Transforming Communication: from Coast to Coast

The Railroad Act of 1862 not only laid out a plan to connect the continent by rail but also called for a telegraph line along the transcontinental route, opening an era of instant communication from coast to coast. For four years, Americans followed the Pacific Railroad's progress in their newspapers and awaited its completion. By May of 1869, national attention centered on northern Utah as the country waited for news that the last spike had been driven. Through electricity and a copper wire, a telegraph signal set off a transcontinental celebration. As the news spread over the wires, church bells rang, trains hooted, fire engines howled, gongs clanged, and cannons thundered in city after city. Citizens filled the streets for parades, sang the “Star-Spangled Banner,” prayed, and shouted themselves hoarse, while orators hailed the moment as a great day of national destiny. Telegrams exchanged between Omaha, Promontory, and Chicago showed the nation waiting in suspense, and then carried the final message to General U.S. Grant, President of the U.S., reporting that the last rail had been laid, the last spike driven, and the Pacific Railroad finished.

Thatcher, Utah · United States