'It means a lot to us': 43-foot golden spike monument making its way to Utah

BRIGHAM CITY — Brigham City Mayor DJ Bott contends that while he knew about the golden spike that was used to celebrate the completion of the transcontinental railroad 154 years ago, it wasn't until he helped with the process of creating a massive monument of the famous spike that his appreciation for it grew.

"Having a love for the rails and the golden spike has really come to a pinnacle with this project," he said, speaking a few feet in front of the 43-foot-long art piece. "It has instilled a real reverence for the people who brought the railroad from Sacramento to the East, and then from Omaha to the West."

This 8,000-pound replica of the famous golden spike used to ceremoniously complete the transcontinental railroad is now all but ready for its permanent home in Box Elder County, as a way to remember the significant moment in U.S. history.

The public art piece, commissioned by the Golden Spike Foundation, was unveiled Thursday during a ceremony in Lexington, Kentucky, where artist Douwe Blumberg constructed it. The event also marked the first stop of a multi-city national tour over the next few weeks, where the replica will be displayed.

The tour includes a stop in Salt Lake City later this month before the spike will eventually be installed at Golden Spike National Historical Park near Corinne, Box Elder County, next year. Once there, Bott hopes it will inspire people to think about the people who helped make the transcontinental railroad happen — people he says "history has really forgotten."

"It's going to allow visitors and (our residents) to remember the folks that built the transcontinental railroad," he said.

The golden spike monument

The United States changed forever when the golden spike was driven on May 10, 1869.

For the first time, a railroad line connected the country's east and west communities, which opened up commerce on a "vast scale," History.com notes. It shortened the time it took to travel across the country, made it more affordable and changed where Americans lived, but it also escalated racial conflicts and created environmental impacts, the outlet adds.

Golden Spike National Historical Park Superintendent Brandon Flint said the park aims to tell all of these stories to its visitors, so it can better paint a picture of how consequential the project really was — even today.

"It's hard to overstate the importance of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on U.S. history," he said. "If you open any U.S. history book today, any one of them, you will find the story of the transcontinental railroad and the people who built it."

That's where this giant golden spike monument comes into play.

The idea for it dates back to when Utah celebrated the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. Doug Foxley, chairman of the Golden Spike Foundation, which organized the 2019 event, explained that the party was "just the beginning" when it came to telling the story of the railroad.

When the anniversary came and passed, the organizers wanted to find a way to tell the whole story of the railroad in one art piece that could remain visible beyond one huge celebration.

They wanted something to honor the largely forgotten Chinese railroad workers, as well as the Irish immigrants and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that Brigham Young had sent up to northern Utah to prepare the railroad grade — all stories they learned as they planned the extravaganza four years ago.

The foundation then tabbed Blumberg to tell that story. He spent the last few years chipping away at it, chiseling in depictions of big-name players involved in the railroad's creation — like President Abraham Lincoln — to figures who contributed so much but were never really honored in history. It also includes images of steam locomotives, horses and the tools workers used to build the line.

"One of the truly most gratifying parts of my career is when I can use (my artistic abilities) to create something that will recognize or bring honor to people that maybe have been forgotten in time, and to just be a small part of continuing the story," he said. "This piece begins its journey now."

The spike on tour

Thursday's event also served as the first stop on a "whistle tour," where a flatbed truck will take the spike to various communities between Kentucky and Utah to allow people to see it. The tour spans several communities that were connected by the original transcontinental route.

It concludes at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24, where there will be events to celebrate its arrival in Utah for now.

The tour will resume in the spring of next year, as the monument is showcased in communities west of Utah before it is permanently installed at Reeder Ranch in Golden Spike National Historical Park.

Those behind the project, as well as state and local leaders, hope that it will become a fixture quite like the actual golden spike once it is locked in place.

"It means a lot to us to see and allow people to come now to Brigham City to remember the folks that put their lives on the line, really, to bring the two railroads together and connect our country from coast to coast," Botts said.

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