geographical sequence of stereo 

view cards. It is doubtful that Hart was at Promontory Summit, May 9, but, instead, was 

on the Stanford Special at points west. This is discussed further in Appendix C. 

On May 10, Charles Savage was on the ground first at Promontory Summit having spent 

the night in the UP company tent. Russell, according to the article in the June 5th Leslie’s 

Illustrated Weekly, which he presumably authored, arrived with the first UP train at 8:20 

a. m., local time. With him was his photo studio wagon, which appears in several images 

(Savage worked closely with Russell in the studio wagon, which later UP historian Levi 

O. Leonard incorrectly credited as Savage’s). Hart arrived with the Stanford Special, 

switched to the front at 10 a.m., local time. 

Each photographer painstakingly prepared chemicals, spread the mix on glass plates, 

placed the negatives in their bulky, box cameras, and removed the lens caps for a set time 

to capture the images. They took photographs of the gathering crowd, the last work of 

joining the rails, and then the ceremony. The reporter for the Deseret News wrote that 

after the ceremony half an hour was given over to the photographers. This is when the 

posed views were taken, including the most famous images of two locomotives and crews 

joining hands. Photographer biographers Bradley, Palmquist, Williams and others have 

come to the general agreement on who took the most celebrated image on May 10th, that 

by Andrew J. Russell. 

Hart and Savage were first to leave. Hart was on the Stanford Special, which left late in 

the afternoon bound for Sacramento. Savage joined the Mormon delegation on the UP 

train back to Ogden, which left around 5 o’clock. Each railroad used its own time 

schedules, the CP based on a tightly regulated clock in Sacramento and the UP on 

Cheyenne time, which makes accuracy about times of departure or any time questionable. 

Russell biographer Susan Williams suggests that he may have taken a slow route back to 

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Echo City, UP division construction headquarters, where on May 13 he wrote an article 

for the Nunda, New York News about the ceremony. 

During the following months several itinerant photographers journeyed to Promontory 

station to photograph the historic junction. John B. Silvis, a traveling photographer who 

had formerly operated out of the mining camps of Nevada and at Salt Lake City, was in 

Promontory sometime during the summer of 1869. Silvis biographer Barry 

Swackhammer suggests that Silvis took a series of views, two of which are in his 

collection of stereo view cards. They are of the tent businesses of Promontory City. 

Contemporary newspapers fail to mention Silvis’s visit to Promontory, which makes 

dating the images difficult. Traveling photographer William Henry Jackson met Silvis 

working out of a tent along the Union Pacific Railroad line in September. The Silvis 

views may date from that later time period or just before. 

William Henry Jackson, at that time an Omaha photographer but who would become one 

of the most famous of frontier photographers, took stereo views along the Union Pacific 

that summer as well. With experienced photographer Arundel C. Hull, Jackson left 

Omaha in June and on June 30 arrived at Promontory station. He and Hull set up their 

tent camp. According to Jackson’s diary, they took only three photographs that day, the 

original prints of which reside in the U. S. Geological Survey library, Denver. Prints are 

also in the Hull photograph album at the Denver Public Library. Their images show the 

last spike site from the north of the tracks and from the northwest. 

Hull probably took the third photograph -- the tent row of ticket offices, post office, and 

Western Union office along the tracks. Jackson notes in his diary that during July 1st

“took various views.” These images have not been located. Jackson and Hull left 

Promontory station on the afternoon train east, July 1, 1869. 

In the Hull photograph album at the Denver Public Library are two additional images 

captioned as being taken in Promontory that summer. Hull’s daughter published these 

images in a biography about Hull titled Shutters West. The over view image of 

Promontory shows the Wasatch range in the background and is not Promontory, but is a 

photograph of Uinta, Utah taken by Hull and Jackson later that summer. The second Hull 

view is of a row of tents mistakenly labeled Promontory as well. This image shows 

Goldberg’s cigar store and a billiard hall plus other tents. A close look of an image by 

Hull and Jackson of Montana Street, Corinne, shows these tents down the street. The 

image is of early Corinne, Utah not Promontory. Clear prints of these images, correctly 

labeled, are in the Jackson photograph prints, U. S. Geological Survey library, Denver. 

In October, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly sent its artist Joseph Becker west on the 

transcontinental railroad. He left Omaha on the Pullman Palace cars October 19 and 

arrived in San Francisco several days later. In November, after six weeks in California, 

Becker returned to New York with a stopover in Salt Lake City. Becker’s sketches of 

Promontory appeared January 5, 1870 and March 5, 1870. Leslie’s also published woodcuts of A. J. Russell photographs to accompany the articles. Probably in early November, 

Russell traveled west again and passed through Promontory. He took at least three 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

William H. Jackson photographed by A. C. Hull in Echo, Utah vicinity, summer 1869. Note tracks and 

telegraph pole in background. This is the set-up Hull and Jackson used at Promontory June 30-July 1, 

1869. He holds a stereo negative. Note bottles of chemicals at his feet. USGS. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

views: 1) looking west past the new eating house toward the last spike site and the C. P. 

yards; 2) looking east down the street of Promontory City with the station at right; and 3) 

a view of the front of the station. The Russell images of ca. November, 1869, may be the 

last taken at Promontory while it was the junction point of the transcontinental railroad. 

These views may have aided Becker. His street sketch of Promontory City may have 

benefited from the stereo cards published by Silvis as well. However, Becker’s sketch 

mislabels several tents, suggesting he had poor copies of the Silvis stereo cards, or the 

sketch was miss-copied for publication. For example, the “Omaha House” did not exist 

in Promontory City, but shows in Becker’s published street scene. The Russell and Silvis 

images confirm the incorrect naming of businesses by Leslie’s magazine. 

A stereo view card at the Denver Public Library is captioned “China Section Gang, 

Promontory.” The image shows a Chinese section crew with crow bars standing in front 

of the CP freight house and next to John B. Silvis’s photo studio railroad car. The 

undated image shows what was a common work scene in 1869, but it appears to be taken 

at a later date. Silvis purchased his photo studio car in the fall 1870 and was at Corinne, 

Utah, near Promontory, in August-September 1871, bound for the West. Silvis probably 

took the photograph during the late summer or fall of 1871. 

Russell sold his negatives, which ended up in the hands of Stephen Sedgewick. 

Sedgewick had been with Russell as early as August 1869, according to William 

Jackson’s diary, but there is no evidence that he was a photographer at Promontory as 

some writers suggest. Savage and Eicholtz do not mention him in their diaries, nor do 

any contemporary writers at May 10. Sedgewick converted many of the Russell and 

other photographers’ images into lantern slides and gave traveling lectures about the 

railroad and the West. A catalogue published in 1873 lists the images. Through his 

efforts and his heirs the exquisite glass plate negatives by Russell were saved. 

A. A. Hart’s negatives were later used by Carleton Watkins, well-known San Francisco 

photographer, who similarly marketed his images as stereo view cards under his 

(Watkins’s) name. The Watkins series included new views taken by him ca. 1871, 

including an image of a locomotive going through a cut on the eastern slope of the 

Promontory. There has been no confusion about Watkins not being at Promontory 

Summit, May 10, since he made no such claim. 

The photographers at Promontory were, for May 10, Andrew J. Russell, Alfred A. Hart, 

and Charles R. Savage. All were there at the request of the railroad companies. 

Subsequently, itinerant photographers moved up and down the line taking photographs of 

sites, including Promontory, in order to meet the increasing market for stereo view cards. 

The few post-May 10 images of Promontory that we know of were taken by John Silvis, 

William Jackson, and Arundel C. Hull. A. J. Russell, probably on assignment for Leslie’s

magazine, where he would spend the end of his career, made one final photographic stop 

at Promontory late in its life as junction point for the transcontinental railroad. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Sequence of Photographs taken May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit. 

Three photographers, A. J. Russell, A. A. Hart, and C. R. Savage took at least 28 images 

of the events at Promontory Summit during Monday, May 10, 1869. The following list 

of photographs and descriptions provides a suggested chronology of photographs, midmorning through the afternoon. The photographers were taking scenes often near each 

other and at about the same time. Accurate timing of these near duplicate images by 

different photographers, primarily Savage and Russell, makes their placement in the 

chronology interchangeable, to say the least. Sources include newspaper reporter 

accounts, the diary of Lt. Currier, and the photographs themselves. (All images from 

Golden Spike National Historic Site files) 

Mid-morning photographs

A. J. Russell arrived at 8:20 a.m. and took the first images of the 

completion of the line. At left UP graders put ballast between 

the ties and inadvertently pose for the first photograph. 

1-Russell 

Russell has now moved south of the tracks. The crowd is 

beginning to gather and the flag can be seen on top the CP 

telegraph pole. 

2-Russell 

Russell has moved closer to the last spike site. The crowd 

continues to gather around the surveyor’s flag, site for the 

driving of the golden spike. 

3-Russell 

Russell photographs the last rail, loose on the ties, and the laurel 

tie site, where the boy stands at center. The crowd continues to 

gather as noon approaches. 

4-Russell 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Charles Savage stayed the night in the U. P. tents and during the 

morning took this image of the CP’s Stanford Special train, while 

the engine crew waits for the track to clear. Around 11:00 a.m. 

they moved up to the end of the track. This image was taken 

while Russell was shooting his series. 

5-Savage 

Mid-day photographs

Russell titled this image “Chinese laying last rail.” At center is a 

Chinese track crew placing the last rail, at approximately 11:00 

a.m., in preparation for the ceremony. Durant’s special train is 

behind the gathering crowd. 

6-Russell 

Hart sold this image in his stereopticon series, titled “The Last 

Rail. The Convocation. Fixing the wire.” As the crowd swarms 

the site at noon, Hart captures the beginning of the ceremony. 

7-Hart 

Russell took a similar photograph of the beginning of the 

ceremony. 

8-Russell 

C. R. Savage’s first photograph was of the beginning of the 

ceremony as well. 

9-Savage 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Savage took a view of the telegraph crew on the CP pole, where 

wires led to the last spike. This is one of the few detail 

photographs of the ceremony. 

10-Savage 

Reporters noted that the audience was asked to clear a way 

for the photographers just at the peak of the ceremony. 

Russell’s view was taken during this break in the ceremony 

from south of the tracks, about the same time as Hart’s view 

(number 13). 

11-Russell 

Savage standing near Russell, took a similar image. 

12-Savage 

Hart’s photograph when “Last Rail is Laid,” also labeled “Last 

Act,” shows the railroad dignitaries at the height of the 

ceremony, laurel tie in place. Hart has moved to stand on the 

front of the “Jupiter” for this photograph. 

13-Hart 

14-Savage – second image, 

similar to above #12 (see note below) 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Between 1 and 2 p.m.

After the ceremony, reporters noted that photographers were 

given a half hour more to take photographs. Lt. Currier noted 

at this time that the locomotives backed from the last spike site, 

then the soldiers made a perimeter and stood at parade rest, 

captured here by Hart in his image from atop the UP’s “No. 

119.” 

15-Hart 

At about the same time as the above (15-Hart), Russell took a 

photograph from atop the CP’s “Jupiter,” and captured Hart 

and camera standing atop the “No. 119.” 

16-Russell 

About the same time as the two views above, Savage took a 

photograph of the troops and the UP dignitaries in front of 

the “No. 119.” Hart’s image above (15) shows the tripod 

of Savage left of the “Jupiter.” 

17-Savage 

Russell took a similar image to the Savage photograph 

described above. 

18-Russell 

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Mid to Late -Afternoon

Lt. Currier noted that after the photographers finished the 

ceremonial photographs, the troops retired, and the engines 

moved back together over the last spike site (and the 

company dignitaries returned to the cars). Russell took his 

famed “champagne photograph” at this time, without a 

railroad president, vice-president, or director present. 

19-Russell 

Savage took a similar view as Russell’s. 

20-Savage 

Savage took a second image this time probably with 

Mormon representatives in front of the locomotives. 

21-Savage 

While Russell and Savage were south of the locomotives, 

Hart stood north of them and took two photographs of the 

locomotives. The military band stood in front of the 

“Jupiter.” 

22-Hart 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Hart’s image of the “No. 119.” 

23-Hart 

After the ceremony the participants became more relaxed, 

as seen in Russell’s views of workers that afternoon. 

24-Russell 

A second post-ceremony Russell image similar to the above. 

25-Russell 

Russell moved to the north side of the tracks and adjacent 

UP Vice-President Durant’s special train. He captures a 

line-up of UP engineers. 

26-Russell 

A second Russell image like the above shows some of the 

engineers with their families. 

27-Russell 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Hart took one last photograph of the Stanford special train 

before it left at 4:00 p.m., probably the last photograph of 

the day. 

28-Hart 

Note: Copies of photographs were collected by Roy Appleman with the assistance of 

Gerald Best in the 1960s, as part of the data collection for the proposed locomotive 

replication. The prints are at the Golden Spike National Historic Site. Better images are 

available for Russell and Hart than the ones at the park. The Russell glass plate negatives 

are at the Oakland Museum, while a set of the Hart photographs are at the Huntington 

Library and Stanford University. 

The problem of confirming which photographer took which image has continued to be an 

issue. The above association of photographers with photographs, especially Hart and 

Savage, is a best guess at this time. The swapping and selling of plates was common. 

Susan Williams, biographer of Russell and one-time curator of the Russell glass plate 

negatives at the Oakland Museum, shared her knowledge of Russell and confirmed which 

images he captured. The photographs by Russell were identified as his based on the glass 

plate collection, which have his inscriptions/captions on the emulsion. Williams has 

developed a chronology, which greatly assisted the above. She also found an 

undiscovered Savage image taken May 10 in the University of Iowa, listed above as 

“Savage-14.” More images will probably come to light, especially by Hart or Savage. 

The above chronology is based on information available to the author. Hopefully, more 

images and information will be found. 

 

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Sources Used

Alta California. San Francisco, May 9, 1869. 

Eicholtz, Leanord. Diary. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie. 

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. June 5, 1869. 

Hull, A. C. Photograph Album, Western History Collection, Denver Public Library. 

Jackson, W. H. Diary. Copy at Colorado Historical Society, Denver. 

Jackson, W. H. Photograph Album. U. S. Geological Survey Library, Denver. 

 

Kibbey, Mead B. edited by Peter E. Palmquist. The Railroad Photographs of Alfred A. 

Hart, Artist. Sacramento: California State Library Foundation, 1996. 

Miller, Eugene A. Photographer of the Early West, the Story of Arundel Hull. Mill 

Valley, California: Antelope Press, 2004. 

Miller, Nina Hull. Shutters West. Denver: Sage Books, 1962. 

Richards, Bradley W. The Savage View, Charles Savage, Pioneer Mormon 

Photographer. Nevada City, California: Carl Mautz Publishing 1995. 

Savage, Charles R. Diary. Copy at Utah Historical Society, Salt Lake City. 

Stillman, J. D. B. “The Last Rail.” Overland Monthly, July 1869. 

Williams, Susan E. “The Great West Illustrated, A Journey Across the Continent with 

Andrew J. Russell,” The Streamliner, vol 10 (1996), pp. 4 – 18. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Appendix C) Alfred Hart’s First Photograph of Promontory, May 7 or May 9? 

Alfred A. Hart produced a series of stereo card images of the Central Pacific Railroad, 

especially of scenes at Promontory Summit, before and during the driving of the last 

spike. One of his stereo cards, Number 354, is labeled “The First Greeting of the Iron 

Horse, Promontory Point, May 9th, 1869.” Hart stood on the tender of a Central Pacific 

locomotive and looked east toward the Union Pacific train, taking the first photograph of 

Promontory Summit (not Promontory Point, a common error). As detailed below, the 

date of the stereo card is wrong; it should be May 7. 

As Central Pacific Railroad’s guest photographer, Hart arrived with the Leland Stanford 

special train May 7th. Onboard the train was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, 

who sent a May 7th dispatch, in which he noted that “Photographers are busy to-day 

attempting to obtain photographs of the junction of the roads, the line of locomotives, the 

scenery, appearances of the squads of laborers, etc., but it is feared that in consequence of 

the sultriness of the weather very good sketches [sic.] will not be obtained.” This 

suggests that Hart was busy photographing at Promontory May 7, but the weather 

interfered. His “First Greeting” shows the overcast scene. 

The first greeting of the locomotives occurred on May 7 and was noted by reporters. In 

the same dispatch, published May 9, the Chronicle reporter wrote: 

 At about half-past four o’clock, the Locomotive No. 60, of the Union Pacific, 

 with a box-car and train of flats came on the switch and stopped within two 

 hundred feet of the end of the Central Pacific track. The Central Pacific 

 locomotive “Jupiter,” No. 60, and “Whirlwind,” No. 62, came up to the end of the 

 track. 

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The UP train in Hart’s “First Greeting” image shows a Union Pacific locomotive pulling 

a box car and pushing a “train of flats” in front, as described by the Chronicle reporter. 

UP locomotives No. 60 through No. 67 were built by Schenectedy in 1868 and had 

diamond smoke stacks, like the one shown in Hart’s stereo card 354. 

A reporter for the Alta California also described the “first greeting” in a May 7 dispatch, 

published May 8, 1869. He wrote: 

 This afternoon the Union Pacific finished their track to a switch forty rods east of 

 the end of the Central...At twenty minutes past four, Central time, and fifteen 

 minutes past five, Cheyenne time, engine No. 66 [60?] (they have no names on 

 the engines on the Union road) arrived from the East with Casement the 

 contractor and others. No. 66 came to a halt, and the engineer let off steam in 

 such a manner as to throw two circles like wreaths or crowns of white vapor into 

 the air. Not a breath of wind stirred at the moment, and the aureole ascended 

 three or four hundred feet skywards before disappearing, creating a beautiful 

 effect, and calling forth involuntary cheers from the spectators. Engine No. 60 

 [62], named the “Whirlwind” on the Central road, standing opposite and within 

 160 feet, replied with a sharp whistle, and thus the first meeting of locomotives 

 from the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts took place. 

Again, the first greeting occurred May 7 not May 9. Hart’s stereo view shows the 

engines and train as described by the Chronicle and Alta reporters. The spur track 

connecting all but the last rail was built May 9, suggesting that locomotives could get 

only as close as the then parallel tracks on May 7, as shown in Hart’s image. 

The weather on May 7 was raining and overcast, as described in period accounts. The 

weather cleared on Saturday May 8 and was not described on May 9, though a reporter 

for the Sacramento Bee took a hike to a nearby peak and noted the grand views, without 

comment of clouds or rain. Hart’s image reflects the weather of May 7 not May 9. 

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Hart probably took the photograph late on the overcast afternoon of May 7, while 

Casement was soothing the CP crowd in Stanford’s special car, who were expecting the 

last spike celebration to occur on May 8. Casement invited them on a tour along the UP 

to Ogden the next day. Hart went with the Stanford party and took a number of 

photographs of Ogden and vicinity on Saturday, May 8. 

On May 9, reporters noted that the Stanford special went on a tour to the west of 

Promontory, as far west as Monument Point. Hart took several images of the party at the 

Salt Lake shore that day. The party returned late in the day. Dr. J. D. B. Stillman was 

with the Stanford party and chronicles their movements in a July 1869 article in the 

Overland Monthly. Neither he nor do other reporters record Hart or any other 

photographer at Promontory until evening. 

Reporters noted crews building the connecting track on May 9; such activity would have 

attracted attention. Later photographs, by Russell, Savage, and Hart, show a number of 

tents, such as those by the CP last telegraph pole and in Casement’s camp that are absent 

in Hart’s stereo card 354. If Hart’s photograph of the “First Greeting” was taken on May 

9, after returning from the tour of the lake, there would have been a flurry of tent building 

activity the night of May 9. This is doubtful. But, again, it appears that Hart did not take 

photographs at Promontory May 9. 

Why did Hart date his stereo card 354 as May 9th? In the series of stereo cards reprinted 

in Kibbey Mead’s Alfred A. Hart, Artist (Sacramento: California State Library 

Foundation, 1996), Hart arranged and numbered his stereo cards by geographic location, 

not chronology. Thus, the views of Ogden (numbers361-4) taken May 8 appear after the 

last spike ceremony stereo cards of May 10 (numbers 355-60). The “First Greeting” 

stereo card, number 354, is before the last spike ceremony set, as it should be, except he 

dates it May 9, not May 7? Did he deliberately change the date for a tighter chronology? 

Did a type setter incorrectly think the 7 was a 9? 

Looking at the stereo card 354 image, comparing it to contemporary descriptions of the 

“first meeting of locomotives from the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts,” knowing the weather 

during May 7-10, and knowing Hart’s travels over Friday-Monday, May 7-10, the stereo 

card he labels “The First Greeting of the Iron Horse, Promontory Point, May 9th, 1869,” 

should be dated May 7. This helps us understand the chronology of events preceding the 

May 10 celebration and the look of the landscape a few days before the last spike 

ceremony. 

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Appendix D) How Many Tents? Or, Finding HS-17 

After reviewing photographs, it was discovered that Promontory Summit had seventeen 

tents, one of which was lost behind the crowds. In order to confirm that the 

photographer’s image of what was thought to be one tent was actually two, was tested by 

using an HO scale diorama of the site and then shifting the photographers’ location. This 

shift confirmed that two tents, not one were behind the crowd. 

The original photograph suggesting two tents, HS-9 and HS-11, was a Hart image, the 

May 7, 1869 photograph with pencil numbering by Paul Hedren (below). 

Conner sign 

 

 HS-10 

HS-17 

 

Looking closer one sees evidence of four tents. Two tents are visible just beyond the J. S. 

Conner sign (on HS-9) at left, tents HS-17 and HS-10. Hedren’s study suggested one of 

these tents (HS-17?) was moved before May 10 since he thought he could not see it in the 

Hart or Russell photographs of May 10. The below images are the photographs he used 

to count only three (HS-9, HS-10, and HS-11) instead of four tents (with HS-17) north of 

the last spike. 

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 HS-9 HS-17 HS-10 (off image) 

 HS-9 HS-17 

 (behind “Jupiter”) (hidden by crowd) 

 HS-10 

During the review of these photographs it was noted that the photographers’ locations 

were different. If one looks at the crowd and compares the crowd’s relationship to the 

tents in the background the tent seen above appears to move in the wrong direction, in 

front of instead of behind the crowd. Actually, the one tent (HS-10) Hedren thought he 

saw in the above is actually two different tents (HS-17 and HS-10). 

The mock-up of the historic Last Spike Site scene is shown in the following three images. 

The two locomotives are on the track. The brown structure represents Conner’s tent (HS9). The two tents in the early Hart image next to Conner’s tent (brown structure) are in 

place (HS-17 and HS-10). The crowd is represented by a blue toy soldier. Hart and 

Russell by shooting from different locations show different tents. Note the shifting of the 

location of the tents in relationship to the “crowd” (blue soldier) and the locomotives. 

Thus, first hiding HS-10 from Hart and then hiding HS-17 from Russell. 

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“Last Spike Site” diorama

 HS-9 HS-17 HS-10 (hidden by No. 119) 

Hart image mock-up

 HS-9 HS-17 HS-10 

 (hidden by crowd) 

Russell image mock-up 

The first image shows the diorama. The middle image represents the Hart photograph 

with HS-10 “hidden” by locomotive “No. 119”; while HS-17 reveals itself behind the tall 

man (blue soldier). The last image represents Russell’s photograph, with HS-17 “hidden” 

by the crowd (represented by the blue soldier) and HS-10 now visible. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Appendix E) The Community of Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869, As Portrayed 

in Published Histories 

 Promontory town, of a single miserable street lined with canvas and rough board 

shacks, was arrayed, the drab, in all her festal clothes. It was her hour. For one brief 

heyday she occupied the centre of the National stage and acted as hostess to giants of 

finance and industry. She would not have traded places with a New York or a San 

Francisco. She stood upon her present, not upon her rather dubious past, short and 

turbulent. 

Edwin L. Sabin, Building the Pacific Railway (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 

1919), p. 212. 

 On May 7, the first of several special trains arrived at the railhead, its occupants 

expecting to witness an immediate wedding of the rails. Instead they found the little 

village drenched and forlorn in a driving rain, its sodden street an extensive mudhole, 

colored bunting hanging limp and dripping across the facades of its wooden shacks. 

Oscar Lewis, The Big Four (New York: Ballantine Books, 1938), p. 67. 

 Promontory! Immediately that name was writ large, for it was there that the two 

roads united in completion of the railroad to the sea. A better spot could not have been 

selected; it lay in the center of a small valley surrounded by low, rounded mountains. 

Early in the morning of May 10, Jupiter and No. 119 (engines of the Central Pacific and 

the Union Pacific) stood facing each other. The place soon became alive with people 

who had come to see or take part in the ceremonies. 

Levi O. Leonard and Jack T. Johnson, A Railroad to the Sea (Iowa City: Midland 

House, 1939), pp. 213-4. 

This was the situation on the afternoon of Friday, May 7, when the Central’s 

smartly groomed Schenectedy eight-wheeler, Jupiter, steamed into Promontory with the 

two cars of Leland Stanford’s Presidential Special in tow. No welcoming committee 

awaited. There was nothing and nobody, in fact, but stand-by Central Pacific and U. P. 

telegraph crews huddled in tents beside their respective ends of track, and the thirty-odd 

tents and plank-and-canvas shacks of Promontory town itself straggling along their single 

muddy street in a down pour. 

James McCague, Moguls and Iron Men, the Story of the First Transcontinental 

Railroad (New York: Harper & Row, 1964), p. 320. 

“Two or three tents were pitched in the vicinity,” Stillman reported, “for the 

rendezvous for those ruffians who hang about on the march of industry and flourish on 

the vices of men.”... 

The line of track ran roughly northeast-southwest, and along it fourteen tent 

saloons, on opposite sides of the rails, by now had sprung up to sell Red Cloud, Red 

jacket, Blue Run, and other varieties of rot-gut to the expected throng. 

Wesley S. Griswold, A Work of Giants, Building the First Transcontinental 

Railroad (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962), pp. 318, 324. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

There was one more event to be staged for the benefit of newspapermen and 

photographers who were gathering in that last of the railroad boom towns, Promontory 

City, which consisted of one long street of tents and false-fronted wooden structures set 

back only a few yards from the railroad track. 

Dee Brown, Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow, Railroads in the West (New York: 

Touchstone, 1977), p. 123. 

Promontory Point’s fourteen temporary saloons. 

John Hoyt Williams, A Great and Shining Road, the Epic Story of the 

Transcontinental Railroad (New York: Times Books, 1988) p. 264 

Two or three tents “were pitched in the vicinity,” said Dr. Stillman, “for the 

rendezvous of those ruffians who hang about on the march of industry, and flourish on 

the vices of men.” They found the desultory telegraph operators at the end of their 

respective lines, only a few yards from one another, who could explain nothing about the 

lack of Population and activity at Promontory... 

Despite a moderate breeze, the air warmed with the rising sun; it was to be a clear 

day. More construction trains crammed with workers swelled the crowd. More 

construction trains crammed with workers swelled the crowd. Enterprising camp 

followers quickly rode up the valley, and soon they had expanded the temporary 

settlement of Promontory to fourteen tents, with signs advertising “Red Cloud,” “Red 

Jacket,” Blue Run,” and other potent distillates; the sound of hammers on nails 

announced that some planned to stay awhile... 

By 5:00 P.M. the upland valley of Promontory was deserted except for the few 

canvas tents flapping in the wind. 

David Haward Bain, Empire Express, Building the First Transcontinental 

Railroad (New York: Viking, 1999), pp. 652, 658-9, 671-2. 

Comment: Sabin writes of board shacks – there were none at the time. Lewis mentions 

bunting drenched by rain. There appears to be no bunting on the tents and the 

rain storms had stopped by Sunday May 9. McCague’s row of thirty tents are 

from the later Promontory City, not May 10. Griswold uses the Frank Leslie’s

article by Russell and takes for granted the “fourteen tent saloons.” There were 

probably three, with the other three along the commercial row also selling alcohol 

to celebrants. Dee Brown also incorrectly describes Promontory with “one long 

street of tents and false-fronted structures.” Again, this depicts the later 

Promontory City. Williams like Griswold uses the inaccurate “fourteen 

temporary saloons” number. Bain is most accurate except the valley was not 

deserted, what with crews ready to build the yards of the junction, and town 

boomers moving in over the next few days. 

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Appendix F) Traveler’s Accounts, 1869. 

April 

“There are miles upon miles of alkaline tracts, looking like a badly-frosted cake; and the 

deserted camps of the railroad builders, with their debris of tin cans, bottles – always 

bottles – boxes and packing cases, disabled stoves and pots, skeletons of slaughtered 

beasts and over-worked mules – ay, and human skeletons too – do not add any attraction 

to the picture. ...The line was not then quite finished; in less than a week [sic.] it was 

open to traffic, and trains passing regularly on their way to California. I went over 

between the two companies’s tracks (i.e. between terminal points of the Union and 

Central Pacific Railroads) by stage, passing several canvas towns, some of them already 

deserted, and in one or two cases smoking and burning, they having been intentionally 

destroyed by their inhabitants. I saw the spot where the ‘last rail’ was laid, the ‘last 

spike’ driven.” 

Whymper, Frederick. “From Ocean to Ocean – the Pacific Railroad.” In H. W. Bates. 

Ed., Illustrated Travels. London, 1869-1870. Copy at Bancroft Library, University of 

California, Berkeley 

May 

At Promontory, May 11, W. L. Humson rudely ordered out of UP cars; “they had carried 

us to the end of the road...and they had nothing more to do with us only to discharge us.” 

No depot or shelter, “nothing but sand, alkali, and sage brush.” He and other passengers 

made do until arrival of CP in the morning. “I went forward into the baggage car, rolled 

up into my blankets, cast my lot among the mail bags and slept soundly until morning. I 

awoke covered and choked with dust.” 

 Describes waiting at depot, killing a rattlesnake and going to a tent restaurant, 

which offered Plover for dinner. 

 W. L Humason, From the Atlantic Surf to the Golden Gate, or, First Trip on the 

Great Pacific Railroad (Hartford: Press of Wm. C. Hutchings, 1869), microfilm copy at 

Denver Public Library. 

May 

“Dear May, I write you sitting on the last rail. The spike of gold is not here. We reached 

this place about 3 this morning having only come about 150 miles yesterday. Came at 

only 2 or 3 miles an hour – were pushed over trestle works & bridge 50 to 60 feet high 

where engines dare not pass. ...A city is growing up here which dates from day before 

yesterday. It is an open and barren desert. Our fare is rough but I like it. Its pioneer like. 

The Sacramento train is coming & we will be off as soon as baggage can be transferred. 

I must go & get my traps.” 

Niles Searles letter, May 15, 1869, in Frances G. Long, “Coast to Coast by Railroad: The 

Journey of Niles Searls – May, 1869,” New York History (May 1969), pp. 303-315. 

May 

“This summit is a considerable plateau, covered with artemisia, and quietly resting 

between two mountain combs. Some thirty tents and a few board sheds mark the spot. 

The trader had reached it with his wares as soon as the road itself. It is a lonely and 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

desolate locality, without water or fuel, both of which have to be brought from a distance, 

and Promontory City, as it is called, is not likely to become a commercial emporium, 

while it will have some fame and a romantic interest attached to it as the place where the 

Atlantic and Pacific first embraced. No railroad buildings have been erected there, 

except one or two mere sheds for the storage of baggage and the use of the telegraph.” 

 Isaac Morris, railroad commissioner report May 28, 1869, Executive Document 

No. 180, House of Representatives, 44th Congress, 1st Session 

May 

“At Promontory the two lines meet, but no station greets the passenger; the precise point 

for the station is not yet fixed, and the operatives of the two companies, Chinese on one 

side and Hibernians on the other, like two hostile armies, are still camped under canvas. 

An early decision as to the point of union, and suitable stations, are important to both 

parties. 

The present spot is not fit for a station. Water is now drawn to it, twenty miles on 

one side and fifteen on the other, but at Ogden or Corinne, and at other points, pure water 

is easily accessible. ... 

After shifting luggage and thus losing two hours at Promontory, we enter the 

silver palace cars of the Central Pacific. Our train comprises two silver palace, two 

passenger and two baggage or mail cars, with about one-hundred first class passengers 

and we take the berths we have engaged by telegram. In ascending the short gradient of 

eighty feet or more, at Promontory, we have used two engines and crossed a trestle bridge 

– strong, but a temporary structure.” 

 E. H., Derby, The Overland Route to the Pacific (Boston, October, 1869). Copy 

DeGolyer library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. 

June-July 

“Promontory was just like the other towns only there was no exception to the mile of 

canvas houses. All the RR offices etc. being wall tents boarded up. The C. P. train was 

waiting & went out half an hour after we came in. Pitched our tent a little one side and 

exposed three plates on the last rail. Chemical effect good but was tortured with dust. 

Took a hearty supper at the New England house. Occupied the evening in walking about. 

Camped out in our tent & to bed early. Thursday July 1st, 69 – Slept very comfortable 

considering it was our first night camping. Got up early & after breakfast filtered baths 

etc to commence work. Photographed various subjects until near noon when we packed 

up to leave on the 1 p. m. train & very glad we were to get out of the old place.” 

William Henry Jackson Diary at New York Public Library, microfilm copy Colorado 

Historical Society. 

June 

“Promontory is nether city nor solitude, neither camp nor settlement. It is bivouac 

without comfort, it is delay without rest. It is sun that scorches, and alkali dust that 

blinds. It is vile whiskey, vile cigars, petty gambling, and stale newspapers at twenty-five 

cents apiece. It would drive a morbid mind to suicide. It is thirty tents upon the Great 

Sahara, sans trees, sans water, sans comfort, sans everything.” 

 Describes new railroad coaches and Chinese workers along line. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

 Richardson, Albert D., “Through to the Pacific,” letters to the New York Herald, 

May-June 1869, in Abby Richardson, Garnered Sheaves (Hartford, Conn.: Columbian 

Book Co., 1871). Richardson’s earlier work does not mention Promontory. 

June 

“Promontory might be called Premonitory, or the symptom of a town, for that is all it is. 

But probably even the symptom will come to naught; for as the point of junction of the 

road is not to be here, but at or near Ogden, the temporary eruption of life and business 

will likely soon disappear from here. It is not a fit point for the terminus of either road.” 

 Pullman party’s cross country trip. 

New York Times, June 28, 1869. 

July 

“We got supper at Promontory, and here saw the first evidence of a mining town in a hard 

looking man, with blue spectacles on and a cunning wagging tongue, presiding at a threecard monte table, and endeavoring to tempt betters to try to get some of the pile of gold 

pieces heaped before him. Here is the location of the celebrated spike and tie, but all that 

can be seen now is the tie in a very slim condition caused by the cutting of curiosity 

seekers.” 

James Ross, From Wisconsin to California and Return as Reported for the “Wisconsin 

State Journal” (Madison: Atwood & Rublee, 1869) microfilm copy at Denver Public 

Library original at Bienecke Library, Yale University. 

July 

“Here now is quite a ‘Railroad City’, but in a few days or weeks the point of junction 

with the U. P. and the C. P. roads will be changed and then Promontory will subside into 

its primitive insignificance.” 

D. L. Harris diary published as “Memoranda Concerning the Union Pacific R. R.,” 

Bulletin No. 32, Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. (1933). 

July 

“We found seats in a Pullman, and went in comfort to Promontory, and there was 

confusion beyond anything we have yet had. Finally Pierpont came and told us he was 

all ready, but there was no time for tea, so we just went into our own car, and he brought 

us some bread and a black man with coffee, and we had quite a feast. Not near as nice 

quarters as before, yet still the best to be had. We grumbled a great deal, but it was only 

letting off steam.” 

Frances Tracy Morgan Diary entry, July 26, 1869, Courtesy The Morgan Library, New 

York City. 

August 

“Many of the little towns along the line have nothing but tent-houses, and the sides and 

roofs are often blown off in wind storms.... 

 “We stopped one day in a town called [Promontory] Summit for a train that was 

two hours behind time, when one of the storms arose while we were there, and several 

buildings had their sides, next to the cars, blown away. There stood men measuring cloth 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

at one counter, while others were hastily gathering the pails, baskets and other things 

from the sidewalk in front. In another place men were playing cards. A pile of money 

lay in the center of the table, around which four men sat playing. Each one had a 

revolver lying by him on the table. 

At a bar, which seemed to be the only solid part of the building, several men were 

drinking, while a man behind the bar kept filling their glasses. 

 None seemed to be disturbed by the storm. In a boarding house they were just 

taking dinner. You could see them passing baked beans and pork, and all laughing and 

enjoying the dinner as if they were unconscious of the havoc the wind was making 

around them. There is but one wooden building in the place at this time. It is a store and 

post office together.” 

 Mathews, Mary McNair. Ten Years in Nevada, or Life in the Pacific Coast, 

(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1985 reprint of 1880 edition). Editor Mary Lee 

Spence suggested to this writer that Mathews may have entered or peeked into the tents 

but uses the windstorm as a literary vehicle so as not to shock her Victorian readers. 

August 

“The point of junction was then the subject of controversy, and has not yet been finally 

settled. The present arrangement is the result of compromise.... In general the 

passengers have to change carriages, secure fresh sleeping berths, and get their baggage 

moved from one train to the other. Two hours are allowed for this, as well as for taking a 

meal. 

 There is usually ample time to stroll through the town and see the sights. The 

town is built partly of canvas and partly of wood, and has but one street. The signs are 

hardly in keeping with the structures to which they are attached. Over a shanty is painted 

in large letters, ‘Pacific Hotel,’ and over a tent, ‘Club House.’ One of the wooden 

dwellings attracts notice on account of the neatly arranged muslin curtains within the 

window. Unlike the others, it has no signboard to indicate its purpose, but a glance 

through the open door satisfies the curiosity of the passerby. He sees two or three 

smiling females ready to extend welcomes to whoever will enter in....Of drinking 

saloons there are many at Promontory; but there is only one gambling hell as far as I 

could learn.” He describes use of cappers and an open air table with three card Monte 

game underway. Gambler wins, on same day, $1700. 

“Although the small population of this place is composed for the most part of roughs and 

gamblers, with the admixture of a female element quite as obnoxious, yet the peace is 

tolerably well kept on account of the awe felt for the railway officials. It is tacitly 

understood that open lawlessness or any serious disturbance would end in the clean 

sweep of the whole nest of scoundrels. If those who had the power were at once to begin 

the cleansing process, they would do a service to all travelers over this railway.” 

 W. F. Rae, Westward by Rail; the New Route to the East. New York: D. 

Appleton, 1871. Reprinted often. 

September 

“Promontory consists of ... thirty-six houses in one row on the other side [of the tracks]. 

These thirty-six structures are all one story high and roofed with canvas. There is not a 

dwelling in the place, every shanty being occupied for business, the inhabitants sleeping 

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in odd corners and recesses. A barber shop, drugstore, saloons, restaurants, fruit stalls, 

and stores filled with general merchandise compose the commercial row of the place 

....The reputation of Promontory for rough characters is well established; but the 

gamblers did not bring out their games for the benefit of the Cincinnatians.” 

The Cincinnati Excursion to California: Its Origin, Progress, Incidents, and Results, 

(Cincinnati: 1870) Copy at Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. 

September 

“In ascending Promontory Point we gained a point that gave us a splendid view of Salt 

Lake valley...We found but few stations on the route over the mountain plains where we 

could obtain meals or refreshment.” 

 Limited description of trip. 

Harvey Rice, “A Trip to California in 1869,” The Magazine of Western History, (1887-

1888), pp. 675-679, and (1888), pp. 1-7. Copy at Denver Public Library 

October 

 “About seven p.m. we were moved down near the station. A large bonfire burned in the 

street. We could see each den of iniquity and all who came out and all who venture in. A 

gambling table stood beside the fire and a crowd stood by. In an iron basket, such as men 

in our country carry suspended from the bow of a canoe when they go to spear at night, 

blazed a great fire of fat pine that threw its dazzling brightness for acres around. One 

man was spokesman and actor. He has hands as smooth and white as those of any lady. 

He held a pack of cards in his hand...We saw several stake down their money and leave it 

there.” 

 Mostly describes gamblers while walking to tent shop for tea. 

Ross, John Simpson, Crossing the Continent by Rail in 1869 (Fort Bragg, California: 

Mendocino County Historical Society, 1969). Copy at Golden Spike National Historic 

Site. 

 

October 

And so we reach Promontory about six o’clock. Took supper here. Had a great time 

before going to eat, disposing of our baggage. Engaged a stateroom on one of the Silver 

Palace sleeping cars. Had to get our baggage checked – our satchels, I mean; they are not 

allowed in the cars. I didn’t care for that, for the porter said we could go into the baggage 

room and open them when we pleased. We went into supper at last.” 

Cornelia E. Comstock, “Overland Diary – 1869, a School Teacher Crosses the West by 

Train Five Months after Promontory,” Trains (May 1869), pp. 51-55. 

October 

“I really would like to know how many times I’ve answered the usual question “how did 

you enjoy your trip”? “have you had a pleasant time”? Just as if I could have done any 

thing else but enjoy such a glorious journey! Nothing of great importance occurred...the 

usual talking, card-playing, flirting &c varied by the novelty of changing cars several 

times with which I would willingly dispense.” 

 She accompanied train of Silver Palace cars from Wilmington, Del. To San 

Francisco and delivered to Central Pacific Railroad. Nothing on Promontory. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Annie M. Curtis to “Dear Cousin Annie,” November 12, 1869, Bancroft Library, 

University of Calkifornia, Berkeley. 

October 

Nothing on Promontory. 

Robert von Echlagintweit, Die Pacific-Eifenbahn in Nordamerika (Liepzig: 1870) 

Copy at Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. 

November 

Description of trip without mention of Promontory. 

William Robertson and W. F. Robertson, Our American Tour: Being a Run of Ten 

Thousand Miles from the Atlantic to the Golden Gate in the Autumn of 1869 (Edinburgh: 

W. Burness, 1871). Copy Denver Public Library. 

To locate: 

[Carrington, H. B.] Ocean to Ocean. Pacific Railroad and Adjoining Territories, with 

Distances and Fares of Travel from American Cities. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 

1869. 

Dalton, James A Trip Across the Continent, by the Grand Lodge of the United States, I. 

O. O. F. September 1869. Cincinnati: R. N. Carter, 1870. 

Also noted: 

Zider, H. F. Report of the St. Louis delegation from Omaha to Terminus of the Union 

Pacific Railroad, September 1869. St. Louis: G. Knapp, 1869. Date incorrect – to end of 

track, 1868. Nothing on Promontory. 

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Appendix G) Promontory Station Hypothetical Track Plan, ca. Summer-Fall 1869 

No map of Promontory Station and Promontory City, ca. summer-fall 1869 has been 

found. However, a hypothetical site plan can be recreated using historic photographs, 

Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad records and maps, period 

descriptions, government documents, and comparative data. 

Unfortunately, the Promontory Station landscape has been altered through various rebuildings and filling in of the yard track over the subsequent seventy-three years. The 

1869 landscape has been all but obliterated. A few elements have been relocated on the 

ground, such as the UP’s wye track, but these are distant from the Last Spike Site. 

Summer-fall 1869 has been selected as the peak build-up for the Union Pacific – Central 

Pacific junction. After November, the Union Pacific retreated to Omaha and, with the 

junction removed, the Central Pacific greatly altered the yard. 

The hypothetical site plan is suggestive rather than definitive. The goal is to provide 

suggestive guidance for further field research, especially by archeologists, historians, and 

park staff. They may be able to relocate other features of the 1869 yard. 

1) Historic Photographs of Promontory 

W. H. Jackson and A. C. Hull took photographs of Promontory, June 30 – July 1, 1869. 

These provide information about track at the last spike site and part of the CP yard. 

The telegraph pole with the flag pole atop it marks the site of the driving the last spike. 

The track work appears to be little changed from what is seen in May 10 photographs. In 

the distant background of the photo at left can be seen the CP turntable gallows frame, 

which was built May 11-12. In the view at right can be seen the transcontinental main 

line, the then CP siding, and, behind the telegraph pole with flag, the UP spur with string 

of cars. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

A. J. Russell’s images of Promontory, November 1869, provide better views of 

The UP yard with some suggestions for the CP yard in the distance. The above view (and 

detail) looks west from the UP station. The blow-up shows the CP yard in the distance – 

turntable and two spurs with strings of cars.. 

Russell’s other November 1869 panoramic view looks east past the UP station. It shows 

the mainline and two sidings, one of them behind the eating house/depot. On this siding 

are water tank cars, probably providing water for the community and railroad. 

All images in Golden Spike National Historic Site files. Better copies can be found at: 

Russell negatives at Oakland Museum, Oakland, California. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Photographs of other yards, UP and CP, provide illustrations of construction era yards 

similar to what was found at Promontory. The question about the location of the Central 

Pacific turntable and spur tracks at Promontory can be answered by looking at 

photographs of Wadsworth, Nevada, Newcastle, California, and Cisco, California. The 

track layout for these “typical” CP yards can be seen in period photographs below. 

Standard practice was to build two spurs one after the other off a siding adjacent the main 

line. A turntable sat between the spurs and mainline. The track to the turntable came of 

the spur not the main line. 

The Promontory yard, built by the CP the week of May 10, would have been similar to 

Wadsworth, Nevada yard (except with the spurs coming left off the main line instead of 

right as at Wadsworth). Note the main line track, then the spurs at right. The turntable 

was on its own switch on the spur. Visible above the locomotive on the siding at right 

center is the top of the gallows turntable (it frames the locomotive’s balloon smokestack). 

The switch stand for the turntable spur can be seen to the right of the locomotive at center 

(see enlargement below) 

. 

 Turntable 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

The Central Pacific Railroad yard at Cisco, California also shows the “typical” early CP 

layout. The mainline track is in the foreground with the spurs branching off from it (off 

the photograph at left) – the spurs are behind the main line, one leading to the turntable, 

the others to the warehouses. The CP turntable is between the mainline and the spur 

track to the warehouses at middle-left. The CP’s Promontory yard would have had a 

similar layout – mainline, then turntable, then spur tracks -- except the flat terrain at 

Promontory allowed the spur tracks to run straight across the landscape instead of curved 

as at Cisco. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

The layout at Newcastle, California, below, was the reverse of Cisco. The spur tracks 

can be seen in the foreground. Behind the spurs is the turntable on its own spur. Then 

behind the spur tracks and turntable is the mainline leading off to the trestle and into the 

Sierra Nevada. Again, note spurs, then turntable, then mainline, a typical CP layout. 

Promontory would have followed this pattern only on the opposite side of the mainline – 

mainline then spurs, with turntable in between. 

 

 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

The Corp of Engineers surveyed the railroad during the 1870s. The 1876 list of survey 

points from the distances measured by Captain James F. Gregory, U. S. Corps of 

Engineers, provides detailed measurements for the 1880 yard, buildings and provides 

measurements to the Last Spike. Building measurements are from eastern wall, or wall 

first encountered. Thus, the last spike site is 449 feet from the eastern wall of the 

Promontory depot. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

The CP land department prepared a station plat ca. 1880. Fortunately, this track plan 

provides some information, though limited, about the previous, 1869, Promontory UP-CP 

track plan. The eating house platform suggests the angle of the original UP grade south 

of the building. The last spike site would be beneath the wood platform near opposite the 

turntable, 449 feet from the eastern wall of the depot. California State Railroad Museum 

Library. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Page two of the 1880 plat included plans of the 1869 UP eating house and 

ticket/telegraph office when operated by CP. To its left is the 1869 CP ticket and 

telegraph office. The 1869 CP spur and siding can be seen on the plat; the original 

turntable would have been between the two. Courtesy California State Railroad Museum 

Library, Sacramento. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Hypothetical site plan of Union Pacific and Central Pacific junction at Promontory 

Station, Fall 1869. 

189
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Primary Sources of data: 

--W. H. Jackson & A. C. Hull and A. J. Russell 1869 photographs. 

--Letters transcribed and compiled in Grenville M. Dodge’s “Autobiography,” Council 

Bluffs Public Library. 

--Ca. 1880 plat map of Promontory yard with drawing of eating house, California State 

Railroad Museum Library. 

--1876 Corps of Engineers measurements published as House Exec. Doc. 38, 44th

Congress, 2d Session. 

--Previous NPS studies by Ketterson, Jones, Ayers, Ketterson & Anderson, Homstad et. 

al. (See bibliography). 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Appendix H) Commentary on J, N. Bowman’s article, “Driving the Last Spike at 

Promontory, 1869,” Fifty Years Later.1

During the development of the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory 

Summit preparatory to the “driving of the last spike” centennial, National Park Service 

staff reproduced a number of historic objects. For much of the background information, 

the staff used an article written by J. N. Bowman, historian in charge of the California 

State Archives.2 It detailed the spikes and laurel tie, trappings and site, and sequence of 

events. Park historian F. A. “Andy” Ketterson wrote that the article “was extremely 

helpful.”3 Bowman’s article was considered by NPS historian Bob Utley “obviously the 

most authoritative discussion of the matter that is likely ever to be written”4

During the course of the present study, the author found Dr. Bowman’s research 

beneficial and, in part, was guided by it. During the past half century, however, 

additional or new information has come to light suggesting a revision is needed of much 

of what Dr. Bowman detailed. The following review of his key points is intended to help 

clarify and revise interpretive programs, where needed, and further refine the discussion 

on objects and events of May 10. It is hoped that more information will come to light 

and the discussion continue.5

Sources 

Bowman checked twenty-six different newspapers, published primarily near or west of 

Promontory, with a main reliance on the half dozen with extensive coverage.6 He used 

three diaries and six reminiscent accounts. He relied more on contemporary accounts 

than sources written years later, including the reminiscences. 

 

1

 Thanks to Gordon Chappell, Michael Johnson, and Kyle Wyatt for their suggestions and comments. 2

 J. N. Bowman, “Driving the Last Spike at Promontory, 1869,” California Historical Quarterly, vol. 

XXVI (1957), pp. 97-106, 263-274, reprinted in Utah Historical Quarterly Vol. 37 (Winter 1969), pp. 76-

101. Bowman began research in response to a 1954 request for information from the California governor’s 

office. 

3

 F. A. Ketterson, “Golden Spike National Historic Site: Development of an Historical Reconstruction,” 

Utah Historical Quarterly vol 37 (Winter 1969), pp. 58-68, quote p. 65. 4

 Robert M. Utley, Special Report on Promontory Summit, Utah (Golden Spike National Historic Site)

(Santa Fe: National Park Service, 1960), p. 64. David Haward Bain, Empire Express, Building the First 

Transcontinental Railroad (New York: Penguin Putnam, 1999), on p. 756 similarly states Bowman is 

“probably the last word on the ceremony.” 

5

 Recently, the National Park Service contracted with Michael W. Johnson, Utah State University, to study 

the ceremony with far more accurate detail which resulted in “The Golden Spike Ceremony Revisited,” 

copy at Golden Spike National Historic Site. A revision was published as “Rendezvous at Promontory: A 

New Look at the Golden Spike Ceremony,” Utah Historical Quarterly (Winter 2004), pp. 47-68. 6

 Newspapers cited are: from San Francisco: Alta, Bulletin, Chronicle, Examiner, Figaro, Herald, Times; 

from Sacramento: State Capitol Reporter, Bee, Record and Union; Nevada: the Enterprise, Appeal, News; 

from Utah: Reporter, Deseret News; from Idaho, the World; New York, Harper’s, Leslie’s; Arizona, the 

Arizona Miner, Arizonian; Chicago Tribune; Engineer’s Journal, July; Colorado: Rocky Mountain News; 

Oregonian. Most are single day, May 11, citations. The most extensively cited are the California 

newspapers and the Corinne, Utah Reporter. 

191
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

For the present study, in addition to Bowman’s list, I found useful the Cheyenne Leader, 

Colorado Tribune, New York Times, and Omaha Herald, among others, that had reporters 

on the scene and published lengthy accounts (see Appendix A). Unfortunately, some 

newspapers with reporters at the scene no longer have issues for that date extant, such as 

the Cheyenne Argus. Other eastern newspapers were randomly checked without 

additional results. However, newspapers may have had correspondents send letters about 

the event and published weeks later, such as Wells Spicer’s letter in the Tipton, Iowa 

Advertiser and Andrew Russell’s article in the Nunda, New York News. 

The three diaries mentioned by Bowman are: Lt. J. C. Currier, Leonard Eicholtz, and 

Charles Savage. These are still available. The diary of paymaster O. C. Smith, quoted in 

Robert Athearn’s Union Pacific Country is in private hands. The diary of Bishop Loren 

Farr is quoted in the Ogden Standard, “Golden Spike Special Edition,” May 11, 1919, but 

it does not include May 10 entries. The diary may be extant, but in private hands. It was 

unavailable for this study. Grenville Dodge’s papers at the Iowa State Department of 

Historic and Archives lacks Dodge’s 1869 diary. Its whereabouts is presently unknown, 

though its one time existence adds credibility to his later reminiscence. If Bishop Farr’s 

and Dodge’s 1869 diaries are found they will add greatly to our understanding of the 

events of May 10. Lt. Currier’s is the most detailed for the day. 

Bowman did not use extensively the reminiscences of Union Pacific officials Grenville 

Dodge and Sydney Dillon. They are too filled with errors of detail. He relies on the 

reminiscences of Amos Bowsher, telegrapher, and David Lemmon, Union Pacific 

engineer, both of which should have received more scrutiny. Bowman adds E. L. Sabin 

to his list, but Sabin is not cited in his notes, so it is unsure who he refers to. There is an 

inaccurate report that Edwin L. Sabin, author of Building the Pacific Railway (1919) was 

at Promontory. Unfortunately, he was born in 1870 and could not have been there. This 

may be a tale Sabin nurtured to help market his books, similar to his other efforts.7

Bowman includes the article by Dr. J. D. B. Stillman among the reminiscences. This was 

published in the July, 1869 issue of the Overland Monthly and should be listed more 

among the on the spot accounts that obviously had editorial coloring added by editor Bret 

Harte. 

Bowman should have looked at additional reminiscences published in the Union Pacific 

Magazine or the Southern Pacific Bulletin in the 1910s and 1920s, which add some 

overlooked details.8 The reminiscences of Utahans also adds to the understanding of the 

event. Such reminiscences can be found, for example, in the Box Elder News, Salt Lake 

Tribune, and Ogden Standard during the golden anniversary. Published reminiscences 

by Alexander Toponce, Alexander Majors, and others add a few details. 

 

7

 On Sabin and his fabrications see Marc Simmons, “Introduction,” in reprint of Edwin L. Sabin, Kit 

Carson Days, vol 1 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995 reprint of 1935 edition). 8

 A complete set of the Union Pacific Magazine is at the Richardson Library, Colorado Railroad Museum, 

Golden, and the Bulletin can be found at the California State Library, Sacramento. 

192
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

The 28 photographs described elsewhere in this report also aided with the description of 

events on May 10. Photographers A. J. Russell, Charles Savage, and A. A. Hart 

documented the scene. Photographs by William Henry Jackson, and additional 

photographs by A. J. Russell, both taken in the summer-fall of 1869, add additional 

details about the physical layout (with care to account for changes made after May 10). 

Union Pacific principals’ papers were available at Bowman’s time, which are useful: for 

example, Dodge’s papers at the Council Bluffs Public Library and the Thomas Durant 

papers in the Levi Leonard collection, University of Iowa. Other records perhaps not 

available to Bowman were the Leland Stanford papers and other Southern (Central) 

Pacific records at Stanford University and the C. P. Huntington papers at Syracuse 

University, now on microfilm and available at a number of repositories. Many of the 

records of the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad, though incomplete, 

have since been donated to institutions providing public access: the California State 

Railroad Museum, Sacramento, Union Pacific Museum, Council Bluffs, the Nebraska 

State Historical Society, Lincoln, and Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. 

The Golden Spike 

General Comment: Bowman provides a description of the golden spike. David Hewes 

had the spike made for the event and provided it to Governor Stanford for the May 10 

ceremony (planned for May 8). He described the physical dimensions of the golden 

spike, presently (2005) in the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, California. This 

spike was donated by David Hewes to the university in 1892. 

Bowman examined the spike and noted that tradition states that the indents on the head of 

the spike were made by the silver hammer wielded by Stanford on May 10. 

New/Additional Information: 

On May 8, 1869, the Mining & Scientific Press, San Francisco, page 296, published a 

paragraph about the spike: “The ‘Last Spike’ was manufactured at the metal-working 

establishment of W. T. Garratt, in this city, and consists of $360, U. S. Coin, San 

Francisco Mint, melted together. The work was done by Joseph Garratt, father of W. T. 

Garratt, and the oldest metal worker, probably, on the coast, who very naturally took 

pride in doing the job.” 

The W. T. Garratt foundry was a prominent brass and bronze factory in gold rush San 

Francisco. According to the 1870 census, Joseph Garratt, a resident of San Francisco, 

was a 63 year old brass founder born in England. 

The golden spike was cast from gold coins from the San Francisco mint. In 1869, the 

mint received gold from districts from throughout the West, with California dominating 

gold production. The golden spike, like a gold coin, which included silver and base 

metals in its composition, was sturdier than a bar of refined, pure gold, a malleable metal. 

193
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

In an e:mail dated November 9, 2005, Kyle K. Wyatt, Curator of History & Technology 

at the California State Railroad Museum, announced the museum’s acquisition of a 

second golden spike made for David Hewes. He wrote9

: 

First, it appears that David Hewes had two gold spikes cast in 1869. One was 

hurriedly engraved and sent with Leland Stanford for use at the ceremonies at 

Promontory, anticipated to be on May 8, but actually held on May 10. This spike 

was engraved with the anticipated May 8 date. The casting sprue (also referred to 

as the "slug") from this spike was broken off and melted to cast mementoes (such 

as rings and watch fobs), a number of which are preserved at Stanford University, 

and at least one at Golden Spike NHS. After the ceremony, this spike was 

returned to David Hewes. In 1892 Hewes donated the spike to Stanford 

University, along with his significant art collection. (I gather the art collection 

was considered the much more significant donation at the time.) 

 

The second Hewes spike was engraved after the event - it includes the May 10 

date for the ceremony. I should note that the circumstantial evidence (including 

the receipt) seems to indicate that the two spikes were cast at the same time. We 

have no actual concrete evidence confirming that. Wording on the two spikes is 

very similar, but there are some slight variations between the two. Most 

distinctive, the words "The Last Spike" that appears on the head of the Stanford 

spike is engraved on the side of the spike head on the second spike, and is written 

as "The last Spike" (note small"l" in "last"). Also significantly, this second 

Hewes spike has never had the sprue ("slug") removed - it is still attached to the 

spike. The Hewes family retained this spike over the years, until last week when 

several of us completed the purchase of the spike and transported it to CSRM. 

In 1937 Robin Lampson met a Hewes descendant who had two photos that he 

believed to be of "The Last Spike," the spike used at the Promontory ceremony in 

1869, with sprue attached. Researching further, Lampson located a copy of the 

privately published Hewes family history printed in 1913, which included five 

photo views of the various sides of the spike, including the two views Lampson 

had received from the Hewes descendent. Lampson believed these photos were 

of the spike that was used at the Promontory celebrations, showing it before the 

sprue had been removed. Comparing the photos with the spike displayed at 

Stanford University, he noted a number of differences, leading him to the 

conclusion that the original spike had been lost. Compounding this, Stanford for 

many years displayed a brass replica because their security was not considered 

sufficient to protect the original on display. It is possible that Lampson only saw 

this brass replica. (Stanford has recently installed a high security display case for 

the Hewes spike, and the Nevada silver spike, and now displays the originals, 

except when they are out on temporary loan at other institutions.) 

 

Comparing the five photos of the Hewes spike that Lampson used with the spike 

recently obtained by CSRM shows them to be the same. Details both of the 

 

9

 The text was slightly altered from the original e:mail per request of Kyle Wyatt 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

writing and of the shape of the sprue confirm this. Lampson did not realize (nor 

did anyone else) that Hewes had two spikes cast. He assumed that the photos he 

had were taken in 1869 before the spike went to Promontory. 

 

I theorize that in preparing the 1913 Hewes family history, David Hewes (who 

died in 1915) wanted to include photos of "The Last Spike". Rather than arrange 

with Stanford University for photos of the spike he had given to them in 1892, 

Hewes had new photos taken of the spike he still had for inclusion in the book.10

 

Looking at the photos of the spike with new eyes, and with familiarity of many 

historic photos, I would say the photographic reproduction and appearance is 

much more consistent with photos printed with materials available around the turn 

of the century than of photos printed with materials available in 1869. 

 

My conclusion is that the spike at Stanford University is in all likelihood the 

original 1869 Hewes spike that went to Promontory. Keep in mind it was a rush 

job, hurried to get it ready in time for Stanford to take it to Promontory. This may 

account for Lampson's comment about "crude engraving". (Alternately, Lampson 

may only have seen the brass replica at Stanford.) The spike that Hewes kept was 

engraved after the May 10 event, and was not a rush job, so the engraving may 

appear finer. 

The Robin Lampson research mentioned in the above is published in a number of places, 

including “The Golden Spike Is Missing,” The Pacific Historian, (Winter 1970), pp. 9-

24.11 

A photograph of the spike with casting sprue (some called it a nugget) attached to its end 

is reproduced in the Southern Pacific Bulletin, May 1940, p. 6; this is the spike now at the 

California State Railroad Museum as proven by the words “The last Spike” being on the 

side of the spike instead of the top. A photograph of the Stanford University spike, is in 

Gerald Best’s Iron Horse to Promontory, and in his article in the Utah Historical 

Quarterly, Winter 1969 special golden spike edition, and is being held by J. H. Strobridge 

in the Southern Pacific Bulletin June 1, 1916. The Bulletin photo also shows its polished 

wooden box, with miniature portraits on its sides, now also at Stanford University. Park 

historian Andy Ketterson directed the manufacturing of the replica for the park by the 

NPS Harpers Ferry Center with the Stanford University artifact as the model. 

 

10 “In the Hewes’ 1913 family history, Hewes makes many claims for things which others actually did. 

For instance he claims to have been responsible for most of the San Francisco sand hauling, and for the first 

locomotive built in San Francisco. He actually got into the business by first leasing and later buying the 

equipment used by a pioneer sand hauler named Cunningham. Hewes came a number of years later. In my 

opinion, any uncorroborated Hewes claim should be taken not with a grain of salt, but with a whole salt 

shaker,” Wyatt to author.

11 Reproduced on the cprr.org web site at:http://cprr.org/Museum/Golden_Spike_Missing.html 

195
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

As Wyatt notes, there is little doubt that the spike at Stanford University is the golden 

spike. The California State Railroad Museum now has the second Hewes spike made at 

the time, but not used in the ceremony. 

The Other Gold Spike 

Bowman describes this spike as one given by the San Francisco News Letter and 

California Advertiser and incorrectly notes its absence from the literature after that. The 

Utah Daily Reporter, Corinne, May 12, 1869, which he cites, mentions this spike, the 

“Hewes” golden spike, the Nevada spike, and the Arizona spike as does the San 

Francisco Bulletin. Some authors doubt that it was used at the ceremony, but these 

sources prove otherwise. 

Additional information: 

Bowman notes that no May 1869 issues of the News Letter were extant. Copies have 

been found and the pertinent issues of May 1, 8, and 15, 1869 are on the cprr.org web 

page. Edson Strobridge, a descendant of James Harvey Strobridge of the CP, has 

researched the San Francisco News Letter spike and has posted his findings on the 

cprr.org web page as well. The News Letter provided the most detailed description of the 

spike, including a, engraving done from a photograph, and reporter A. D. Bell detailed its 

place in the ceremony as one of the four spikes used during the last spike ceremony. The 

spike was donated by Frank Marriott, editor of the News Letter, and, according to the 

May 8 issue, it was nine and a half ounces in weight, worth $200. Its shape was that of 

an ordinary railroad spike. Strobridge quotes from the San Francisco Bulletin, which 

reporter Bell worked for as well, and its recognition of the News Letter spike, as he did 

the Nevada and Arizona spikes. 

Recently, a spike was purchased from a dealer in Maine. The spike appears to match the 

description of the News Letter spike, but with a different head. The News Letter sketch 

shows a shoulderless head, used during the period, while the photograph of the found 

spike is a shouldered headed spike, also a design used at the time. Without further 

testing the authenticity of the recently found spike remains unconfirmed. See cprr.org for 

an image of the spike and a letter from Mr. Fenton, its owner. 

An article in the Sacramento Bee stated that the News Letter spike was given to Grenville 

Dodge after the ceremony. Dodge was an avid collector and kept artifacts important to 

his past (his surveying equipment, for example, is on display at the Union Pacific 

Museum). Dodge artifacts are held by the Iowa State Department of History and 

Archives, the Council Bluffs Public Library, Iowa, the Union Pacific Museum, Council 

Bluffs, Iowa, and the Grenville M. Dodge House, a historic house museum in Council 

Bluffs. A check with these entities confirms that if the spike was given to Dodge, he 

would have kept it and it would be prominently displayed. It is not. Don Snoddy, former 

curator at the Union Pacific Museum, also looked in the Dodge collections for possible 

discovery of the spike’s whereabouts without results. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

An alternative recipient of the second golden spike, the News Letter spike, is Thomas 

Durant, as vice-president, the ranking Union Pacific Railroad official at the ceremony. 

Durant was in reduced circumstances after the financial panic of 1873. If he had the 

spike, it is not among his papers in the Levi Leonard collection at the University of Iowa. 

There is a contemporary report that “the last spike” was cut in half and divided between 

officials. While the report appears to be inaccurate, it is possible that the reporter 

confused the spike with the sprue that was cut off the Hewes spike before the ceremony, 

and/or when Stanford cut off part of the sprue before returning the rest to Hewes. Of 

course, all this is speculation. 

Silver Spike 

The Nevada newspapers, especially the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, captured the 

details of Nevada’s silver spike, which Bowman relates well. 

Additional information: 

It is now presumed railroad commissioner Frederick A. Tritle, not Haines as suggested by 

Bowman, had the spike made. Tritle was manager of the Yellow Jacket mine on the 

Comstock and, though he ran for Governor of Nevada in 1869 he decided to drop-out, 

possibly as a deal among Republican party leaders. Interestingly, he later became 

Governor of Arizona Territory, a few years after Governor Safford left office. 

As related by the newspapers, E. Ruhling & Co., assayers, Virginia City, were 

responsible for making the spike. According to the 1870 census, Ell Ruhling was born in 

Hamburg, Germany in 1839. They assayed and confirmed the value of silver bullion 

produced by the Comstock lode. Its value was much less than the golden spike; valued at 

$2.25 15/100 per oz. its 25 ounces of silver was equal to $56. The editor of the 

Enterprise was given a piece of the silver bar left over from making the spike. He noted 

that future fake silver spikes could be found false if they did not assay a fineness of 50 

parts gold and .942 fine silver, according to Ruhling’s assay.12

After the ceremony it was returned to its owner, Tritle, who had it finished and displayed 

by Nye & Co., Virginia City, Nevada. Apparently it was given to Governor Stanford not 

long after the Promontory ceremony. Its production had been rushed to get it to the 

special train on time (barely made it). It apparently came into the possession of Stanford 

University from Stanford himself, although University records are not clear. 

Arizona Spike 

Bowman provides a newspaper quote description of the Arizona spike, from the Arizona 

Miner, which quoted the San Francisco Bulletin. Newly appointed Governor Anson P. K. 

Safford presented the spike. 

Additional Information: 

 

12 Territorial Enterprise, May 7, 8, 1869. 

197
Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Safford was a Nevada politician with close ties to Senator Stewart, friend of the Central 

Pacific Railroad. The Gold Hill News mentions that the Comstock lode gave gold and 

silver spikes; which suggests Safford’s spike for Arizona was finished using Nevada gold 

and silver (a more appropriate metal for Arizona would have been copper). The Carson 

Daily Appeal reports movements of Anson P. K. Safford to and from Virginia City. 

From there he undoubtedly carried the Arizona spike to the ceremony. At the time 

Stafford had the spike made, he had only recently been appointed as Territorial Governor 

of Arizona, and had not yet set foot in Arizona. His recorded movements around Nevada 

strongly suggest his spike was made there. Newspapers in Tucson and Prescott, Arizona 

make no mention of the spike prior to the ceremony and the editor of the Arizona Miner

voiced surprise that one was presented by the territory. 

After the ceremony the spike ended up in the collection of Sydney Dillon, one of the 

Union Pacific Railroad directors at the ceremony. His estate donated the spike to the 

Museum of the City of New York, New York City. In response to my query, Deborah 

Dependahl Waters, Ph.D., Curator, Decorative Arts and Manuscripts, Museum of the 

City of New York, wrote: 

The Museum of the City of New York owns a Promontory Point [sic.] celebration 

steel, silver, and gold spike inscribed "Arizona presents her offering to 

the enterprise that has banded a continent and dictated a pathway to 

commerce--ribbed with iron, clad in silver, and crowned with 

gold--presented by Gov. Safford." Its length is 5.75 inches, and its 

accession number is 43.33.4. It was the gift of Mrs. Arthur Whitney. 

The spike is presently on loan to the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in 

Council Bluffs, Iowa. 

Other Ceremonial Spikes 

Bowman mentions the Leslie’s article as source for the comment that Idaho, Montana, 

Nevada, and California gave spikes. The article is reputed to have been written by 

photographer Andrew J. Russell, who was present. Bowman confirms four spikes were 

given, but not the accuracy of Leslie’s report on the presenters. This may be information 

added by editors in New York, who played with his words substantially in the June 5, 

1869 article. It is doubtful that Montana and Idaho offered spikes. Neither the Montana 

Post of Helena or the Idaho Statesman of Boise mention spikes from their respective 

territories, before or after the event. 

Lemon Iron Spike 

No comment except that there were probably a large number of “last spikes” as the iron 

ones and the ties they were in continued to be taken by collectors. Bowman quotes 

documents verifying Lemon’s spike’s authenticity. Reporters noted that workers with 

cold chisels were even trying to take bits of the last rail. By May 11, 1869, the railroads 

posted a guard at the site.13 One traveler wrote his wife: “I write you sitting on the last 

 

13 W. L Humason, From the Atlantic Surf to the Golden Gate, or, First Trip on the Great Pacific Railroad

(Hartford: Press of Wm. C. Hutchings, 1869), p. 42, mentions the guard. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

rail. The spike of gold is not here.” Did he send her one of iron?14 There are many 

reports of additional remaining iron spikes used May 10th (see note of Edson Strobridge 

in cprr.org). 

Lemon’s reminiscence has several flaws. He states his locomotive was the first over the 

last spike after the ceremony. Obviously, he is mistaken since the No. 119 shows as first 

in the line-up of UP locomotives on May 10, not the UP No. 117. The No. 117 was used 

by Casement’s work train, and may have been first over the last spike when Casements 

work crews built the siding there early, pre-dawn on May 11.15

Silver Sledge 

No comment except Bowman’s “Pacific Express Company” should read “Pacific Union 

Express Company,” a short-lived competitor to Wells, Fargo & Company. The “silver 

sledge” spike maul preserved at Stanford University appears to be a shipwright’s spike 

maul, not a railroad spike maul. The Hart photo of Stanford holding the spike maul at the 

ceremony appear to show that the Stanford University spike maul was indeed the one 

used at the ceremony. Note that in the Hart photo #356 both Stanford and Durant are 

holding spike mauls. It would appear there were two mauls used in the ceremony, one 

for each official. We may never know 1. if Durant used a special maul, or just an 

ordinary one, and 2. what became of that maul. From period accounts, Durant and 

Stanford tapped the last spike, but, after much negotiation, Stanford was given first swing 

and that with the silver sledge. The San Francisco Newsletter, May 15, 1869 states that 

after Stanford’s tap with the silver sledge sent the electrical message of “done,” then 

“Durant and Stanford driving two spikes on each side, the same moment...” ended the 

event. 

Laurel Tie 

No comment except a photograph of the tie has been found and shows a more ornate 

silver plate then first assumed. The Chronicle, cited by Bowman, notes that the silver for 

the plate came from White Pine, the latest Nevada mining boom town. The photograph 

can be found at: unknowns@CPRR.org 

Iron Tie 

No Comment except the Union Pacific officials did bring an iron last tie, as noted in a 

letter by Dodge, but it was not used, obviously, since the golden spike could not fit in it. 

This may have been the cause for the reports that the Union Pacific threatened to have its 

own separate ceremony. The tie’s fate is unknown. 

 

14 “Coast to Coast by Railroad: the Journey of Niles Searls – May, 1869,” New York History, (July 1969), 

p. 311. 

15 Michael Johnson has reviewed the UP payroll records for early May 1869 and finds no engineer Lemon 

on the 117 or any of the other four locomotives at the front. Johnson to author. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Later, to deter souvenir collectors, Grenville Dodge ordered a stone tie to be placed at the 

last spike site. In a note to engineer Morris, July 15, 1869, then cutting stone abutments 

for new bridges, he wrote: “the stone for junction had better be marked ‘Junction of the 

Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, May 10, 1869.” The stone was probably 

meant to replace the tie at the last spike site. If placed at the site, its present existence is 

unknown.16 

Wiring for the Broadcasts 

Bowman relates that F. L. Vandenberg “of the Union Pacific” [sic.—actually Central 

Pacific] wired the last spike, but then discounts this story based on the reminiscence of 

Amos Bowsher published fifty-seven years after the event. In the article, Bowsher 

claimed that a regular iron spike was wired to the telegraph system. Bowman is uncertain 

of the wiring linkages. Based on the Bowsher published reminiscence, Bowman 

concludes that the golden spike was not used to send the telegraph message announcing 

that the transcontinental railroad work was done. Instead, again citing Bowsher, he 

claims a plain iron spike was wired for the ceremonial telegraphic click “done.” 

New/Additional Information. 

In the May 1926 issue of the Southern Pacific Bulletin appeared “Eye Witness Tells of 

‘Last Spike’ Driving,” by Erle Heath, associate editor. In it, Heath tells Amos Bowsher’s 

story, that of his being at Promontory on May 10 and that “it was the tapping of an 

ordinary hammer in the hands of Governor Leland Stanford on an ordinary iron spike that 

formed the electric contact which flashed the telegraphic message over the country, May 

10, 1869, that the last link had been made in the rail lines of the first transcontinental 

railroad.” 

Bowsher, as foreman for telegraph construction for the CP, stated he was busy directing 

his crew “perfecting the telegraph circuits,” and that he stood on the ladder leaning on the 

last CP telegraph pole at the last spike site. Bowsher states that the CP’s Louie Jacobs 

was the telegraph operator at the end of track who sent out the final messages. 

In 1923, Levi Leonard collected the reminiscence of Watson N. Shilling, a Western 

Union telegrapher, “the Record of W. N. Shilling, Telegraph Operator at Spike Driving,” 

now in the Leonard collection, University of Iowa. Shilling recounted that “Walter 

Frederick was sent as chief W. U. operator to Promontory Point [sic.] for the celebration 

and these two men, Walter Frederick and Watson N. Shilling, were the two operators at 

Promontory Point May 10, 1869, who gave to the world the information that the Union 

and Central Pacific had joined hands.” In a reminiscence published in the Ogden 

Standard May 7, 1919, Shilling mentions the golden spike, the laurel tie, and the silver 

hammer and states that he “assisted in connecting the spike to the telegraph wire from the 

west and the wire from the east to the silver hammer.”17 

 

16 Grenville Dodge to Morris, July 15, 1869, Grenville Dodge, “Autobiography,” Council Bluffs Public 

Library. 

17 Thanks to Michael W. Johnson for bringing this article to my attention. 

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Tents of Golden Spike NHS – VI Appendices 

Unfortunately, none of the contemporary newspapers or other contemporary sources 

checked to date mention either Bowsher or Shilling in a prominent let alone any role at 

the ceremony on May 10, 1869. Period accounts provide details about the wiring of the 

spike that refute their recollections given fifty years after the event. 

The Utah Daily Reporter, Corinne, May 9, 1869 states: “Arrangements are made for the 

[telegraph] instruments to ‘click’ at every stroke of the maul on the last spike, and at the 

exact instant it is driven cannon are to be fired by telegraph in San Francisco, 

Sacramento, Chicago, New York, and other cities. At the same time bells will be rung. 

This arrangement was made by Mr. F. S. Vandenburgh [sic.], superintendent of the 

Central Pacific telegraph, assisted by Mr. James Gamble [of Western Union] and others. 

We are indebted to Messrs. J. N. Stewart, R. F. Pixley and John Curran, telegraph 

operators at Elko and westward, who reached our city yesterday, and propose to stay and 

witness the closing ceremonies.” California papers mention agent H. Sigler leaving 

Sacramento to assist Vandenberg. Vandenberg, as superintendent of the Central Pacific 

Railroad’s telegraph business, should be credited with arranging the details for sending of 

the news of driving the last spike to the nation. He was present at Promontory, May 10. 

The Reporter of May 12 states clearly that he held the wire during the ceremony. He 

probably had much assistance in the arrangement of details, but Vandenberg would have 

been front and center during the ceremonial sending of the telegraph message “done.” 

Amos Bowsher probably helped as well, per his reminiscence. Bowsher standing on a 

ladder leaning against the last CP telegraph pole makes sense because a wire can be seen 

extending from the lower end of the pole into the crowd toward the last spike site. 

Bowsher or someone would have been needed to make sure that wire was not yanked 

loose during the ceremony (numerous photographs of the pole show him there throughout 

the ceremony). It is doubtful he was needed to step down off the ladder, walk through 

the crowd to the track, and then to wire the maul and spike with so many other CP hands 

available. One has to question the accuracy of his stating that he wired the last spike and 

maul, be they of iron or precious metals. There were many individuals there to do the 

wiring and it was a relatively simple task. Vandenberg probably did it, with help, to 

ensure its success (we lack a reminiscence by Vandenberg; one has yet to be found). 

Finally, the news that an iron spike not a gold one was used sounds too much like a 

journalist’s fabricated “scoop” long after the event – “stop the presses, it wasn’t really a 

gold spike but one of iron.” The multitude of contemporary accounts mention the gold 

spike (none mention iron) and the ease of making the last connection as described in the 

Journal of the Telegraph (see below) brings up the question about the veracity of an iron 

spike being used. Until contemporary information confirms Bowsher’s published tale, it 

should not be relied on. 

Telegrapher Frederick’s name but not Shilling’s is mentioned in the Chicago Tribune, 

May 11 issue, as the Western Union telegraph operator, with F. Kearney. The newspaper 

states that W. B. Hibbard, superintendent of the W. U. Eastern Division was there as was 

Gamble of the California Division. The reporter noted that Vandenberg wired the 

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arrangement and that “when the hammer hit [the] head of the golden ingot [spike] the 

stroke was carried with the speed of electricity.” 

Western Union did not have a telegraph line at Promontory, but had just opened a branch 

off its transcontinental line from Ogden to Corinne, under the direction of Ed Conway. 

Reporters mention giving their dispatches to the staff of Western Union telegraphers, 

who were busy sending telegraphic news from mid-morning until 3:00 p.m., but note that 

they worked only one line east or west, suggesting they used the Central Pacific and 

Union Pacific wires.18 The Western Union transcontinental line was south of Salt Lake; 

the line north of the lake through Promontory was not completed until the summer of 

1869. 19

In telegraph operations of the day, telegraph systems needed a battery and grounding at 

the end of the line. This wire undoubtedly went to the CP set-up of battery and ground at 

the junction, probably in the tent nearest the last CP pole, where the telegraphers 

congregated. There may have been a back up battery in the “outfit car” on the CP siding 

nearby, where telegrapher Louie Jacobs sat. The CP crews working with the Western 

Union crew would have ensured that all systems worked that morning, and Vandenberg is 

noted by a reporter to have been up by 7 a.m., when he had placed an American flag atop 

the last telegraph pole. The power from the source battery would have ensured an 

electrical connection when the maul and spike connected. Having the key and repeater 

on a table adjacent the tracks, probably moved from the tent nearby, gave the operator 

(Western Union’s Frederick and Kearny, but probably not Shilling) a good view of the 

proceedings.20 

Bowman suggests that the reporters were wrong in that, taking the timing of events into 

consideration, the time allowed to connect the telegraph wires to the maul and spike was 

too long and, therefore, could not have happened. However, since Casement had already 

stopped the ceremony to let the photographers take photographs (and a wet plate negative 

took fifteen minutes at its quickest, according to photographer W. H. Jackson), it is most 

likely that Vandenberg and crew had plenty of time to wire the maul and spike – CP and 

UP officials would have ensured they had time, just as they had for the photographers.21 

This contradicts Bowman. 

Reporters state that Stanford and Durant gave the symbolic driving of the last spike. 

Logic suggests they were ceremonial taps on the golden spike head to ensure electrical 

connection – as telegraphed, “dot, dot, done.” One source states Stanford hit the wired 

spike that announced the completion, then he and Durant finished driving the four spikes, 

two on each of the last the rails. My general suspicion (subject to countering evidence) is 

that Stanford had two spikes (probably the Hewes and Nevada spikes) and that Durant 

 

18 San Francisco News Letter, May 15, 1869. 

19 L. O. Leonard, “Golden Spike Anniversary,” Union Pacific Magazine (May 1923), p. 9.; Reporter, 

April 9, 1869 

20 Thomas D.Lockwood, Electricity, Magnetism, and Electric Telegraph (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 

1883), general on telegraphy; Territorial Enterprise, May 11, 1869. 21 Chicago Tribune, May 11, 1869. 

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had two (probably the SF News Letter and the Arizona spikes). Each would have his 

own gold spike to “drive”, quite possibly at the same time. Stanford’s was the only wired 

one in this scenario. Bowman makes the point that the driving of the spike occurred on 

the south side of the rail, therefore not near the UP, but near the CP telegraph line. This is 

incorrect in that the UP telegraph line was further south along its track, just beyond the 

CP telegraph line. No matter where the principals stood at the last spike site they would 

be nearest the CP telegraph line. They could have stood at either rail and would have 

been nearest the CP telegraph poles. 

The Journal of the Telegraph, the Western Union publication, May 15, 1869, suggests 

that “the task was easily done. The wire had only to be laid, severed on the top of the 

spike, each severed end resting on a piece of paper separating it from the iron, and the 

hammer swung so as to touch both wires at the same time. Some equivalent arrangement 

was no doubt made.” Though the editor admitted this was not a description of what 

occurred because he was not there, it does suggest transmitting the electrical message 

would have been an easy task, one Vandenberg could have done. Silver and gold 

conduct electricity better than iron, and wiring the silver maul and gold spike would have 

improved conductivity not hindered it. 

Did Stanford hit the golden spike with the silver maul and cause the electric contact that 

announced the finish of the transcontinental railroad? Bowman says no, based on the 

flawless spike at Stanford University and Bowsher’s reminiscences. Reporters on the 

scene state, repeatedly Governor Stanford delivered the last stroke which announced, 

telegraphically, that the work was done; that the spike used was gold, with the telegraph 

wire attached to it; that Vandenberg and the CP crew wired the gold spike and silver maul 

so news would be sent out over the telegraph east and west; and Western Union and CP 

crews played critical roles in the event. The indents on top of the golden spike at Stanford 

University may be exactly as tradition says, where the silver maul tapped the electrified 

spike, where a telegraphic spark left additional scars. If the wire was laid across the last 

spike and held in place, with a piece of paper between wires and spike the spike maul 

could have tapped the wire and not the actual head of the spike to complete the circuit, 

but a spark could still have burnt through the paper and scarred the spike’s head. 

Looking at the head of the spike, especially the top view from Stanford Univeristy’s web 

site, I believe the marks might have been made by sparks. At San Francisco on the May 

10 signal of “done,” the telegrapher at the Battery caused a rolling spark to go down the 

wire from the telegraph relay to a line of powder which ignited the fuses to the cannons. 

Additional note: According to invoices at the California State Railroad Museum, the 

Central Pacific Railroad ordered its telegraph instruments and batteries from Lundberg & 

Marwedel, 810, Montgomery Street, San Francisco. Insulators were of Brooks patent.22

 

22 The Brooks patents are: #45,221, Nov. 29, 1864, reissued #2,717, Aug. 6, 1867; #63, 206, Mar. 26, 

1867; #69,622, Oct. 8, 1867. There were other “rams horn” insulators as well (although not used by 

CPRR), including Waite, #70,052, Oct. 22, 1867; Van Choate, #47,141, Apr. 4, 1865. 

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Wire was probably no. 8 or 9 gauge.23 The park collections at Golden Spike National 

Historic Site include originals of wire and insulators. 

Date 

No comment except the date change from May 8 to May 10 may have been more a result 

from the undermining and near collapse of the Devil’s Gate bridge of the UP than the 

well publicized capture and holding-for-ransom of vice-president Durant. The bridge 

was barely repaired in time for the ceremony.24 And not fully repaired at that, just shored 

up. According to accounts it sounds like the cars were pushed across the bridge 

individually (without locomotive), with the locomotive #119 picking them up on the 

West side. Individuals walked across, instead of riding the cars across. 

Hour of Driving the Spike 

Bowman and other writers state that the driving of the spike occurred at Promontory at 

12:47 P.M. This is based on the report at Washington, D. C. that telegraphic news of the 

driving of the last spike was received at 2:47 P. M., Washington time. Using the modern 

time zone system, with Utah two hours earlier then Washington, then Promontory time 

would be, indeed, 2:47. However, time zones did not come into accepted national use 

until the 1880s. Using the system of 1869, which based local time on the position of the 

sun, Promontory time would have been approximately 12:27 since its location 35 degrees 

west of Washington would have meant a time difference of 140 minutes. To confuse 

matters further, the Union Pacific time for the Cheyenne to Promontory run was based on 

Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Central Pacific Railroad set the time along its entire line 

based upon the company clock at Sacramento, California. Thus, according to the 

railroads, Promontory time, May 10, 1869, would have been either based on clocks in 

Cheyenne or Sacramento. 

Numbers in Attendance 

Bowman estimates, based on photographs, that 500 or 600 attended the event. This is too 

low. The reporters noted the increase in numbers as trains continued to arrive, the last 

one arrived seventeen minutes after the ceremony began. The Cheyenne Leader reporter 

stated that the UP train he was on arrived with most of the loose population of Corinne 

given a free ride, a couple hundred people. A study of the military unit’s participation by 

Paul Hedren reported that there were 264 soldiers present. The reporters for the Deseret 

News of Salt Lake City, the Corinne Reporter and others generally agree to a little over 

1,000. Most of the railroad work crews, several thousand in April, had been sent home, 

or remained at work camps miles east and west of Promontory Summit. There is some 

suggestion that officials feared that mob warfare might break out, especially between the 

Union Pacific’s Irish crews and the Central Pacific’s Chinese. Thus, they were kept at a 

 

23 CP Invoices, California State Railroad Museum Library, May 1, 1869. Drawings of Brooks insulators 

are in Lockwood, Electricity, p. 164; wire gauge is described in Lockwood, while the spike set-up is not 

described, the wire and set-up used at the battery in San Francisco is in Chronicle May 11, 1869. 24 See Eicholtz diary, University of Wyoming for details of the bridge engineer’s movements and worry. 

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distance from each other, and, therefore, the numbers at Promontory were far smaller 

than they could have been. 

Bowman states there were few women present, and states only two or three were seen in 

the photographs. One image by Russell, taken next to Durant’s special car, shows six 

women. There are other women in the photographs, not officials’s wives or family. One 

wonders who the woman on horse back is in the Russell image number 537, looking from 

the locomotive “Jupiter” to the “No. 119.” Presumably a number of women were part of 

the contingent of “locals” (from Corrine and near by) that were present at the ceremony. 

However, the number of individuals in attendance from surrounding communities was 

probably small because of the long, rough wagon road to the site. 

In the famous Russell photograph of the two locomotives pilot to pilot, the “champagne 

photograph,” there appears to be a Native American (with long hair in ponytails on each 

side of his head) standing in the throng just in front of the pilot of the UP #119. His face 

is in shadow under his hat, but lightening a digital photo brings him out. 

Bowman’s information on the stage run is also incorrect. That is detailed elsewhere in 

this study. As the Corinne Reporter stated May 12: “The Last – the last run by Wells, 

Fargo & Co.’s stages, between the terminal of the two roads, was made May 9, 1869. 

The distance, eight miles, was accomplished in forty minutes. The drivers were John 

Mantle, Samuel Getts, and David Dickey, assisted by Mr. J. B. Keeny, agent at the 

terminus.” Keeny was in a stage office tent at the last spike site on May 10. 

Decorations 

Bowman states that no decorations or flags are visible, except the flag hoisted by 

Vandenberg. He is incorrect. Closer scrutiny of photographs show small American flags 

along the boiler of the Central Pacific’s “Jupiter” and elsewhere. An invoice for the 

purchase of a dozen flags by Stanford from Dale & Co., Sacramento, is in the collections 

of the California State Railroad Museum. Reporters mention the flags and decorations as 

do the reminiscences of the children seen at the event. Leslie’s, based on Russell’s 

photographs and notes could report, on June 5, 1869, that Central Pacific’s “Jupiter” “was 

gaily decorated with little flags and ribbons, the red, white, and blue.”25

Point When Construction Ended and Maintenance Began 

No comment except UP issued its timetable Number 16, May 10, 1869 with scheduled 

trains to Promontory on May 10. Passengers were already using the line, with the first 

traffic connection at Promontory, May 11. For purposes of receiving Federal bonds for 

completing the track, the UP and CP did not receive their bonds until expected 

 

25 May 6, 1869 invoice, CSRM; Chronicle May 11, 1869; Bernetta Atkinson reminiscence in Box Elder 

News May 7, 1919. 

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improvements were accepted in November. By then, trains had been running for over six 

months.26

The Site 

Minor comments: the last spike site tracks run northeast to southwest not north-south; 

there were fourteen tents along the tracks at the last spike site with three more in the 

distance, not “twenty tents and shacks.” There were many more than four engines there 

on May 10. And the junction point was at or near Promontory Summit’s highest point on 

the CP, not UP, which was a half mile or so further east. 

Stage Setting 

No comment except the south side of the CP track, or in reality, the land within the right 

of ways of the UP and CP overlapping rights of way were more easily controlled than the 

open area north of the CP track, where just beyond the right of way were the row of 

saloons and restaurants. A row of wagons served as grand stand here until after the 

ceremony, when the soldiers were marched up forming a perimeter while the 

photographers had their half hour or so in which to take photographs. 

Driving the Last Spike 

Many other writers have described this scene better. For our purposes, a review is not 

necessary except to note that this description should not be used as an accurate portrayal 

of events because of its many omissions of details and commissions of errors.27

 

 

26 Humason, op. cit., was one of the first through passengers May 11; Maury Klein details the impact of 

not getting the government bonds in Union Pacific, the Birth of a Railroad (New York: Doubleday, 1987) 27 See Johnson, “Rendezvous at Promontory,” op. cit.

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