Commissioned by the Union Pacific Railroad, the Ames Monument memorializes brothers Oakes and Oliver Ames for their contributions to building the Transcontinental Railroad, where their support, drive, and influence were instrumental in completing the Union Pacific section. Finished in 1882 near the highest elevation of the route at 8,247 feet, it stands in the context of President Abraham Lincoln’s vision after he signed the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, an achievement he regarded as one of the crowning accomplishments of his presidency, though by 1865 little progress had been made on the Union Pacific portion. Lincoln appealed to his friend Oakes Ames, a member of the Congressional Committee on Railroads whom he called the “broad shouldered Ames,” to help move the project forward. The Ames brothers initially invested a million dollars of their own money and encouraged other capitalists to invest another $1.5 million. Oakes Ames, an American businessman and member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, became one of the most influential supporters of the Transcontinental Railroad and believed strongly that it was vital to the nation’s future. Oliver Ames, Jr., who managed the Ames shovel manufacturing company, became wealthy with his brother through demand driven by the California gold discovery, railroad expansion, and the Civil War, and as a bright, skillful manager and meticulous bookkeeper, he served as president of the Union Pacific during construction of the railroad.