Transportation
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To reach Oregon, Union Pacific Railroad organized the Oregon Short Line Railway Co. in 1881 and built westward from Wyoming across Idaho that same year, while Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. built eastward from Portland. The two railroads' tracks met at Huntington in November 1884, and the last spike was driven on November 25. Henry Thielsen, O.R.& N. chief engineer, set the spike, E.C. Smeed, U.P. assistant chief engineer, struck the first blow, and other dignitaries tapped the spike into place with a small hammer. On December 1, 1884, trains began running between Portland and Omaha, Nebraska, giving Oregon its most direct connection with the East.
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Huntington, Oregon · United States
