The Northern Pacific Railway's Last Spike Celebration

By editor

Goldcreek, Powell County, Montana, August 2022

When a man builds a railroad across a continent, he naturally expects a certain amount of applause at the finish line. Henry Villard, the president of the Northern Pacific Railway, was no exception. He planned a last spike ceremony for September 8, 1883, near the mouth of Independence Creek, an impoverished flat surrounded by negligible heights about three miles southeast of Goldcreek. He had a massive pavilion built, decorated with flags, bunting, and pine boughs, capable of seating a thousand people in upholstered comfort. He brought in five posh excursion cars from Minnesota, filled with European dignitaries who had provided the financial backing, a delegation of Crow Indians led by Iron Bull, and even former President Ulysses S. Grant. It was to be a grand affair, a triumph of civilization over the wilderness.

The big day dawned oppressively hot, and the celebration, scheduled for ten in the morning, did not commence until three in the afternoon. While the invited guests lounged in the shade of the pavilion, hundreds of uninvited Montanans arrived from Helena and surrounding communities to watch the proceedings, only to discover that Villard had provided food for his guests but not for them. The endless speeches droned on, directed entirely at the pavilion and ignoring the hungry, sweltering multitude. When former Secretary of State William Evarts spoke as long as should have been possible and then continued, the crowd began calling for President Grant to say a few words. The disruption grew so severe that Villard threatened to call in the military, but the crowd held its ground until Grant finally stood and delivered what many considered the best speech of the long afternoon. It wasn't until half-past five that Villard finally drove the last spike, symbolically completing the railroad in the gathering dusk. The dignitaries then reboarded their trains and continued west, leaving Villard a quarter of a million dollars poorer and the mob to find their way home with empty stomachs.

See also

• The Northern Pacific Railway's Last Spike Celebration at Goldcreek, Powell County (Montana Department of Transportation, erected 2022)
• First Discovery of Gold in Montana for more on Goldcreek's history.