Image of a golden spike

Courtesy of David Pendleton

Article Options

Presentation View
Teaching Resources

Language

Where Does This Golden Spike Belong?

Students in Utah want an important piece of history returned to their state.

February 5, 2024
By Jasmine Ting

As You Read, Think About: What is one important object in your state’s history?

Jim West/Alamy Stock Photo

Clink! With one last tap of a hammer, a golden spike was set in place on the railroad track. The crowd that had gathered at Promontory Summit in what is now Utah let out a cheer. It was May 10, 1869. After six years of hard work, the country’s first transcontinental railroad was finished. A new age of transportation had begun. 

For the first time, people could travel by train from New York to California. A trip that once took several months in a horse-drawn wagon could now take about a week. Trading and transporting goods also became easier. The railroad connected Americans like never before. 

That famous golden spike was removed from the track after the ceremony. It ended up hundreds of miles away, in California. Last year, a class of fourth-graders started a campaign to bring it back to Utah.

The Story of the Spike

In 1869, Leland Stanford hammered in the golden spike. He was the head of one of the two companies that built the railroad. Today, the golden spike sits in a glass case in the university Stanford founded in California. The hammer and a silver spike used in the ceremony are also on display at Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center. 

David Pendleton is a fourth-grade teacher in Utah. He visited the museum in 2022, excited to take photos of the golden spike to show his students.

“Every person who grew up in Utah knows about the golden spike and the transcontinental railroad,” explains Pendleton. “It’s something we teach in school every single year.”

But Pendleton was disappointed by the display. The golden spike didn’t even have a label explaining what it was. Pendleton knew that the spike and the two other railroad artifacts are a source of pride for Utahans. He thought the objects would get the special treatment they deserve in his home state. 

Pendleton decided to get his students at Neil Armstrong Academy involved. Last February, he shared his big idea. The class would start a letter-writing campaign. They hoped to get as many people as possible to write letters to officials at Stanford. Their goal was to bring the golden spike back to Utah.

Courtesy of David Pendleton

Pendleton (top center) with his fourth-graders who launched Spikes2Utah

Kids in Action

Courtesy of David Pendleton

David Pendleton’s students designed the Spikes2Utah logo.

The students named their project Spikes2Utah. They created a video, posters, and a website. Companies donated billboard space and radio ads to help spread the word.

Students from across the country sent letters. Pendleton’s class collected 1,098 letters and mailed them to Stanford University last June. 

As Scholastic News went to press, Stanford University hadn’t announced its decision. Pendleton’s students hope their efforts have been persuasive.

“The spikes belong back in Utah because their history was made here,” explains student Jaden Chadwick. 

Historic Meeting

The Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad linked the eastern and western United States. Congress chose Promontory Summit as the point where the tracks would meet.

Gado/Getty Images

On May 10, 1869, the country’s first transcontinental railroad was finished.

  1. What does the author mean when she writes that “a new age of transportation had begun” on May 10, 1869?
  2. Based on the article, why do you think the golden spike ended up at Stanford University? 
  3. Why do you think the author included the fact that Stanford University’s display of the golden spike did not have a label? 
videos (1)
Skills Sheets (2)
Skills Sheets (2)
Games (1)
TEACHER SUPPORT (1)
Text-to-Speech