Promontory Summit is a location in northern Utah where the final spike ("The Golden Spike") was driven to join together the tracks of Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads on May 10th, 1869.
Imagine Promontory Summit as being like your school's football field on homecoming night. Just as all eyes are on this central location during an important event (like when your team scores), so too were all eyes on Promontory Summit when these two massive rail networks finally connected.
Golden Spike Ceremony: This refers to an event held at Promontory Summit where officials drove in a ceremonial last spike made out of gold to celebrate completion of Transcontinental railroad.
First Transcontinental Telegraph Line: Completed before the railroad, this was another major infrastructure project that connected the East and West coasts of America.
Stephen Ambrose: A historian who wrote extensively about the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.
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