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Established on this corner in 1861 by Edward & Hughes, this blacksmith shop manufactured castings and mining equipment of all kinds. In 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad link stimulated development and exploitation that changed the Western U.S. forever. The Silver Spike was commissioned by mining speculator, Railroad Commissioner, and gubernatorial candidate Fredrick A. Tritle, and E. Ruhling & Co., assayers, provided the Comstock silver. One hundred locals took turns pounding the spike into shape here at Robert Lodge's facility. After the Last Spikes ceremony on May 10, 1869, in Promontory, Utah Territory, the Silver Spike was returned to Virginia City, polished and engraved at Nye Company on C St. "To Leland Stanford President of the Central Pacific Railroad. To the iron of the East and the gold of the West, Nevada adds her link of silver to span the continent and wed the oceans." The Silver Spike resides with the other spike in the Stanford's collection at Cantor Art Center in Palo Alto. In 1871 Wm Dowling became the sole proprietor of the blacksmith shop.
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Virginia City, Nevada · United States
