Golden Spike Utah

03/04/2026

Register for free today for March 5-7, the largest family discovery event in the world! Or get to Salt Lake and attend in person. I can’t wait to see all the family historians learning together!

05/25/2024

We invite the public to a special reenactment of the Last Spike Ceremony on Memorial Day Monday, May 27th, 10:45 A.M. and 1:15 P.M. Due to weather conditions, no reenactments will take place on May 25th.

Golden Spike National Historical Park will have weekly reenactments on Saturdays beginning June 1st at 10:45 A.M and 1:15 P.M until Labor Day.

To learn more about events taking place at Golden Spike NHP see: www.npg.gov/gosp/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

05/10/2023

03/04/2023

Our March featured park is Golden Spike National Historical Park! Tracks from the east and west were linked on this site in 1869, completing the construction of the US transcontinental railroad–one of the greatest technological achievements of the 19th century. Visitors can learn about the challenges of building the railroad, the lives of the people who built it, and view two replica 19th century locomotives. Learn more here:
https://wnpa.org/discover_parks/golden-spike/

📍: Golden Spike National Historical Park
📷: NPS

08/23/2022

05/10/2022

Today’s the anniversary! Thanks to my grandma, Bernice Gibbs Anderson, for starting these anniversary gatherings in 1951 or before and for her decades of campaigning to get Golden Spike into the National Park System! 🚂

On May 10, 1869, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific met at Promontory Summit, Utah, driving a Golden Spike to mark the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and in the process, uniting a nation from east to west.

05/11/2020

Short video:

05/09/2020

Check out the new NPS Junior Ranger opportunity to be a Railroad Explorer! Includes 🚂

All Aboard!!!

Get ready to ride the rails from coast to coast and learn how the transcontinental railroad transformed the country. The NEW Junior Ranger Railroad Explorer activity book provides insight to the technology, challenges, builders, and transformation associated with the arrival of the "Iron Horse!" Get started at https://www.nps.gov/articles/junior-ranger-railroad-explorer.htm

Did you know railroads brought some of the first visitors to national parks? Today, there are several parks dedicated to telling the story of railroads and transportation. From Steamtown National Historic Site to Golden Spike National Historical Park, learn more at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/transportation/railroads.htm

Image: Replica of Union Pacific No. 119 steam locomotive made famous for meeting the Central Pacific Railroad's Jupiter at Promontory Summit, Utah, during the Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.

05/03/2020

Photo credit: Bernice Gibbs Anderson, Anniversary commemoration chair.

In the days leading up to May 10, we’ll take you on a journey to past Golden Spike anniversaries. Take a stroll down history lane and enjoy!

To start off the series is a photo from 1952, the first year that annual reenactments were staged at Promontory Summit. In the years leading up to this, Utah resident Bernice Gibbs Anderson served as the driving force seeking federal recognition for the nationally important site. She reached out to hundreds of officials, writing letters to local officials, all the way up to President Harry S. Truman.

The first reenactment was viewed by hundreds, mostly local spectators. The presence of a vibrant local community that started to participate each year turned the tide in the decision. The dream of putting Promontory back on the map was achieved in 1965 when the hallowed land was designated as Golden Spike National Historic Site. (Later elevated in 2019 to Golden Spike National Historical Park).

04/28/2020

There will not be a public Golden Spike annual commemoration for the first time since Bernice Gibbs Anderson spearheaded them to be on site each May 10th in the early 1950s.