Bohannon, is a former Confederate officer, was based on Union Major Gen. Bohannon is a composite character loosely based on a few of the real people in similar positions that worked on the Transcontinental Railroad. Who drove golden spike? Was Cullen Bohannon based on a real person?Ĭullen Bohannon, as depicted in the series, was not a real person. golden spike (plural golden spikes) (geology) A geologic marker created by a global event that leads to long lasting global changes recorded in the geologic record that can be used to indicate a change in a geologic time division such as an epoch, age, era. The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha on May 10, 1869, at … What is meant by the golden spike geology? Today, it is on display in Stanford’s Cantor Center for Visual Arts. Is the Gold Spike still in the transcontinental railroad?įollowing the ceremony, Stanford returned the spike to Hewes, who held it until 1892 when he donated it to the newly formed Leland Stanford Junior University in Palo Alto, California. Leland Stanford, president of Southern Pacific Railroad and, beginning in 1861, Central Pacific Railroad, drove the golden spike. This iconic photograph records the celebration marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad lines at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, when Leland Stanford, co-founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, connected the eastern and western sections of the railroad with a golden spike. What was significant about the golden spike driven in Promontory Utah? Hewes donated the spike to Stanford University art museum in 1892. Since it was privately owned it went back to California to David Hewes. Leland Stanford’s brother-in-law, David Hewes, had the spike commissioned for the Last Spike ceremony. What happened to the original golden spike? The remainder was left attached to the spike in a large sprue.

Only about $350 worth of gold, however, was used to make the actual spike. The spike was 5 5/8 inches long, weighed 14.03 ounces and was made of 17.6 carat gold. The Golden Spike Garatt Foundry of San Francisco cast a golden spike. What was the golden spike really made of?

Otherwise known as the Golden Spike Ceremony, this historic event not only celebrates the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, named the Pacific Railroad, but it also recognizes the significance of the immigrant workforce that helped the nation accomplish what many believed was impossible.

10 Where is the Golden Spike Monument in Utah?.

9 What was the golden spike in the transcontinental railroad?.

8 What was the significance of the Golden Spike?.

7 Was Cullen Bohannon based on a real person?.

6 What is meant by the golden spike geology?.

3 What was significant about the golden spike driven in Promontory Utah?.

2 What was the golden spike really made of?.

Golden railroad spike