Construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad, Gold Creek, MT
N 46° 33.670 W 112° 00.000
12T E 423354 N 5156885
The Gold Creek Rest Area off of I-90, eastbound, has four signs posted by the Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation, including this one.
Waymark Code: WM9YF2
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 10/16/2010
Views: 5
The text on the sign reads:
"First of the Northern Transcontinental Railroads
Construction of the Northern Pacific.
On July 2, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Northern Pacific charter officially "granting funds to aid the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound".
In 1869, Jay Cooke and Company, a Philadelphia banking house, became financial agents for the railroad and began an intensive campaign in the United States and northern Europe to sell bonds to pay for construction. Groundbreaking took place February 15, 1870, near present day Carlton, Minnesota. Grading and tracklaying began from that point in June and from Kalama, Washington Territory, in March 1871.
Construction progressed rapidly and by 1873, the railroad had reached Bismark, North Dakota. The financial panic of 1873 forced bankruptcy upon Jay Cooke and Company, taking with it the Northern Pacific and leaving a 1,500 mile gap between the two ends of track. The Northern Pacific was organized in 1875, and by 1878 contruction was again underway. Under the skilled leadership of newly elected president, Frederick Billings, the railroad regained much of its lost energies and pushed across Dakota into Montana.
During the construction, contractors on each division hired thousands of men. It is estimated that approximately 25,000 Chinese were employed on the western division. The slow and tedious nature of the work, and the isolation of construction chains, made it difficult to obtain and keep workers, particularly on the eastern division."
Describe the area and history:
This is a rest area, along Interstate I-90 near Gold Creek.
|
Visit Instructions:
Please describe your visit- The good, the bad & the ugly. :)